First-Time Home Buyer Programs Ontario 2026 — FHSA, HBP & Tax Credits Explained

If you are buying your first home in Canada, there is real money on the table from federal and provincial programs — and most first-time buyers either do not know all of them exist, or do not stack them properly and leave thousands behind.

In 2026, the core programs are the First Home Savings Account, the Home Buyers’ Plan, the federal First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit, the Ontario Land Transfer Tax rebate, and the GST/HST New Housing Rebate if you are buying a new build. Used together correctly, these programs can meaningfully reduce both your upfront costs and your tax bill.

This guide breaks each one down plainly — what it is, how it works in 2026, what the actual numbers look like, and how to combine them without making the common mistakes.

Combined Registered Funds — A Qualifying Couple

Up to $200,000

toward a down payment when both partners qualify and stack their FHSAs with the Home Buyers’ Plan — $40,000 each from two FHSAs plus $60,000 each from two RRSPs under the HBP.

On top of that, the federal Home Buyers’ Tax Credit is worth up to $1,500, and Ontario’s land transfer tax rebate saves qualifying buyers up to $4,000 provincially — up to $4,475 more in Toronto.

On This Page

What Programs Are Available for First-Time Buyers in Ontario Right Now?

There are five that matter for most buyers: the First Home Savings Account (FHSA), the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP), the First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit (HBTC), the Ontario Land Transfer Tax Rebate, and the GST/HST New Housing Rebate for new construction.

Not every buyer qualifies for all five, but most first-time buyers in Ontario are eligible for at least three or four. The key is knowing the rules before you sign anything, because several of these programs require specific timing.

The FHSA is the most powerful first-time buyer tool introduced in Canada in a generation. It opened for contributions in April 2023, and by 2026 it is well established — but a surprising number of buyers still have not opened one, or opened it too late to build meaningful room.

How It Works

The FHSA is a registered account that combines the best features of an RRSP and a TFSA in one vehicle, specifically for first-home purchases. Contributions are tax-deductible, exactly like an RRSP — if you earn $75,000 and contribute $8,000, the CRA taxes you as though you earned $67,000. Investment growth inside the account is completely tax-free, and qualifying withdrawals for a first home purchase are also tax-free, with no repayment obligation.

The 2026 Numbers

The annual contribution limit is $8,000. The lifetime maximum is $40,000. Unused annual contribution room carries forward — but only starting from the year you open the account, not retroactively. This last point trips people up constantly. If you opened your FHSA in 2023, you have had four years of room accumulating — a maximum of $32,000 in total contributions by end of 2026. If you have not opened one yet, you start from zero today, and you cannot recover the years you missed.

Who Qualifies

You must be a Canadian resident, at least 18 years old, and a first-time home buyer — meaning you have not owned a qualifying home that you lived in at any point during the current calendar year or the preceding four years.

What the Tax Refund Actually Looks Like

Contributing $8,000 to your FHSA in 2026 at a $75,000 income level means roughly $1,900 to $2,300 back at tax time, depending on your province and specific bracket. At $95,000 income, that same $8,000 contribution returns closer to $2,600 to $3,000. Run your own numbers through the CRA’s online tools, but the refund is real and adds up meaningfully over multiple years of contributions.

The Home Buyers’ Plan has been around since 1992 and it is still one of the most underutilised tools for first-time buyers, partly because the mechanics confuse people.

How It Works

The HBP lets you withdraw from your existing RRSP to use toward a qualifying first home purchase — without triggering income tax at the time of withdrawal. The money comes out, you buy your home, and then you repay the amount back into your RRSP over 15 years.

The 2026 Limit

The maximum withdrawal is $60,000 per person. If you are buying with a spouse or common-law partner who also qualifies as a first-time buyer, you can each withdraw $60,000 for a combined $120,000 from your RRSPs.

Repayment

You have 15 years to repay the full amount back into your RRSP, starting the second year after the year of withdrawal. The annual repayment minimum is 1/15th of the total amount withdrawn. If you miss a repayment in any given year, that amount is added to your taxable income for that year — which is how the tax-deferral eventually catches up with people who do not repay.

Using FHSA and HBP Together — Can You Do Both?

Yes, and you should if you qualify for both. Federal rules explicitly allow first-time buyers to make qualifying withdrawals from both the FHSA and the RRSP under the HBP for the same home purchase.

In practical terms, this means a single buyer could potentially access $40,000 from their FHSA (lifetime maximum, tax-free, no repayment) plus $60,000 from their RRSP under the HBP (repayable over 15 years) — a total of $100,000 in registered funds toward their down payment. For a couple where both partners qualify: $40,000 each from two FHSAs plus $60,000 each from two RRSPs equals up to $200,000 in registered down payment funds.

Not sure which programs you qualify for?

A Kigo agent can map every program to your specific purchase and connect you with mortgage professionals who know how to structure the financing.

This one is straightforward and easy to claim, yet plenty of first-time buyers miss it on their tax return simply because they did not know it existed.

The federal First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit is a non-refundable tax credit based on $10,000. At the current federal tax rate of 15 per cent, that translates to a maximum credit of $1,500 off your federal income tax for the year you bought your home.

You claim it on your personal income tax return for the year of purchase, on line 31270. If you bought with a partner, you can split the claim between returns, but the combined total cannot exceed $1,500.

You do not get a cheque in the mail — it reduces the tax you owe, or increases your refund. Either way, it is $1,500 that costs you nothing to claim and takes one line on your return.

Ontario charges land transfer tax on every real estate purchase. The rate is tiered — roughly 0.5 to 2 per cent depending on the purchase price. On a $700,000 home, the Ontario land transfer tax is approximately $9,475.

First-time buyers in Ontario receive a rebate of up to $4,000 on this amount. That effectively eliminates the land transfer tax entirely on homes up to about $368,000, and reduces it on purchases above that threshold.

If you are buying in the City of Toronto specifically, you face a second, separate Toronto municipal land transfer tax on top of the provincial one. First-time buyers receive a separate rebate of up to $4,475 on the Toronto tax.

The rebates are applied at closing through your real estate lawyer. You do not claim them separately — they come off your closing costs automatically once your lawyer confirms your eligibility.

If you are buying a brand-new home or a substantially renovated property, HST applies to the purchase price. On a $600,000 new build, HST adds up fast.

The GST/HST New Housing Rebate recovers a portion of that tax. The federal component of the rebate applies to homes where the purchase price (before HST) is under $450,000, with a gradual phase-out between $350,000 and $450,000. Ontario has its own provincial component with different thresholds.

Key Takeaways

FAQ — First-Time Home Buyer Programs Ontario 2026