GST on a New Home in BC: The Old Rebate, and the New 2026 First-Time Buyer Rebate That Changes Everything

For years, the 5% GST on a new home in BC has been the quietest first-time-buyer killer on the closing statement, one the FRIVE team flags in nearly every new-build conversation. On a $1,000,000 new build, that's $50,000 of sales tax built into the purchase price, money the buyer is paying with after-tax dollars, in cash, on top of the down payment and the PTT.

The old GST/HST New Housing Rebate was supposed to soften this. But it was designed in an era of cheaper homes and phases out to zero at $450,000, a price point that hasn't existed in the Fraser Valley for new construction in a very long time. For practical purposes, the old rebate was useful in the 1990s and has been a footnote ever since.

That changed on March 12, 2026, when Bill C-4 received Royal Assent and the new First-Time Home Buyers' GST/HST Rebate became law. The rebate is available now, and for a qualifying first-time Fraser Valley buyer on a new build at or below $1,000,000, it eliminates the GST entirely. On a $1M new condo in Surrey or a new Langley townhouse, that's up to $50,000 of federal sales tax that simply goes away.

This page is the FRIVE team's plain-English walk-through of how the new rebate works, how the older rebate fits in, and what to ask the builder before you sign.

What's actually subject to GST

A few quick definitions before we get into the rebate math, because the GST/no-GST line is the one buyers get most confused about.

New homes in BC carry 5% federal GST on the purchase price. "New" here means a home that has not been previously used as a place of residence, a brand-new build from a developer, a substantially renovated home, an owner-built home being sold for the first time, certain conversions.

Resale homes are generally GST-exempt, the sales tax was paid when the home was new, by the first buyer, and there's no GST on subsequent re-sales. This is why a $700,000 resale Surrey townhouse and a $700,000 brand-new Langley townhouse have very different real costs to the buyer, even at the same price tag.

Pre-sales are new homes. The GST applies on a pre-sale even though the building isn't finished yet. The 5% is built into the contract price you see, sometimes baked into the price, sometimes called out separately. Read the contract.

The new First-Time Home Buyers' GST/HST Rebate

The CRA's official page on the FTHB GST/HST Rebate is the primary source. The rebate is built around two thresholds and one buyer test:

Up to $1,000,000 fair market value: the 5% federal GST (or the federal part of the HST in HST provinces) is fully eliminated. The federal sales tax on the new home goes to zero.

Between $1,000,000 and $1,500,000: the rebate phases out on a straight line. At $1,250,000 you get roughly half. At $1,500,000 the rebate is zero.

Maximum rebate: up to $50,000.

For a first-time buyer in the Fraser Valley shopping new construction in the $700,000 to $1,000,000 band, which describes a lot of new wood-frame condos in Surrey and townhouses in Langley, the rebate effectively erases the GST line entirely. That's a meaningful shift in the closing-cost math at this price point.

Eligibility

The CRA's eligibility page lists five requirements:

• The buyer is at least 18 and a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
• The buyer is a first-time home buyer, they (and their spouse or common-law partner) have not lived in a home owned by them in the current calendar year or any of the previous four. This is the same definition the FHSA and HBP use.
• The home is a new build (new construction, substantially renovated home, or owner-built home subject to GST).
• The home will be the buyer's primary place of residence.
• The buyer (or another eligible purchaser) will be the first occupant after substantial completion.

And the contract test:

• The Agreement of Purchase and Sale must be signed on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031.

That March 20, 2025 date is important. The rebate is not retroactive to contracts signed before that date, even if completion happens after Royal Assent. Buyers who signed a pre-sale in 2024 don't get the rebate; buyers who signed after March 20, 2025 do, including those whose buildings complete in 2026, 2027, or later.

How the new rebate stacks with the old one

The older GST/HST New Housing Rebate still exists. The CRA describes both side-by-side on the New Housing Rebate page. The short version of the interaction:

• The New Housing Rebate rebates 36% of the federal GST paid, up to a maximum of $6,300, but phases out fully at $450,000. It applies regardless of first-time-buyer status.
• The FTHB Rebate is the new, much larger first-time-buyer rebate that picks up where the New Housing Rebate falls short.

For first-time buyers, the FTHB Rebate is the rebate that matters. For non-first-time buyers, the older New Housing Rebate is the only federal rebate available, and at modern Fraser Valley prices it's effectively zero. The 2026 change is, in practical terms, a first-time-buyer change.

There's a small interaction worth flagging: where both rebates technically apply on a property at or below $450,000 (rare in the Fraser Valley new-build market right now), the FTHB Rebate is generally the more valuable claim. Your accountant or your conveyancer can confirm the right one for your specific deal.

