Canadian Home Buyer Eligibility in 2026: Which Programs Could Apply to You?

Want to compare what each option actually offers?

🏠 See the 5 Programs →
2026 eligibility guide

Canadian home-buying programs use different eligibility tests. Your age, Canadian residency, previous home ownership, spouse or common-law partner, property type and intended use of the home can all affect which options are available.

5 Programs to check

There is no single eligibility test that covers all five federal options. A person may qualify for one program and not another, even when both are described as programs for first-time buyers.

✓ Core requirement ! Depends on circumstances i Program-specific rule

Start with these five questions

Quick home buyer screen
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Are you a resident of Canada?
Residency is especially important for the FHSA and Home Buyers’ Plan.
Important
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Have you lived in a home owned by you recently?
Several programs use a current-year plus previous-four-calendar-year test.
Check history
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Does your spouse or common-law partner own your home?
Their ownership can affect some first-time buyer tests.
May matter
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Are you buying a resale home or new housing?
The GST/HST rebates mainly concern new or substantially renovated housing.
Key distinction
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Will the property be your primary residence?
Principal-residence intentions are central to several of these programs.
Important
1
Savings account eligibility First Home Savings Account (FHSA)
First-time buyer

The first question is whether you can open an FHSA. The CRA requires you to be a qualifying individual when the account is opened.

✓
You must be a resident of Canada.
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You must meet the applicable age rules. Generally you must be at least 18 and legally able to open the account in your province or territory. In some jurisdictions, that age is 19.
✓
You must be 71 or younger on December 31 of the year you open the FHSA.
✓
You must satisfy the FHSA first-time home buyer test.
For opening an FHSA: generally, you must not have lived in a qualifying home that you owned or jointly owned as your principal residence in the current calendar year or previous four calendar years. A home owned by your spouse or common-law partner in which you lived can also affect this test.

Opening an FHSA and withdrawing from it use different tests

This is an easy detail to miss.

The first-time buyer definition used when you open an FHSA is not exactly the same as the definition used later when you make a qualifying withdrawal.

For a qualifying tax-free withdrawal, you generally need to meet the applicable first-time buyer rule, have a written agreement to buy or build a qualifying home, meet the timing requirements, remain a Canadian resident for the required period and intend to occupy the property as your principal residence within one year.

Important: if an FHSA withdrawal does not meet all of the CRA conditions for a qualifying withdrawal, it may be taxable instead of tax-free.
2
RRSP withdrawal eligibility Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP)
RRSP required

The HBP may be relevant if you already have eligible savings inside an RRSP and meet the program’s conditions.

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You must generally satisfy the first-time home buyer requirement, unless an applicable exception applies.
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You need a written agreement to buy or build a qualifying home.
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You must meet the program’s Canadian residency requirements.
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You must intend to occupy the qualifying home as your principal place of residence within one year after buying or building it.
✓
If you previously participated in the HBP, your HBP balance generally needs to be zero on January 1 of the year of the new withdrawal.
A mortgage pre-approval is not enough. The CRA specifically states that a pre-approved mortgage is not considered the written agreement required to participate in the Home Buyers’ Plan.

The HBP first-time buyer test generally looks at whether you lived in a qualifying home owned or jointly owned by you or your current spouse or common-law partner during the applicable current-year and previous-four-year period.

There are exceptions, including rules relating to a specified disabled person and certain people who have recently separated from a spouse or common-law partner.

Why the four-year look-back matters

Many people assume “first-time home buyer” means “I have never owned a home in my life”.

That is not always how Canadian federal programs define it. Several programs instead use a look-back period.

Simplified example for a test made in 2026
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
Depending on the specific program and relevant transaction date, ownership and occupancy during the current calendar year and previous four calendar years may need to be reviewed.
This is only a simplified timeline. Each program has its own exact wording and date on which the first-time buyer test is applied. Do not assume the same calculation automatically applies to every program.
3
Federal tax credit Home Buyers’ Amount
After acquisition

The Home Buyers’ Amount is a federal non-refundable tax credit. Eligibility is connected to the acquisition of a qualifying home in Canada.

