GST on New Homes in BC: Who Pays and What You Can Get Back

Most newly built homes in BC carry 5% GST, which is $45,000 on an example $900,000 home. Here is when GST applies, how to read a price quoted "plus GST" or "including GST", and the federal rebates that can give some or all of it back, including the First-Time Home Buyers' GST Rebate.

The short version

When GST applies

GST generally applies when a builder sells a new or substantially renovated home. A few points decide whether your purchase is taxed:

• New homes. Presale condos and townhomes, and new houses bought from a builder.
• Substantial renovations. A home counts as substantially renovated when 90% or more of the livable interior has been removed or replaced. The foundation, the exterior and interior supporting walls, the roof, the floors and the staircases can stay.
• Resale homes. Most sales of previously occupied homes are exempt.
• Assignments. If you take over someone's presale contract, GST also applies to what you pay them, minus the deposit reimbursement when the assignment agreement sets it out in writing.

BC isn't one of the provinces that charge HST, and BC's 7% PST is charged on goods and some services, not on the purchase of land and buildings, so for most new homes the only sales tax here is the 5% GST. The exception is a new mobile or modular home bought on its own, without the land, which carries PST on 50% to 55% of its price. Builders do pay PST on many of the materials they use. The GST generally becomes payable when ownership or possession is transferred to you, whichever comes first, which for most buyers is completion.

"Plus GST" or "including GST"

New home prices are quoted both ways, so check the purchase agreement before you compare homes.

• Plus GST. The GST is added at completion. At an example price of $900,000, that is $45,000, for $945,000 in total before any rebate.
• Including GST. The GST is already in the price. Ask whether the price also assumes rebates you will sign over to the builder, and what you owe if you turn out not to qualify.
• A rebate you weren't entitled to. If a builder credits you a rebate you didn't qualify for, and the builder knew or ought to have known, you and the builder can both be held liable to repay it.

The GST new housing rebate

This federal rebate is for individuals who buy a new or substantially renovated home as the primary place of residence for themselves or a relation. Corporations and partnerships can't claim it. It is 36% of the GST, up to $6,300, on homes priced up to $350,000. Between $350,000 and $450,000 it shrinks, and at $450,000 or more there is no rebate. On an example $400,000 home, the GST is $20,000 and the rebate is $3,150. It is also available on a share in a new housing co-op, a mobile or floating home, and a home on land leased for at least 20 years.

The First-Time Home Buyers' GST Rebate

Bill C-4, the Making Life More Affordable for Canadians Act, received Royal Assent on March 12, 2026, and the CRA is now accepting applications. The rebate tops up the regular one:

• Up to $1 million: all of the GST back, to a maximum of $50,000. On an example $900,000 home, that is the full $45,000.
• $1 million to $1.5 million: the $50,000 maximum shrinks in a straight line. At $1,200,000, the rebate is $30,000 of the $60,000 GST.
• $1.5 million or more: no rebate.

To qualify when you buy from a builder:

• The dates. You signed the purchase agreement on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031, construction starts before 2031, and the home is substantially completed and transferred to you before 2036.
• You. You are at least 18 and a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. When ownership transfers to you, you haven't lived as your primary residence in a home owned by you or your spouse or common-law partner at any time that calendar year or in the previous four. Neither of you has received this rebate before.
• The home. It will be your primary place of residence, and you are the first person to live in it after it is finished.
• Buying with someone else. At least one buyer must be a first-time home buyer who will live there, and only that buyer can claim it.
• Older contracts. A purchase agreement signed before March 20, 2025 doesn't qualify, even if it is later changed or assigned to you.

Each program has its own definition of a first-time buyer. BC's First Time Home Buyers' Program for property transfer tax, for example, requires that you have never owned a principal residence anywhere. A new home may instead qualify for BC's Newly Built Home Exemption, open to any Canadian citizen or permanent resident who makes it their principal residence: it generally removes the tax up to a fair market value of $1,100,000 and reduces it below $1,150,000. I compare them in First-Time Home Buyer Programs in BC.

Building your own home

If you build on land you own or lease, hire someone to build for you, or substantially renovate your own home, you claim the rebate yourself. A contractor can't credit it to you or apply on your behalf.

• The regular owner-built rebate needs the home's fair market value at substantial completion to be under $450,000.
• The first-time buyer rebate extends to owner-built homes worth up to $1.5 million, if construction or the renovation begins on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031, the home is finished and first lived in before 2036, and you are the first person to live in it, as your primary residence.
• The paperwork. You file Form GST191 with the GST191-WS construction summary worksheet, usually within two years after the home is substantially completed, with different dates if you move in earlier. Keep the original invoices in your name for six years.

Buying to rent it out

If you buy a new home to lease it out, you can't claim the new housing rebate or the first-time buyer rebate. You may qualify for the new residential rental property rebate instead:

• The condition. In general, the home's first use must be as a tenant's primary residence for at least a year.
• The amount. 36% of the GST, up to $6,300 per unit, shrinking between $350,000 and $450,000 of fair market value, with nothing at $450,000 or more.
• The deadline. You apply directly on Form GST524, generally within two years after the end of the month in which the GST first became payable, usually the month you complete.
• Purpose-built rentals. The 100% GST rebate for new rental housing is for new rental buildings, such as apartment buildings with at least four units, where at least 90% of the units are held for long-term rent. Condos, houses, duplexes and triplexes don't qualify.

How you get a rebate

• Credited by the builder. If you and your builder agree, the builder pays or credits the rebate to you, usually by reducing what you pay at completion, and sends your Form GST190 application to the CRA with its own GST return.
• Applying yourself. If the builder doesn't credit it, you apply to the CRA, online through your CRA account or by mail, within two years after ownership is transferred to you.
• If you completed before the law passed. If ownership transferred to you before March 12, 2026 and you qualify, you can still apply for the first-time buyer rebate yourself, within two years after the transfer.

Ask your lawyer or notary to show the GST and any rebate credit on your statement of adjustments, so you can see exactly what you pay at completion. My guide to closing costs in BC covers the rest of the budget.

Questions buyers often ask me

Do I pay GST on a resale home in BC?

Usually not. Most sales of previously occupied homes are exempt. GST applies to new homes and to homes that have been substantially renovated, meaning 90% or more of the interior was removed or replaced.

Is there PST on a new home in BC?

Not on most new homes. BC's PST is charged on goods and some services, not on the purchase of land and buildings, so the 5% GST is usually the only sales tax. A new mobile or modular home bought on its own, without the land, is the exception, with PST on 50% to 55% of its price.

How much is the first-time buyer GST rebate?

All of the GST on a new home up to $1 million, to a maximum of $50,000, and a reduced amount up to $1.5 million. At $1,250,000, for example, it is $25,000.

Can I get the first-time buyer rebate on a presale I signed in 2024?

No. The purchase agreement must have been signed on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031. A contract signed earlier doesn't qualify, even if it is later changed or assigned.

Can my builder take the rebate off my price?

Yes, if you and the builder agree. The builder credits it at completion and files your application with the CRA. Otherwise, you can apply yourself within two years after ownership is transferred to you.

Shopping for a new home? Read Buying a Presale Condo in BC before you sign, and see how the 2-5-10 home warranty works.

This article is general information, not tax advice. The rebate rules come from the Excise Tax Act and the Canada Revenue Agency and were current at the time of writing, so confirm your own situation with an accountant, lawyer or notary. For the CRA's guide, see the first-time home buyers' GST/HST rebate.