Ontario adds a new retail-sales-tax rebate program for residential property purchases, capped at $50,000

Plain-language summary · AI-assisted · not legal advice

The Act now includes a new rebate stream (section 51.2) that lets the Minister create regulations providing credits or payments to buyers in respect of the federal component of HST paid on residential property. Each rebate is capped at $50,000 per transaction, and any eligibility condition tied to a purchase-and-sale agreement date cannot extend beyond March 31, 2027. Rebates may be paid directly by the province, credited by a supplier on behalf of Ontario, or assigned by the recipient to another person—though the assignor and assignee become jointly and severally liable if the rebate was received without entitlement. Enforcement rules that previously applied only to First Nations rebates (assessments, penalties for false reporting, and fraud offences) now apply equally to this residential-property rebate program. A companion interpretation section (51.0.1) and general rules section (51.3) consolidate shared definitions and repayment obligations across both rebate streams.

Who this affects: home buyers purchasing new residential property · residential property vendors and builders acting as suppliers · persons who receive or are assigned a residential property rebate · suppliers who report rebate credits to tax authorities