First-Time Home Buyer Programs in BC: FHSA, HBP, PTT & GST Rebate

First-time buyers in British Columbia can draw on several federal and provincial programs at once: one to save, one to borrow from your RRSP, one that cuts your transfer tax, one for new homes, and a longer mortgage. They each define “first-time buyer” a little differently, and most of them can be combined. Here’s what each one does, from the governments’ own guidance.

Who counts as a first-time buyer

There isn’t one definition. The federal programs (the FHSA, the Home Buyers’ Plan, the home buyers’ amount and the new GST rebate) use a four-year test: broadly, you haven’t lived in a home that you or your spouse or common-law partner owned in the current calendar year or the previous four. BC’s property transfer tax exemption is stricter: you must never have owned an interest in a principal residence anywhere in the world. So someone who sold a home five years ago may qualify federally but not provincially.

Saving: the First Home Savings Account (FHSA)

An FHSA lets you save for a first home with the tax treatment of an RRSP going in and a TFSA coming out:

You can contribute $8,000 a year, up to a lifetime limit of $40,000.
Unused room carries forward, but only up to $8,000. So if you open an account and contribute nothing this year, you can put in up to $16,000 next year.
Contributions are generally deductible from your income, and a qualifying withdrawal to buy or build your first home is tax-free.
To open one you must be a resident of Canada, an adult, no older than 71 at the end of the year, and a first-time buyer under the four-year test.

Room only starts building once you open an account, so even a small first deposit is worth making early.

Borrowing from yourself: the RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan

The Home Buyers’ Plan lets you withdraw up to $60,000 from your RRSPs, tax-free, to buy or build a qualifying home. Each of you can do this from your own RRSPs, so a couple can withdraw up to $120,000 between them. You repay it to your RRSP over 15 years; any year you don’t repay the scheduled amount, that amount is added to your income.

Repayments normally start in the second year after your first withdrawal. Under temporary relief, if your first withdrawal is made between January 1, 2026, and December 31, 2028, repayments are deferred to start in the fifth year: withdraw in 2026, and your first repayment year is 2031.

You can use an FHSA withdrawal and the Home Buyers’ Plan for the same home, as long as you meet each program’s conditions when you make each withdrawal.

At closing: BC’s property transfer tax exemption

Property transfer tax is the biggest closing cost for most buyers. Qualifying first-time buyers pay no tax on the first $500,000 of the price, a saving of up to $8,000. For homes registered on or after April 1, 2024, the full exemption applies to fair market values of $835,000 or less, and a partial exemption phases out up to $860,000. You must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, meet a BC residency test, move in within 92 days and live there as your principal residence for the first year. On the North Shore, that ceiling means it mostly applies to condos. The full rules are in Property Transfer Tax in BC, explained.

Buying new: the first-time home buyers’ GST rebate

If you buy a newly built or substantially renovated home from a builder, a new federal rebate removes the GST for first-time buyers:

The agreement of purchase and sale must be signed on or after March 20, 2025, and before 2031.
The full GST is rebated on homes up to $1,000,000, phasing out between $1,000,000 and $1,500,000. With GST at 5%, that’s up to $50,000 on a $1 million home.
You must be at least 18, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, a first-time buyer under the four-year test, and the first person to live in the home, as your primary residence.
Construction must begin before 2031 and be substantially complete before 2036.

On the provincial side, BC’s newly built home exemption from property transfer tax covers new homes up to $1,100,000, with a partial exemption up to $1,150,000, and it isn’t limited to first-time buyers.

Your mortgage: 30-year amortization

With less than 20% down, your mortgage must be insured. Since December 15, 2024, first-time buyers (and anyone buying a newly built home) can amortize an insured mortgage over 30 years instead of 25, which lowers the monthly payment. The same change raised the price cap for insured mortgages to $1,500,000. The minimum down payment is 5% of the first $500,000 and 10% of the portion above that; at $1,500,000 or more, you need 20% down and insurance isn’t available. You still have to qualify under the federal stress test.

At tax time: the home buyers’ amount

In the year you buy, you can claim the home buyers’ amount of $10,000 on your federal tax return, a non-refundable credit that reduces the tax you owe. It uses the same four-year first-time buyer test. You must intend to live in the home within a year of buying it. A couple can split the claim if both qualify, but together can’t claim more than $10,000.

How they fit together

A couple buying their first condo could each draw on an FHSA and the Home Buyers’ Plan for the down payment, pay little or no property transfer tax if the price is under the threshold, take a 30-year insured mortgage, and claim the home buyers’ amount at tax time. Buying new from a builder adds the GST rebate. The details are worth confirming with your lender and accountant early, because the FHSA and RRSP need time to work, and some conditions must be met when you open an account, not when you buy.

Questions people ask

Can I use my FHSA and the Home Buyers’ Plan for the same home?

Yes, if you meet the conditions of both at the time of each withdrawal.

My partner owned a home before we met. Do I still qualify?

It depends on the program. The federal four-year test looks at homes you or your spouse or common-law partner owned and lived in. BC’s exemption looks at your own ownership history, and applies only to the share owned by the person who qualifies.

Does the GST rebate apply to a presale I buy on assignment?

Possibly, but both the original agreement and the assignment have to fit the program’s rules and dates. Have your lawyer review it before you sign.

General information for buyers in British Columbia, current as of publication. Each program has more conditions than this summary covers. Confirm your eligibility with your lender, accountant and lawyer or notary, and on the official pages below.

Every first-time buyer program in BC, in one place