| Measure | Canada Revenue Agency and Province of BC, read 5 October 2026 |
|---|---|
| The rebate | All of the 5% GST, to a maximum of $50,000, at $1,000,000 or less; reduced in a straight line to nothing at $1,500,000 ($25,000 at $1,250,000, the CRA’s example) |
| Median new townhome, $933,000 | GST $46,650; rebate $46,650; GST payable $0. Transfer tax $16,660, all of it exempt as a newly built home |
| Median new condo, $520,000 | GST $26,000; rebate $26,000; GST payable $0. Transfer tax $8,400, exempt |
| Median new house, $1,833,000 | GST $91,650; no rebate. Transfer tax $34,660; no exemption |
| Who qualifies | 18 or older, a citizen or permanent resident, the first to live in the home, and not living in a home you or your spouse or partner owned in the year you take ownership or the four before it |
| Which homes | New or substantially renovated homes from a builder under an agreement signed from 20 March 2025 and before 2031, and owner-built homes started from that date; never where a pre-20 March 2025 agreement is varied, amended or assigned |
The rebate takes the GST off a new home, and in Langley more than half of new townhomes and condos sell under its $1 million line. Over the year the median new townhome sold for $933,000 and the median new condo for $520,000, both under the $1 million line, so a first-time buyer of either gets back every dollar of GST: $46,650 and $26,000. BC’s newly built home exemption, which has no first-time test, takes the property transfer tax off both as well. The median new house, at $1,833,000, is past the $1.5 million line and gets no rebate.
A resale home carries no GST, which is part of why new has looked dear. For a first-time buyer, on tax alone, it no longer is. At the medians, a resale townhome ($794,000) carries $5,880 of transfer tax after BC’s first-time exemption; the new townhome ($933,000) carries no GST and no transfer tax. A buyer who does not qualify pays the other way: $13,880 on the resale townhome against $46,650 of GST on the new one. The rebate does not change the price per foot: new townhomes sold at $606 a square foot against $508 for resale.
BC’s first-time exemption from transfer tax needs a buyer who has never owned a principal residence anywhere. The federal rebate asks a narrower question: did you live, as your main home, in a home you or your spouse or partner owned, in the year you take ownership or the four calendar years before it? Someone who sold in 2021 and has rented since can take ownership of a new home in 2026 as a first-time buyer for the GST rebate, while BC treats them as a repeat buyer. On a new home at $1.1 million or less that buyer still pays no transfer tax, because the newly built exemption has no first-time test.
A resale townhome now competes for first-time buyers with new townhomes those buyers can take free of GST and transfer tax. Price against the new stock your buyer is also touring, not only against last month’s resale sales.
| Price | GST at 5% | Rebate | GST payable | Transfer tax payable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $520,000 (median new condo) | $26,000 | $26,000 | $0 | $0 |
| $700,000 | $35,000 | $35,000 | $0 | $0 |
| $933,000 (median new townhome) | $46,650 | $46,650 | $0 | $0 |
| $1,000,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 | $0 | $0 |
| $1,100,000 | $55,000 | $40,000 | $15,000 | $0 |
| $1,250,000 | $62,500 | $25,000 | $37,500 | $23,000 |
| $1,350,000 | $67,500 | $15,000 | $52,500 | $25,000 |
| $1,500,000 | $75,000 | $0 | $75,000 | $28,000 |
| $1,833,000 (median new house) | $91,650 | $0 | $91,650 | $34,660 |
The price is what you pay the builder, before GST and not counting transfer tax, legal fees or anything paid to trades directly. BC charges no provincial sales tax on the home itself, so the GST is the only sales tax in the price. The regular federal new housing rebate ends at $450,000, so above that price this rebate is the only GST relief there is. Between $1 million and $1.5 million the rebate falls by $10,000 for every $100,000 of price; the transfer tax column assumes the buyer qualifies for BC’s newly built exemption, which ends at $1.15 million.
You must be 18 or older and a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, be the first person to live in the home after it is finished, and use it as your primary place of residence; neither you nor your spouse or partner can have had this rebate before. The agreement with the builder must be signed on or after 20 March 2025 and before 2031, with construction begun before 2031 and finished, and ownership transferred, before 2036. The trap is the assignment: there is no rebate where an agreement first signed before 20 March 2025 is varied, amended or assigned, so an assignment of an older Langley presale does not qualify, however new the home.
There are two ways. The builder can credit the rebate against the price at closing and claim it back, on Form GST190, or you apply to the CRA yourself, through your CRA account or by mail, usually within two years of taking ownership. Either way it is claimed, not automatic, so ask the builder in writing before you sign whether they will credit it at closing.
| Federal GST rebate | BC first-time exemption | BC newly built exemption | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saves | GST, up to $50,000 | Transfer tax on the first $500,000, up to $8,000 | All transfer tax at $1.1 million or less |
| Price limit | Full to $1 million; none at $1.5 million | Full to $835,000; none at $860,000 | Full to $1.1 million; none at $1.15 million |
| First-time test | Not living in a home you or your partner owned, in the year of ownership or the four before | Never owned a principal residence anywhere | None |
| Homes | New from a builder, or owner-built | New or resale | Newly built only |
| Living there | Primary place of residence; first to occupy | Move in within 92 days, stay to the first anniversary | Move in within 92 days, stay the first year |
They are separate taxes, so each is claimed on its own conditions. A first-time buyer of the median new townhome at $933,000 gets the full GST rebate and, through the newly built exemption, pays no transfer tax; BC’s first-time exemption would not reach that price, and is not needed.
Not on a new home at $1 million or less bought from a builder under an agreement signed from 20 March 2025: the federal rebate returns all of the 5% GST, up to $50,000. Between $1 million and $1.5 million the rebate shrinks in a straight line, and at $1.5 million there is none.
Yes, if you have not lived, as your main home, in a home you or your spouse or partner owned in the year you take ownership or the four calendar years before it, and neither of you has had this rebate. BC’s first-time transfer tax exemption is stricter: never owned a principal residence anywhere.
Not if the original agreement was signed before 20 March 2025 and has since been varied, amended or assigned. Ask for the date of the original agreement before you buy an assignment.
Through the builder at closing, who credits it and claims it back on Form GST190, or directly from the CRA through your CRA account or by mail, usually within two years of taking ownership.
No. It is for new or substantially renovated homes; a resale home carries no GST to rebate. On a resale home, the help for a first-time buyer is BC’s transfer tax exemption, worth up to $8,000.
Fraser Valley Real Estate Board MLS® August 2026 package, released 2 September 2026; sub-area and twelve-month figures from the board’s database, read 5 September 2026. Benchmarks are the board’s index price, never an average. Analysis: Hamish Ross.
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