BUILDERS · REALTORS · LAWYERS

Your clients are asking about $130,000. We can answer them.

Ontario’s rebate ceiling moved from $24,000 to $130,000 in a single year, and the rules changed three times. Every buyer has heard a number. Most of the numbers circulating are wrong.

You don’t need to become an expert in the Excise Tax Act. You need somewhere to send the question.

2,500 claims filed · $65 million recovered · 15+ years in Excise Tax · Never a percentage of your rebate.

The problem you're running into

If you build. You now have to decide, on every sale, whether to credit the enhanced rebate at closing. Credit it and you carry the cost until the CRA reimburses you — which, with a program this new, is not a short wait. Decline to credit and you’re having an awkward conversation with a buyer about a six-figure sum.

If you sell. Every client with a pre-construction agreement wants to know what they’re getting back. The honest answer depends on their signing date, their ownership history, and which of three overlapping programs applies. That’s not a question you should have to answer, and it’s not one to guess at.

If you close files. Rebates that weren’t credited, buyers who didn’t know they qualified, and clients arriving with a denial letter and ninety days on the clock.

Crediting a rebate is a decision with consequences

If they didn’t qualify, the liability can reach you. Where a rebate is credited to a purchaser who wasn’t entitled, the purchaser has to repay it — and where the builder knew, or ought to have known, that they weren’t entitled, builder and purchaser are jointly and severally liable.

“Ought to have known” is the problem. The first-time buyer programs turn on a four-calendar-year ownership lookback that includes the purchaser’s spouse, measured on the date ownership transfers. You have no way to verify any of that. You’re relying on a declaration signed by the person who benefits from the answer, and then carrying a share of the risk that it was wrong.

CRA guidance is explicit that where a builder pays or credits the rebate, both parties should review the eligibility criteria. That’s a review you’re not equipped to perform.

That reframes it from “you might be liable” to “you’re being asked to certify something you can’t check.” Considerably more persuasive to someone deciding whether to credit.

When you credit the enhanced rebate, the two portions come back to you by different routes. The 8% is deducted on your GST/HST return. The 5% ONHAP cannot be — you remit it to the CRA and recover it separately from Ontario, after the purchaser’s eligibility has been assessed.

That gap can run to several months, and it is contingent on a purchaser meeting conditions you have no way to verify.

If you’re drafting or amending agreements around who carries the HST at closing, the wording matters. Worth a conversation before the template goes out, not after.

What we handle

Enhanced rebate claims - the $130,000 program, open to all buyers, closing March 31, 2027
First-time buyer claims, including the ownership test that catches people out
Retroactive claims for buyers who closed before Royal Assent and couldn't be credited
Rental property rebates - per unit, and never creditable by a builder
Owner-built and substantial renovation claims
Denied claims - Notices of Objection, including on applications we didn't file
Assignment purchases, where the dates on both agreements govern

How a referral works

Send them to us, or send us their question. Either. If it’s a quick eligibility question you want answered before you go back to your client, ask us directly — there’s no charge for that and no expectation attached.
We assess for free, and we’re honest about it. If there’s no claim, we say so. You will not look bad for having made the introduction.
The relationship stays yours. We handle the rebate. We don’t market other services to your clients and we don’t insert ourselves into your transaction.
You hear back. If you want to know how it landed, ask. We’d rather you know the outcome than wonder.

Why this is worth having a specialist for

The Excise Tax Act is the whole of this firm’s practice. Not a service line inside a general accounting business — the practice.

That matters right now specifically. The Act was amended twice this year. Ontario introduced a temporary rebate that changes the maximum by more than $100,000. The CRA’s own administration took months to catch up with the legislation, and is still settling.

In that environment, the gap between someone who reads this material weekly and someone who encounters it occasionally is measured in five figures per file.

2,500 claims filed. $65 million recovered.

See the results →

Common questions

Do you pay referral fees?

No. Your client gets a specialist, and the relationship stays yours. We’d rather the referral rest on whether we do the work well.

Will you market other services to my clients?

No. We do GST/HST housing rebates and nothing else, so there’s nothing to cross-sell.

Can I ask a quick question without referring anyone?

Yes, and people do. If a client’s asked you something and you’d rather check before answering, call. No charge and no expectation.

What does it cost my client?

A flat professional fee rather than a percentage of their rebate, quoted before they commit and charged when we file. The initial assessment is free.

What if I've told a client the wrong number?

It happens constantly — a lot of what’s circulating is wrong, including from sources that should know better. Send them to us and we’ll give them the correct figure. Better they hear it now than after closing.

Do you work with builders directly, or only their buyers?

Both. Some builders refer buyers to us. Others ask us to look at how their agreements handle the HST before the template goes out.

Worth a conversation

Whether that’s a referral, a question, or a look at how your agreements are worded.

This page describes GST/HST housing rebate programs in general terms as of September 2026 and is not tax or legal advice. Builders should obtain their own advice on obligations and liabilities arising from crediting rebates at closing.

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