Did you know that if you are recently Divorced or Separated, Have not owned a home in 4 years or have never owned a home before you are qualified as a First Time Home buyer and the privileges that come with it.
The RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan:
With the federal government’s Home Buyers’ Plan, you can use up to $35,000 of your RRSP savings ($70,000 for a couple) to help finance your down payment on a home.
To qualify, the RRSP funds you’re using must be on deposit for at least 90 days. You must also provide a signed agreement to buy or build a qualifying home.
The best part is the withdrawal is not taxable as long as you repay it within a 15-year period. The payback amount is at least one-fifteenth a year of the amount you withdrew from your RRSP. So make sure you set up an RSP-Matic®, an automatic monthly, bi-weekly or even weekly contribution to your RRSP, to ensure you do not miss any repayments!
Breakdown of a Marriage or Common-Law Partnership
Generally, you will not be prevented from participating in the HBP if you do not meet the first-time home buyer requirement, provided that you live separate and apart from your spouse or common-law partner for a period of at least 90 days as a result of a breakdown in your marriage or common-law partnership. You will be able to make a withdrawal under the HBP if you live separate and apart from your spouse or common-law partner at the time of the withdrawal and began to live separate and apart in the year in which the withdrawal is made, or any time in the four preceding years. However, in the case where your principal place of residence is a home owned and occupied by a new spouse or common-law partner, you will not be able to make an HBP withdrawal under these rules.
You will be required to dispose of their previous principal place of residence no later than two years after the end of the year in which the HBP withdrawal is made. The requirement to dispose of the previous principal place of residence will be waived if you buy out the share of the residence owned by your spouse or common-law partner. The existing rule that individuals may not acquire the home more than 30 days before making the HBP withdrawal will also be waived in this circumstance.
Existing HBP rules will otherwise generally apply. For example, your outstanding HBP balance must be nil at the beginning of the year in which you make an HBP withdrawal.
This measure applies to HBP withdrawals made after 2019.
First Time Home Buyer Down Payment Incentive Program:
With this incentive, Government of Canada provides:
5% or 10% for a first-time buyer’s purchase of a newly constructed home
5% for a first-time buyer’s purchase of a resale (existing) home
5% for a first-time buyer’s purchase of a new or resale mobile/manufactured home
The incentive is available to first-time homebuyers with qualified annual incomes of $120,000 or less. A participant’s insured mortgage and the incentive amount cannot be greater than four times the participant’s qualified annual income.
Caution: It would be my advice to pay back this loan/incentive before renovating otherwise the Government will benefit in your increase in value to the home due to your renovations
Ontario Land Transfer Tax Rebate: $4000
First-time homebuyers in Ontario can qualify for a rebate equal to the full amount of their land transfer tax, up to a maximum of $4,000.
To qualify for the Ontario Land Transfer Tax Refund for First-Time Homebuyers, you must meet the following criteria:
- You must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada,
- You must be 18 years of age or older,
- You must live in the home within 9 months of purchasing it,
- You cannot have owned a home before, and
- If you have a spouse, they cannot have owned a home during the time they have been your spouse.
First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit – Save up to $750
The FTHB Tax Credit offers a $5,000 non-refundable income tax credit amount on a qualifying home acquired after January 27, 2009. For an eligible individual, the credit will provide up to $750 in federal tax relief.Jun 17, 2019
Does the HBTC affect A FTHB eligibility for the Home Buyers’ Plan?
Luckily, it doesn’t! The First-Time Buyers’ Tax Credit and Home Buyers’ Plan aren’t mutually exclusive programs. You’re eligible to claim and benefit from both.