GST on New Homes in BC: What You Pay at Every Price, and Who Gets It Back

On a new $1 million condo in BC, the GST is $50,000. A buyer who qualifies for the federal first-time home buyers' rebate gets all of it back. At $1.25 million the same buyer still pays $37,500, and at $1.5 million the full $75,000. A typical resale home carries no GST at all.

So the question with a presale or a brand-new townhouse isn't really "is there GST?" There is: 5%, on the whole price, due at completion. The question is which rebate you qualify for, whether your contract date and your own housing history line up with the rules, and whether the price lands under or inside the $1 million to $1.5 million phase-out. Get those wrong and the difference is tens of thousands of dollars of cash at closing.

Below is what GST actually costs at real Greater Vancouver price points, who qualifies for what, how it stacks with BC's property transfer tax (PTT) exemption for new homes, and the presale timing traps I'd check before signing anything.

Source: Excise Tax Act s.165, s.254(2) and s.254(2.1); CRA; Government of B.C., newly built home exemption.

What GST costs on a new BC home, by price

GST on a new home is 5% of the price. BC dropped the HST in 2013, so there is no 7% provincial portion on top the way Ontario buyers pay 13%. The tax applies to new and "substantially renovated" homes bought from a builder, and to presale condos and townhouses when they complete. A resale condo sold by an owner who isn't its builder is normally exempt.

Two federal rebates can bring the bill down. The old GST new housing rebate (36% of the GST, capped at $6,300) is fully gone at $450,000, which in Greater Vancouver means it applies to almost nothing new. The one that matters is the first-time home buyers' (FTHB) GST rebate, law since March 12, 2026.

Source: Excise Tax Act s.165, s.254(2) and s.254(2.1); CRA. The general new housing rebate is $0 at every price shown (it ends at $450,000). Assumes the buyer meets every first-time rebate condition.

Up to $1 million, a qualifying first-time buyer pays no GST. That covers a typical Metro Vancouver apartment: GVR's September 2026 benchmark was $682,500, which on a new unit would mean $34,125 of GST, all of it rebated. A buyer who doesn't qualify pays every dollar of it.

The $1 million to $1.5 million zone

• GST charged (5%)
• GST after first-time rebate

$0$25K$50K$75K$100K

$80K$80K

$400k$800k$1.2M$1.6M

Source: Excise Tax Act s.165, s.254(2) and s.254(2.1); CRA

Show the numbers

	GST charged (5%)	GST after first-time rebate
$400k	$20K	$0
$500k	$25K	$0
$600k	$30K	$0
$700k	$35K	$0
$800k	$40K	$0
$900k	$45K	$0
$1M	$50K	$0
$1.1M	$55K	$15K
$1.2M	$60K	$30K
$1.3M	$65K	$45K
$1.4M	$70K	$60K
$1.5M	$75K	$75K
$1.6M	$80K	$80K

Between $1 million and $1.5 million the rebate shrinks in a straight line, from $50,000 to zero. The law's formula is $50,000 × ($1,500,000 − price) ÷ $500,000. At $1.1 million you get $40,000 back, at $1.25 million $25,000, at $1.4 million $10,000.

Here's the part people miss. Inside that band, every extra $1,000 of price costs a first-time buyer $150 more in GST: $50 of new tax plus $100 of rebate you lose. That's a 15% marginal tax on each dollar of price. A $40,000 upgrade package or parking stall that pushes a $1.02 million townhouse to $1.06 million doesn't cost $42,000 with GST. It costs $46,000, because the GST you owe rises from $3,000 to $9,000. (That's a hypothetical; whether builder extras count in the price depends on how your contract and the CRA treat them, so ask before you sign.)

Who qualifies for which break

Four different programs touch a new-home purchase in BC, and each defines "first-time" differently, or doesn't care at all. This is where most of the confusion comes from.

Source: Excise Tax Act s.123(1), s.254(2), s.254(2.1), s.263.3; CRA; B.C. newly built home exemption; B.C. first time home buyers' exemption; current amounts.

Three things in that table cost people money.

The federal "first-time" test is looser than BC's. If you owned a condo in 2019, sold it, and have rented since, you can't get BC's first-time PTT exemption (you've owned a principal residence before), but you may well qualify for the federal GST rebate, because the look-back is only the current year plus four. The same applies to someone who owned a home overseas years ago.

