Buy Your First Home
with Confidence

Definitions differ by program, which is why buyers are often eligible for some incentives and not others. The Ontario Land Transfer Tax refund generally requires that you have never owned a home anywhere in the world, and that your spouse has not owned one while you were married. The FHSA and the Home Buyers' Plan use a four-year rule instead: you generally qualify if you have not lived in a home you or your spouse owned in the current year or the four preceding calendar years. We check each program against your situation before you make an offer.

For homes up to $500,000 the minimum is 5% of the purchase price. Between $500,000 and $1.5 million it is 5% on the first $500,000 plus 10% on the portion above. Homes priced at $1.5 million or more require at least 20% down and cannot be insured. Any down payment under 20% requires mortgage default insurance, and the premium is added to your mortgage balance.

Yes. The two programs can be combined for the same qualifying home, which is one of the most effective ways to build a larger down payment. The key difference is repayment: FHSA withdrawals are tax-free and never repaid, while HBP withdrawals must be repaid to your RRSP over 15 years or the missed amount is added to your taxable income for that year. We help sequence the withdrawals so the funds land in your account before your closing date.

The Ontario refund is up to $4,000, which fully covers the provincial land transfer tax on a home priced at roughly $368,333 or less. Above that, you pay the difference. Buyers purchasing within the City of Toronto pay a second municipal land transfer tax and may claim a further rebate of up to $4,475, for combined relief of up to $8,475. Your lawyer typically claims the refund electronically at closing so you never advance the money.

The federal First-Time Home Buyers' GST Rebate removes the full 5% GST on qualifying new homes valued up to $1 million, worth up to $50,000, with relief phasing out between $1 million and $1.5 million. Ontario has introduced a temporary enhancement covering the 8% provincial portion, worth up to $80,000, for agreements of purchase and sale signed between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027. Eligibility depends on your agreement date, the purchase price, construction milestones, and whether the home will be your primary residence. Resale homes are not subject to HST and do not qualify.

A 30-year amortization spreads your payments over five more years than the traditional 25-year maximum on an insured mortgage, which lowers the monthly payment and can improve what you qualify for. It is available on insured mortgages to first-time buyers, and to any buyer purchasing a newly built home. The trade-off is more total interest over the life of the loan. We run both amortizations side by side so you can see the monthly difference against the lifetime cost before deciding.

Most pre-approvals hold your rate for 90 to 120 days, depending on the lender. A pre-approval confirms the amount you can borrow and protects you if rates rise while you shop. It is not a final approval, since the lender still has to review and appraise the specific property once your offer is accepted.

Plan for roughly 1.5% to 4% of the purchase price on top of your down payment. That typically covers land transfer tax, legal fees and disbursements, title insurance, a home inspection, an appraisal if the lender requires one, and adjustments for prepaid property taxes or utilities. New builds can add development levies and HST adjustments. We give you a written estimate early so nothing is a surprise at closing.