Every First-Time Buyer Program in BC, and How They Stack on One Purchase

Buyers ask which first-time buyer program is the best one to use. Most of them run at the same time, on the same purchase.

Six programs apply in British Columbia. Two help you save the down payment, two give money back at tax time, and two cut a tax you pay on the day the sale completes. One pair forces a choice between them, and three of them define "first-time buyer" differently.

The two savings programs

First Home Savings Account (FHSA). Contribution room starts at $8,000 a year, with a lifetime deduction limit of $40,000.

This account does two things that no other account does at once. Your contributions are deductible against your income, the way an RRSP contribution is. Qualifying withdrawals to buy a home come out tax free, the way a TFSA withdrawal does.

The account has a life span. Your participation period ends on December 31 of the year that brings the first of these: the fifteenth anniversary of opening your first FHSA, or the year you turn 71. After that you close the account or move the balance to an RRSP.

Home Buyers' Plan (HBP). You borrow from your own RRSP, up to $60,000 per person for withdrawals made after April 16, 2024.

You repay it into the RRSP over 15 years. Miss a yearly repayment and the CRA adds that amount to your taxable income for the year.

Repayment normally begins in the second year after the withdrawal. For a first withdrawal made between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2025, the start is pushed to the fifth year following the year of that withdrawal. The CRA has extended the same five-year deferral to first withdrawals made between January 1, 2026 and December 31, 2028.

Two people buying together can each use both programs on their own accounts.

The two tax-time credits

First-Time Home Buyers' Tax Credit. You claim a $10,000 amount on line 31270 of your federal return, which produces a non-refundable credit worth up to $1,500.

Non-refundable means it lowers tax you owe. If you owe nothing, it pays nothing. Couples can split the claim as long as the total amount stays at $10,000.

GST rebates on new construction. New homes and presales carry 5% federal GST, which resale homes do not. There is a long-standing GST New Housing Rebate, and a newer First-Time Home Buyers' GST rebate with much higher price thresholds. Our post on GST on new construction homes in BC sets out how each one works and which presale prices they reach.

The two BC property transfer tax exemptions

Property transfer tax is paid on closing day, by the buyer, calculated on the fair market value of the property.

First Time Home Buyers' Program. The exemption applies to the first $500,000 of value. You get the full exemption at a fair market value of $835,000 or less, a partial exemption that phases out by $860,000, and nothing above that.

Eligibility is stricter than the federal programs:

• You must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
• You must have lived in BC for at least one year immediately before registration, or have filed at least two income tax returns as a BC resident in the last six taxation years.
• You must never have owned a principal residence anywhere in the world.
• You must not have received this exemption before.
• The property must be 0.5 hectares or smaller.

Our full walkthrough is in the BC property transfer tax first-time buyer exemption.

Newly Built Home Exemption. A separate exemption for newly built homes, with its own threshold at a higher price point and its own phase-out band above it. Being a first-time buyer is not a condition, so a repeat buyer can use it.

Confirm both sets of thresholds on the gov.bc.ca property transfer tax exemptions pages before you rely on them in an offer. The province has changed these numbers more than once, and the figure in a mortgage broker's spreadsheet from last year may be out of date.

Which ones stack, and which one forces a choice

The FHSA, the Home Buyers' Plan, the federal credit, and one property transfer tax exemption all run on a single purchase. Add the GST rebate if you are buying new.

The two property transfer tax exemptions are alternatives. A new home bought by a first-time buyer can qualify for both, and you use the one worth more. On a new home priced above $860,000 the first-time buyer exemption gives you nothing while the newly built home exemption may still cover the whole tax, so the choice is usually clear once you have both numbers.

Three different definitions of "first-time buyer"

This is where buyers get caught.

Federal savings programs. The FHSA and the Home Buyers' Plan look at whether you owned a home you lived in during the current calendar year and the four calendar years before it. Own nothing in that window and you qualify again, even if you owned a home ten years ago.

BC property transfer tax. You must never have owned a principal residence anywhere in the world. Not in BC, anywhere. A condo owned in another country at 25 disqualifies you at 45.

The GST rebate for first-time buyers. A third test, with its own conditions including an age minimum and a purchase agreement date window.

A buyer can pass the federal savings test, take $60,000 out of an RRSP, and still owe the full property transfer tax on closing day. Find out which side of each line you sit on before you build a budget, because property transfer tax on a Metro Vancouver purchase is cash you need at closing. Our closing costs guide for BC buyers covers where it lands among the rest of the money due that day.

The occupancy rules on the BC exemptions

Both property transfer tax exemptions carry the same two conditions.

Move in within 92 days of the date the property is registered at the Land Title Office. Registration is the legal transfer, which is usually the completion date.

Stay until the first anniversary of that registration date, as your principal residence.

Move out early and you repay a portion of the exemption. The province checks this after the fact, so a buyer who planned to rent the place out for the first six months has a problem that surfaces later.

The timing problem with the FHSA

The FHSA is the only program on this list where waiting costs you room.

Your participation room starts the year you open your first account. It does not accrue before that. A buyer who opened one in 2023 with $100 in it has been collecting $8,000 of room every year since. A buyer who opens one the month they start house hunting has $8,000 of room and no time to fill it.

Open the account as soon as you think buying is possible, even with a small deposit. The room accumulates whether you fund it or not, once the account exists.

The order to do things in

Years before you buy. Open an FHSA. Put something in it, even a token amount, to start the room. Contribute in the years you have income to shelter, and claim the deduction each year.

Ninety days before you withdraw. If you plan to use the Home Buyers' Plan, any RRSP contribution you intend to withdraw must generally sit in the account for at least 90 days first. A contribution made and withdrawn in the same week can be denied the deduction.

Before you write an offer. Confirm your property transfer tax position. Run your fair market value against the current thresholds on gov.bc.ca and work out which of the two exemptions applies, or that neither does. That number goes in your cash-to-close figure alongside your down payment. Run your borrowing capacity too, because the mortgage stress test qualifies you at a higher rate than the one you will pay.

At completion. Your lawyer or notary files the property transfer tax return and claims the exemption. Tell them before closing which exemption you are claiming, rather than assuming they will spot it.

Within 92 days of registration. Move in, and stay for the year.

On the tax return for the year you buy. Claim the $10,000 home buyers' amount on line 31270.

What this comes down to

• The FHSA gives $8,000 of room a year to $40,000, deductible going in and tax free coming out.
• The Home Buyers' Plan allows $60,000 per person, repaid over 15 years.
• The federal credit is a $10,000 amount worth up to $1,500.
• The BC first-time buyer exemption covers the first $500,000 of value, in full to $835,000 and phasing out by $860,000.
• The newly built home exemption is an alternative to it, never an addition.
• "First-time buyer" means different things federally and provincially, and the BC test is the hard one.
• Both BC exemptions need you moved in within 92 days and living there for a year.
• Open the FHSA early, because the room starts when the account does.
• Contact our team to work out which programs apply to your purchase, or browse listings against the thresholds.

Plan your next step

Work through search preparation so your budget includes property transfer tax rather than discovering it at closing. The home-buying guide covers the rest of the sequence from first offer to possession.