Ontario First Time Home Buyers Program 2024 / 2025
Do you meet the requirements below? If so, then homeownership may be closer than you think!
As a first-time home buyer, you’ll want to be familiar with various programs that Ontario offers that may apply to your situation. Whether it’s a rebate you may qualify for, a tax-efficient way of funding your down payment, or the minimum you must put down for your home purchase, there’s information you need to know to navigate the buying process and potentially save yourself some money along the way.
Buying a home is often one of the biggest financial investment decisions one will make in his/her lifetime. The First-Time Home Buyer Incentive can help you purchase your first home. This incentive aims to help first-time home buyers without adding to their financial burdens. There are no additional monthly payments. Participants must meet minimum insured mortgage down payment requirements.
What benefits do first-time home buyers get in Ontario?
In Ontario, the First Time Home Buyers incentive, courtesy of the 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.
Here’s an example.
Sharon wants to buy a new home for $400,000.
Under the Ontario First-Time Home Buyer Incentive, Sharon can apply to receive $40,000 in a shared equity mortgage (10% of the cost of a new home) from the Government of Canada. This lowers the amount she needs to borrow and reduces her monthly expenses.
As a result, Sharon’s mortgage is $228 less a month or $2,736 a year.