How the math works

Let's pick a real-world shape. A first-time buyer in Surrey buying a brand-new $850,000 wood-frame condo at presale, completing in 2027, contract signed in June 2025.

• Federal GST in the purchase price: 5% × $850,000 = $42,500.
• FTHB Rebate eligibility: full, because the home is under $1,000,000.
• Rebate amount: $42,500, the full GST.

Now flip the same buyer to a $1,200,000 brand-new Langley townhouse:

• Federal GST in the purchase price: $60,000.
• FTHB Rebate eligibility: partial, because the home is in the $1M to $1.5M phase-out band.
• At $1,200,000 the phase-out reduces the rebate by 40% (the portion of the $500,000 band already consumed). The rebate is roughly $30,000, your conveyancer or accountant will compute the exact amount on the closing statement.

The Province of BC's Newly Built Home PTT exemption sits on top of both scenarios. On the $850,000 condo the buyer also saves the full PTT. On the $1,200,000 townhouse the PTT exemption no longer applies (above the $1,150,000 partial cap), but the GST rebate still helps.

How the rebate is claimed

The CRA confirms two paths:

The builder credits the rebate at completion. This is how the older New Housing Rebate has typically been handled, and the FTHB Rebate can be administered the same way. The builder credits the rebate amount against the purchase price on the closing statement. The buyer doesn't write a separate cheque to the CRA; they write a smaller cheque to the builder.

The buyer claims the rebate directly from the CRA after closing. If the builder doesn't credit it, or if the buyer-builder arrangement doesn't allow it, the buyer files for the rebate post-closing on the appropriate CRA form. The exact form depends on whether the GST or HST applies; in BC it's GST and the form for the existing rebate is GST190 or GST191, with the FTHB rebate following the same architecture.

Talk to your conveyancer and your builder early. The path that's right for your deal depends on the contract structure. If the builder is crediting the rebate at completion, the purchase price the bank sees and the mortgage approval depend on it. If you're claiming directly, you'll need cash to bridge the gap at completion. Either path works; the difference matters for short-term liquidity.

Common mistakes we see

Assuming the rebate is retroactive. It isn't. The March 20, 2025 contract-signing date is hard. Buyers who signed pre-sales in 2024 are stuck under the old rules.

Confusing GST with PTT. They're different taxes, paid to different governments, with different rules. The GST is federal sales tax on the new build; the PTT is provincial property transfer tax on the title transfer. The two rebates work independently, the existence of one doesn't disqualify the other.

Not reading the contract closely on pre-sales. Some pre-sale contracts quote a price that includes GST; others quote net-of-GST and add it on. The math changes substantially depending on which it is. Confirm with the builder and your lawyer before you assume the rebate's value.

Forgetting that resale homes don't get the rebate. A four-year-old Langley townhouse being re-listed is a resale, no GST in the price, no rebate available. The rebate only helps new construction.

Assuming "substantially renovated" qualifies. It can, but the definition is technical and the call belongs to your accountant or lawyer. A cosmetic renovation doesn't count; a true substantial renovation that the CRA treats as effectively new does.

How this fits with the rest of the hub

For a first-time buyer on a qualifying new build at or below $1,000,000, the program stack is genuinely powerful in 2026:

• PTT, eliminated under the Newly Built Home exemption.
• GST, eliminated under the FTHB rebate.
• Down payment, sheltered through the FHSA and the HBP.
• Tax credit, claimed via the federal Home Buyers' Amount (line 31270) at tax time.

For most Fraser Valley first-time buyers buying new construction at the right price point, that combination is the largest single change to the buying math in over a decade. The cumulative effect can be the difference between qualifying for a particular home or not.

More in this hub

• Pillar, BC Buyer Programs and Taxes (2026)
• PTT first-time-buyer exemption
• Newly Built Home PTT exemption, the partner to this page on the new-build side.
• First Home Savings Account (FHSA)
• RRSP Home Buyers' Plan
• How much house can you actually afford in the Fraser Valley?

Talk to your lawyer and accountant before signing a pre-sale

The pre-sale contract is the document where this rebate is won or lost. The contract date, the way GST is quoted, the builder-credit vs direct-CRA claim path, and the substantial-renovation analysis are all questions for your conveyancer and your accountant. Asking them before you sign costs you a 15-minute phone call. Asking them after costs you the rebate.

Browse new and resale Fraser Valley listings on FRIVE or book a 20-minute chat with us. We'll help you sort through the new-build inventory and flag which units are likely to qualify before you go further.