First-Time Home Buyer Incentives in BC: Every 2026 Program, With Dollar Values

The five incentives that still exist in 2026

Before we get into each one — a clean-up note. The federal First-Time Home Buyer Incentive (the shared-equity program where CMHC took a 5–10% second mortgage on your home in exchange for sharing in its appreciation or depreciation) ended on March 21, 2024 and is no longer accepting applications. If a blog post is telling you to apply, the post is two years out of date. The five programs that actually exist in 2026 are:

1. BC Property Transfer Tax (PTT) first-time buyer exemption — up to $8,000 saved on a qualifying home of $835,000 or less.
2. RRSP Home Buyers' Plan (HBP) — up to $60,000 tax-free withdrawal from your RRSP, repayable over 15 years.
3. First Home Savings Account (FHSA) — $8,000/year of contribution room, $40,000 lifetime, tax-deductible going in, tax-free coming out.
4. Home Buyers' Tax Credit (HBTC) — $1,500 non-refundable federal tax credit in the year of purchase.
5. GST New Housing Rebate — partial rebate of the 5% GST on new builds priced under $450,000.

1. BC PTT exemption — up to $8,000

The single most important number for a first-time Fraser Valley buyer. Full exemption on homes valued at $835,000 or less; partial exemption phases out by $860,000. Above $860K, you pay full PTT (1% on the first $200K + 2% to $2M). Eligibility is strict: Canadian citizen or PR, 12 months of BC residency before registration (or two BC tax returns in the last 6 years), never owned a principal residence anywhere globally, move in within 92 days, live in the home a year. We've had two clients lose this in audit because they sublet the basement before the 12-month anniversary — be careful. (Province of BC.)

2. RRSP Home Buyers' Plan — up to $60,000

Lifetime maximum withdrawal limit was raised from $35,000 to $60,000 on April 16, 2024 (CRA). The 90-day rule still applies: funds must be in your RRSP for at least 90 days before the withdrawal, or the contribution loses its tax deduction. Repayment starts in the second calendar year after withdrawal and runs 15 years — roughly $4,000/year on a full $60K withdrawal. Treat the HBP as a tax-deferred loan from yourself, not free money. The biggest risk we see: people withdraw, then can't keep up with annual repayments while also paying a mortgage, and the unpaid balance gets taxed as income.

3. First Home Savings Account (FHSA) — up to $40,000

If we could change one thing about Canadian financial literacy, it would be making the FHSA as well-known as the TFSA. The FHSA combines the best of an RRSP (tax-deductible contributions) with the best of a TFSA (tax-free withdrawal). $8,000/year of contribution room, up to $40,000 lifetime. Unused room carries forward (max $8,000 carryforward per year). You can hold investments inside — stocks, ETFs, GICs — and any growth is also tax-free at withdrawal. The catch: you have 15 years from opening, or until age 71, to use it for a qualifying first-home purchase. Otherwise the funds get rolled to an RRSP. (CRA.)

4. Home Buyers' Tax Credit — $1,500

Easy money first-time buyers leave on the table because it's just a line on the tax return. Claim $10,000 on line 31270 of Schedule 1 in the year of purchase, get a 15% non-refundable credit, which works out to $1,500. Both spouses can split, but the combined claim is capped at $10,000 (so $1,500 total credit, not $3,000). It's the lowest-effort program in this list. Don't miss it.

5. GST New Housing Rebate — up to $6,300

Only relevant if you're buying a new build. The federal portion refunds 36% of the 5% GST on the first $350,000 of purchase price, capped at $6,300. Above $350,000 the rebate phases out, and above $450,000 the federal portion is gone entirely. Most Fraser Valley new builds clear $450K, so most first-time buyers see $0 here — but if you're buying a sub-$450K new condo in Abbotsford or Chilliwack, run the numbers. The builder usually assigns the rebate to themselves and prices it into the contract; verify which side gets the cheque.

How they stack on a typical Fraser Valley first home

Let's price it. $700,000 townhouse in Willoughby, two qualifying first-time buyers, each with a maxed FHSA ($40K each, $80K combined) and $20K of HBP RRSP each ($40K combined). Total tax-advantaged down-payment: $120,000 from FHSA + HBP. Add another $20K of non-registered savings. Down payment: $140K (20%) — which means no CMHC insurance, no PST on premium, and a lower stress-test bar.

PTT exemption: $700K is under $835K, so full exemption — up to $8,000 saved. HBTC: $1,500 tax credit in year of purchase. Tax deduction on the FHSA contributions over the years: roughly $26,000 of tax saved at a combined household marginal rate of 33%.

Total real value across the path to purchase, conservatively: $35,000+ in direct tax savings and credits, plus the structural advantage of avoiding CMHC insurance entirely. That's why we tell every 25–30-year-old who asks about buying eventually to open the FHSA today, even if they're not sure when "eventually" is.

What's not on this list (and why)

A few programs you'll see promoted online that aren't useful for most first-time Fraser Valley buyers:

• BC First Time Home Buyers' Loan Program (BC HOME) — the interest-free second-mortgage program was discontinued in 2018. Still surfaces in stale search results.
• Federal First-Time Home Buyer Incentive (FTHBI) — discontinued March 2024.
• "Rent-to-own" pitches — not a government program, almost always a private deal with terms favouring the seller. Read carefully before signing.