The test is applied on completion day, not signing day. The law asks if you are a first-time buyer at the moment ownership transfers to you. Sign a presale in 2026 as a renter, then buy and move into a resale condo in 2027 while you wait, and when the presale completes in 2029 you've lived in a home you own within the look-back window. The rebate is gone. The same goes for moving into a home your spouse or common-law partner owns.

The BC new-home PTT exemption has no first-time requirement at all. You need to be a citizen or permanent resident buying a never-occupied home to live in. A move-up buyer selling a townhouse in Coquitlam to buy a new $1 million condo pays no PTT. You can't claim both BC exemptions on one purchase, but on a new home under $1.1 million the newly built exemption is the bigger one anyway. My BC property transfer tax breakdown has the full PTT rules and the phase-out math.

GST plus PTT: the full tax bill on a new home

Here is what the two taxes add up to on a new home, for three buyers: a first-time buyer who meets every rule, a repeat buyer who will live in the home, and an investor buying to rent it out. All three are hypothetical, and all of them assume a citizen or permanent resident buying a home on a lot under half a hectare.

Source: Excise Tax Act s.165, s.254(2) and s.254(2.1); CRA; B.C. property transfer tax rates; B.C. newly built home exemption amounts. PTT at the general rates; no foreign-buyer tax. The general GST new housing rebate is $0 at all prices shown.

$0$20K$40K$60K

$0

$38K

$51K

First-time buyerRepeat buyerInvestor

Source: Excise Tax Act s.165, s.254(2) and s.254(2.1); CRA; B.C. newly built home exemption

Show the numbers

	GST + PTT
First-time buyer	$0
Repeat buyer	$38K
Investor	$51K

On a $750,000 new condo, the first-time buyer pays $0 in GST and PTT combined. The repeat buyer pays $37,500, all of it GST. The investor pays $50,500. Same unit, same day, a $50,500 spread.

Compare that with a resale condo at the same $750,000: no GST for anyone. A first-time buyer who qualifies for BC's first-time exemption pays $5,000 of PTT, and everyone else pays $13,000. So for a repeat buyer, the new unit carries $24,500 more tax than the resale one next door; for a first-time buyer, the new unit carries $5,000 less. That flip is a big part of why I'd run the numbers both ways in my presale vs resale comparison before choosing.

Above $1.15 million, the BC exemption is gone, and above $1.5 million so is the GST rebate. At $1.5 million every buyer pays the same $103,000.

Where real Greater Vancouver listings land

To see where buyers actually sit relative to the $1 million line, I used EstateBlock's live listing data from October 15, 2026. These are asking prices of active listings, not sale prices, and they mix resale with new, so treat them as reference points for what a new home in each city might list at, not as what new homes sell for.

Vancouver$60KNorth Vancouver$45KCoquitlam$11KRichmond$8,318Burnaby$0Langley$0Surrey$0

Source: EstateBlock.com live listings, snapshot Oct 15, 2026 (asking prices of active listings, new and resale, not sale prices); GST and rebate calculated under the Excise Tax Act

Show the numbers

City	GST after rebate
Vancouver	$60K
North Vancouver	$45K
Coquitlam	$11K
Richmond	$8,318
Burnaby	$0
Langley	$0
Surrey	$0

Source: EstateBlock.com live listings, snapshot Oct 15, 2026 (asking prices of active listings, new and resale, not sale prices); GST and rebate calculated under the Excise Tax Act.

The pattern is clear. In every one of these seven cities the median condo asking price is under $1 million (Vancouver's is $798,985), so a qualifying first-time buyer of a new condo at those levels pays no GST. Townhouses split. In Surrey, Langley and Burnaby the median asking price sits under the line. In Richmond and Coquitlam it sits just over, where the rebate still covers most of the GST. In North Vancouver and the City of Vancouver, at $1,298,000 and $1,399,900, a first-time buyer would still owe $44,700 and $59,985. Detached houses in these seven cities, with median asking prices from $1,600,000 in Surrey up, are past the rebate entirely.

For context on sale prices rather than asking prices: GVR's September 2026 MLS® HPI benchmark for a Metro Vancouver townhouse was $1,016,700, just above the $1 million line. On a new townhouse at that price a first-time buyer would owe $2,505 of GST. You can browse current townhouse listings on EstateBlock.

