Ontario is moving to take a bigger swing at real estate affordability– this time by ditching the HST on brand-new homes for a broader swimming pool of buyers.As part of its 2026 Spending plan, the Government of Ontario states it will get rid of the complete 13%Harmonized Sales Tax for eligible buyers of brand-new homes priced as much as$ 1 million, equating to an optimum refund of $130,000. That max refund would also extend to homes valued approximately $1.5 million, before phasing down on a sliding scale to $24,000 for homes priced at $1.85 million and above.The relocation builds
on previous changes aimed at newbie buyers, however significantly expands the scope– both in terms of who qualifies and the cost points covered.The province states the Government of Canada has agreed to cost-share the program, pending legislation, covering the 5 per cent federal portion of the HST. In overall, the 2 levels of federal government estimate the step will deliver almost $2.2 billion in housing-related tax relief.For Premier Doug Ford, the announcement lands against a backdrop of financial uncertainty, including tariffs and continuous international pressures. The province is positioning the refund as both a price procedure and an economic lever, approximating it might help stimulate 8,000 additional housing starts, support approximately 21,000 tasks, and add roughly $2.7 billion to Ontario’s GDP.The improved refund is created as a temporary procedure, set to run from April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027, through a growth of Ontario’s existing brand-new housing rebate programs. Eligibility rules won’t change– buyers still need to be purchasing a home for usage as a primary residence or as a rental residential or commercial property– but the scale of the rebate will.Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy framed the move as a response to persistently high costs, especially for major purchases like housing, while Real estate Minister Rob
Flack indicated the need to accelerate building and construction and get more homes built.The statement also expands on measures introduced last fall targeting first-time purchasers, including lining up the provincial rebate’s timing with the federal government’s proposed March 20, 2025 eligibility date.It’s one
piece of a wider real estate push from the province, which also consists of eliminating the provincial portion of the HST on qualifying purpose-built rental real estate and continuing to present facilities financing through programs like the Local Housing Infrastructure Program and the Structure Faster Fund.More details are anticipated when the province tables its 2026 Budget on March 26.