Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
There’s no separate Ontario first time home buyer tax credit that we could find. The help you get in Ontario is a federal credit on your tax return, worth about $1,400 on our 2026 figures, plus a land transfer tax refund of up to $4,000 at closing. On a $700,000 home in Ontario, outside Toronto, that refund cuts the land transfer tax bill from $10,475 to $6,475.
What is the federal home buyers’ amount?
This is the credit that most people mean. The CRA page for line 31270 says that for 2025 you can claim up to $10,000, and it’s a non-refundable credit. That means it lowers the tax you owe and won’t create a refund by itself.
You qualify if you or your spouse or partner bought a qualifying home registered in Canada in your name, and you’re a first-time buyer, meaning you didn’t own another home in the year of purchase or the four years before. Houses, condos, townhouses, mobile homes and co-op shares all count. You also have to plan to live there as your main home within a year.
Two buyers can split the $10,000 between them. The total can’t go over the limit.
A person with a disability can claim even if it isn’t a first purchase, when the new place is more accessible or better suited.
| Help | Amount | Where you get it |
|---|---|---|
| Home buyers’ amount | $10,000 claimed, about $1,400 of credit at the 2026 rate | Your federal return, line 31270 |
| Ontario land transfer tax refund | Up to $4,000 | At closing, through your lawyer |
| Toronto municipal rebate | Up to $4,475, as the city page stood in December 2025 | At closing, on Toronto purchases |
What is the credit really worth?
The credit is 14% of the amount for 2026 in our data, so $10,000 gives $1,400. The 2026 amount isn’t on a CRA page we could check, so look at line 31270 before you file. For 2025 the CRA figure is $10,000.
Put it through the tax credits calculator with $70,000 of employment income in Ontario. Tick the box for buying a first home, and the federal credit used is $1,400. Tax drops from $9,651 to $8,251 on that run, with the RRSP and other deductions left at their defaults.
Now try $15,000 of income. The calculator shows no benefit, because a credit can’t take your federal tax below zero. If you’re in that spot, your partner may be the better person to claim it. A couple where one earns $15,000 and the other $70,000 should put the whole $10,000 on the higher earner’s return, or split it however works best, as long as the total stays at $10,000.
How much is the Ontario land transfer tax refund?
Ontario’s first-time buyer refund is up to $4,000, which covers the tax on the first $368,000. It’s the bigger cash saving for most buyers, and it comes at closing, not a year later.
The land transfer tax calculator shows it. On a $700,000 home elsewhere in Ontario the tax is $10,475, the refund is $4,000 and you pay $6,475. In Toronto the same price carries a city tax of $10,475 as well. With the first-time rebates applied, the calculator shows $12,475 due in total. The Toronto rebate figure is the one the city page showed in December 2025. A council item proposed a bigger rebate from March 2026, and the outcome wasn’t confirmed when we checked, so ask your lawyer.
The Ontario scale above $2 million, and Toronto’s scale, apply to one- and two-family homes only.
Who qualifies for the Ontario refund, and how long do you have?
Ontario’s page sets out the conditions. You have to be at least 18 and never have owned an eligible home anywhere in the world, and you can ask for the refund within 18 months of the transfer. The government’s wording on moving in is blunt.
The purchaser must occupy the home as their principal residence within nine months of the date of transfer.
Land transfer tax refunds for first-time homebuyers, Ontario.ca, ontario.ca
Tell your lawyer early that you’re a first-time buyer, so the refund is claimed on the closing statement and you don’t have to chase it afterwards.
What to watch out for
Don’t count on the credit to fund the down payment. It lands at tax time, well after the keys are in your hand, and a ballpark of $1,400 won’t cover a deposit anyway. For savings toward the purchase, the FHSA calculator shows your room, and money taken out to buy a first home is tax free under the account’s rules.
The closing costs calculator puts land transfer tax, legal fees and the rest in one total, so you can see the cash you need on day one. The mortgage calculator covers the monthly side.
What we haven’t pinned down: any separate Ontario credit, the Toronto rebate outcome for 2026, and the federal amount for 2026.
Where this information comes from
The home buyers’ amount conditions come from the Canada Revenue Agency‘s page for line 31270. The Ontario refund and brackets come from the Ontario government’s land transfer tax pages and the City of Toronto’s rebate page, checked on 29 September 2026. No government body has reviewed or endorsed what you read here.
Frequently asked questions
Does Ontario have its own first-time home buyer tax credit?
We found none. The help comes from the federal home buyers' amount on your return and the Ontario land transfer tax refund at closing.
How much is the federal home buyers' amount?
The CRA says you can claim up to $10,000 for 2025. At the 2026 credit rate of 14% that is about $1,400, but we couldn't confirm the 2026 amount on a CRA page.
How much is the Ontario land transfer tax refund?
Up to $4,000 for eligible first-time buyers.
Can two buyers both claim the credit?
They can split the $10,000 between them, as long as the total doesn't pass the limit.
Will I get money back if I owe no tax?
No. The home buyers' amount is non-refundable, so it only reduces tax you owe.
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