Presale and assignment traps

Presales are where GST gets messy, because years can pass between signing and completion and the rules look at different dates.

1. Your contract date decides everything

The first-time rebate only applies to a purchase agreement with the builder signed after March 19, 2025 and before 2031. The federal government first announced a May 27, 2025 start date; the law that passed uses March 20, 2025, so that's the one that counts. Presales take years to build, so many of the ones completing in 2026 and 2027 were signed before that date. If you signed yours in 2023, you don't get the rebate, even if you're a first-time buyer and close in 2027.

Tearing up an old contract and re-signing doesn't fix it. The law treats a cancelled pre-March 20, 2025 agreement that's replaced with the same builder, a related builder, or another builder of the same home as if it were still the old one, unless there's a genuine reason for the new deal other than getting the rebate.

2. Buying an assignment of an old contract gets you no rebate

If you take over someone else's presale contract and that original agreement was signed before March 20, 2025, the law deems your deal to be a pre-March 20, 2025 agreement. No first-time GST rebate, no matter who you are. Any presale that's completing now and was sold before March 2025 falls into this group, so check the original agreement date before you price an offer.

The flip side: a completed, never-occupied unit that a developer still has unsold, bought directly from the developer on a new agreement today, should meet the date rules, since the agreement is new and construction started before 2031. You'd still need to be its first occupant, so a unit the developer has rented out doesn't work. Confirm it with the developer's lawyer and your own before you count on the rebate.

3. GST is charged on the assignment price too

Since May 7, 2022, every assignment of a new-home contract is taxable. The person selling the assignment charges GST on what you pay them. The law lets you exclude the part that just reimburses their deposit, but only if the assignment agreement says so in writing. Leave that line out and GST applies to the whole amount, deposit included. Developer assignment fees are generally taxable as well.

That assignment price also counts toward the $1 million and $1.5 million thresholds, because the rebate test adds what you pay the builder and the taxable amount you pay for the assignment. Say you take over a $980,000 contract and pay a $40,000 premium on top of the deposit refund, with the refund spelled out in writing. Your total for the rebate test is $1,020,000, not $980,000, so you're already in the phase-out and would owe $3,000 of GST even as a first-time buyer on a post-March 2025 contract. Without the written deposit line, the deposit portion is taxed and counted too. On BC's side, PTT on a pre-sold strata unit is also based on everything you paid, including upgrades and any assignment premium. And if you're the one assigning a contract you've held for less than 730 days, the BC home flipping tax can apply to the profit (my flipping tax explainer has the details).

4. GST is due at completion, not with your deposits

GST on a new home is payable when ownership or possession transfers to you, which for a typical presale is completion day. Your deposits don't carry GST. That's why the GST question is easy to forget: you sign at one price, put down deposits over two or three years, and the tax shows up on the statement of adjustments at the end.

What to check in your contract, and how to claim

Source: CRA, FTHB rebate: home purchased from a builder; CRA tax tip, March 2026; Excise Tax Act s.192.1, s.254(3), s.263.4; B.C. newly built home exemption.

The "GST included" clause deserves the most attention. Contracts differ, so I won't generalize about how builders handle it. What matters is that you know, in dollars, whether the rebate ends up with you or with the builder, before your 7-day rescission period on a presale runs out. My presale buying guide covers the rest of the contract.

If you already closed on a qualifying home before the law passed on March 12, 2026 and the builder only claimed the old rebate, CRA says you can still file your own first-time rebate application, inside the same 2-year window from the day ownership transferred.

And for the cash plan: if the builder won't credit the rebate at closing, you need the full GST in hand on completion day and you get it back from CRA later. Run your number through the closing cost calculator and the PTT calculator, and see my closing costs breakdown for everything else due that day. After you move in, the yearly bill is property tax, which I've broken down line by line in Vancouver property tax in 2026.

Is anything changing?

Ontario got a different deal. It announced HST relief on new homes for all eligible buyers, not just first-timers, jointly with Ottawa, for agreements signed from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027. Its 2026 budget says it is working with the federal government to match the provincial relief, and the federal 5% portion depends on federal legislation passing. That is Ontario only.

