New Home Purchase or Plans?

Have you made a new home purchase or plans to purchase? There are personal tax credits & assistance that may be available to you.

The Home Buyers’ Amount (HBA)

The First-Time Home Buyer’s Amount (HBA) can provide you with a $5,000 non-refundable tax credit. Claiming the HBA on your personal Income tax return translates into a tax rebate of $750.

How do you know if you are eligible to claim the HBA? The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has these simple requirements:

a) You or your partner bought a qualifying home.

b) You did not live in a home owned by you or your partner in the year of purchase or any of the prior four years.

How do I know my home qualifies?

Your home qualifies for the HBA if:

a) It is a single-family, semi-detached, townhouse, mobile home, or condo, &

b) It is an existing or new construction home located in Canada, &

c) You’ve moved into the home within one year of making the purchase, &

d) The home is listed as your principal residence & is registered under your name or your partner’s name.

Claiming the credit for people with disabilities (DTC)

If you are a person with a disability & claim the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) on your personal tax return, you can also claim the First-Time Home Buyers’ Canada Tax Credit.

You are eligible even if you’ve previously owned a home as long as you meet these requirements:

a) You must claim the disability amount on your tax return in the same tax year that you purchase the home, &

b) The home must be suitable to meet the disabled person’s needs, &

c) You must occupy the home within one year of purchasing it.

The Home Buyer’s Plan (HBP)

The Home Buyer’s Plan allows you to withdraw up to 35,000 from your Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP) to purchase or build a qualifying home, for yourself or for a related person with a disability (DTC). Taxes are not withheld on the withdrawn amount & you have up to 15 years to repay the funds.

You must meet the qualifications set out by the HBP including these shown below:

a) You must be a first time home buyer, &

b) You must have a written agreement to purchase or build a qualifying home, &

c) You must be a resident of Canada when you withdraw your RRSPs funds under the HBP & continue to be until a qualifying home is bought or built, &

d) If you previously participated in the HBP, you may be able to do so again if your repayable HBP balance on January 1^st of the year of the withdrawal is zero & you meet all the other HBP eligibility conditions.

e) You must intend to occupy the qualifying home as your principal residence within one year after buying or building it. If you are helping or buying / building a qualifying home for a related person with a disability, that that person must occupy the qualifying home as his or her principal place of residence

Please contact us if you would like detailed information regarding the Home Buyers’ Amount or the Home Buyers’ Plan.