BC has nothing similar as of October 15, 2026. On October 15, the Urban Development Institute, the BC Non-Profit Housing Association, the Aboriginal Housing Management Association and the Co-operative Housing Federation of BC asked whoever forms the next provincial government to secure federal GST relief on new homes for all buyers. BC votes on October 24, 2026. I'm not going to guess what any party will do. If the rules change, I'll update this post.

My read

For a first-time buyer, a new condo under $1 million is hard to beat on tax: no GST and no PTT, as long as the contract is dated after March 19, 2025 and you stay a first-time buyer until completion. On a $750,000 unit that's $50,500 an investor would pay and you don't.

For everyone else, I'd treat the 5% as part of the price. A repeat buyer comparing a new $900,000 condo with a resale one at the same price is comparing $45,000 of GST against $16,000 of PTT. The new one has to be worth that gap to you.

Between $1 million and $1.5 million, I'd negotiate on price before upgrades. Every $1,000 you take off saves a first-time buyer $150 in GST, so a discount is worth more than the same dollars in finishes. And if you're looking at an assignment, I'd ask for the original contract date before anything else. If it's before March 20, 2025, I'd price the offer as if the GST is fully payable, because it is.

FAQ

Do you pay GST on new homes in BC?

Yes. New and substantially renovated homes bought from a builder carry 5% GST on the price, due when ownership or possession transfers (usually completion). BC has no provincial sales tax portion on new homes. Resale homes are generally exempt.

How much is the first-time home buyer GST rebate in BC?

Up to $50,000: all of the GST on a new home priced up to $1 million. Between $1 million and $1.5 million it shrinks in a straight line ($25,000 at $1.25 million), and at $1.5 million or more there is none.

Who counts as a first-time buyer for the GST rebate?

You must be 18 or older, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and not have lived in a home that you or your current spouse or common-law partner owned in the current year or the previous four calendar years. It is tested on the day ownership transfers to you, and it can be claimed once in a lifetime.

Does the GST rebate apply to presale assignments?

Only if the original purchase agreement with the builder was signed after March 19, 2025. An assignment of an older contract is treated as a pre-March 20, 2025 agreement, so there is no first-time rebate. The assignment price itself is also subject to GST, and it counts toward the $1 million and $1.5 million thresholds.

Can I get the GST rebate and the BC new-home PTT exemption together?

Yes. One is a federal GST rebate and the other is a BC property transfer tax exemption. A qualifying first-time buyer of a new home under $1 million can pay neither GST nor PTT. You can't combine BC's two PTT exemptions on one purchase.

Sources

1. Excise Tax Act (consolidated): s.123(1), s.165, s.168(5), s.192.1, s.254, s.263.3, s.263.4, Schedule VIII
2. CRA: First-time home buyers' (FTHB) GST/HST rebate
3. CRA: FTHB rebate, what you can get
4. CRA: FTHB rebate, who can apply
5. CRA: FTHB rebate, home purchased from a builder (modified Oct 5, 2026)
6. CRA tax tip: the FTHB GST/HST rebate is available now (March 2026)
7. CRA Guide RC4028: GST/HST New Housing Rebate
8. CRA GST/HST Info Sheet GI-120: Assignment of a purchase and sale agreement for a new house or condo
9. Finance Canada: GST relief for first-time home buyers on new homes up to $1.5 million (May 27, 2025)
10. Government of B.C.: Property transfer tax
11. Government of B.C.: Newly built home exemption
12. Government of B.C.: Newly built home exemption amounts
13. Government of B.C.: First time home buyers' exemption
14. Government of B.C.: First time home buyers' exemption, current amounts
15. Government of B.C.: Pre-sold strata units
16. Property Transfer Tax Act (B.C.)
17. Greater Vancouver Realtors: September 2026 stats package
18. Ontario 2026 Budget: Chapter 1, Section B (HST relief on new homes)
19. CP24: All Ontario buyers will be eligible for HST rebate on new homes for one year (Mar 25, 2026)
20. Government of B.C.: BC home flipping tax
21. Daily Hive: B.C. developers and housing non-profits unite in election push (Oct 15, 2026)
22. Elections BC: 2026 provincial general election
23. EstateBlock.com: live listings (snapshot Oct 15, 2026; asking prices of active listings)