✓
You or your spouse or common-law partner must acquire a qualifying home.
✓
The property must be located in Canada and registered in your name or your spouse’s or common-law partner’s name.
✓
You generally need to meet the first-time home buyer test.
✓
You must intend that you, or an eligible related person with a disability where the exception applies, occupy the home as a principal residence within one year.
Disability-related exception: a person who qualifies for the Disability Tax Credit, or someone acquiring an appropriately suited home for the benefit of a related person who qualifies for the DTC, may not have to satisfy the normal first-time home buyer requirement.
About the dollar amount: the current CRA page available in 2026 lists a maximum Home Buyers’ Amount claim of $10,000 for the 2025 tax year. If your qualifying acquisition occurs in the 2026 tax year, use the CRA amount published for that tax year when filing rather than assuming it will automatically remain unchanged.
4
New federal rebate First-Time Home Buyers’ GST/HST Rebate
New housing

This rebate has a much more specific eligibility test because it applies to eligible first-time buyers of new or substantially renovated housing.

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You must generally be at least 18 years old.
✓
You must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
✓
You must satisfy the rebate’s first-time home buyer test.
✓
Neither you nor your spouse or common-law partner can have previously received this FTHB GST/HST rebate.
✓
The home must generally be newly built or substantially renovated and used as your primary place of residence.

The rebate can cover different situations, including buying a qualifying new home from a builder, constructing your own qualifying home, carrying out a substantial renovation or purchasing an eligible share in a qualifying co-operative.

A normal resale home is generally not what this rebate is designed for. Buying your first existing resale property does not, by itself, satisfy the new or substantially renovated housing requirement.

The dates are part of the eligibility test

For a qualifying house and land bought from the same builder, the current federal rules generally require the agreement of purchase and sale to be entered into on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031.

Construction or substantial renovation must generally begin before 2031 and be substantially completed before 2036, with ownership transferred before 2036 and the other conditions met.

Different transaction types, such as owner-built homes, leased land and co-operative housing, have their own detailed timing tests.

5
Existing housing rebate GST/HST New Housing Rebate
Not only first-time buyers

The existing GST/HST New Housing Rebate is important because you do not necessarily have to be a first-time buyer to qualify.

✓
The claimant must generally be an individual, not a corporation or partnership.
✓
The housing must generally be new or substantially renovated, or meet an applicable owner-built rule.
✓
The property must generally be intended for use as your or your relation’s primary place of residence.
✓
The applicable purchase-price, fair-market-value and GST/HST conditions must be satisfied for the particular rebate being claimed.

Eligible situations can include a house bought from a builder, certain co-operative housing, an owner-built home, a substantial renovation, certain mobile or floating homes and other situations specifically covered by the CRA rules.

Key difference: someone who fails the first-time buyer test for the newer FTHB GST/HST rebate may still be able to qualify for the existing GST/HST New Housing Rebate if all of that rebate’s own conditions are met.

What can count as a qualifying home?

Depending on the program, qualifying Canadian housing can include more than a detached house.

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Houses Single-family and semi-detached homes can qualify when the other program requirements are met.
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Townhouses Townhouses are included within the qualifying-home definitions used by programs such as the FHSA and HBP.
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Condominiums Condominium units can qualify under several federal home-buyer rules.
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Mobile homes Mobile and modular housing can qualify in certain circumstances.
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Homes under construction A qualifying home does not always have to be fully completed at the time a program is first used.
đŸ€
Some co-operative housing Certain co-op shares can qualify when they provide an equity interest in a housing unit, rather than only a right to tenancy.

Eligibility comparison at a glance

Program First-time buyer? Canadian status Property requirement Primary residence?
FHSA Yes Canadian resident to open Qualifying home in Canada for qualifying withdrawal Yes
Home Buyers’ Plan Generally yes, exceptions exist Canadian residency requirements apply Qualifying home in Canada Yes
Home Buyers’ Amount Generally yes, DTC exception Tax-credit rules apply Qualifying home located in Canada Yes
FTHB GST/HST Rebate Yes Citizen or permanent resident New or substantially renovated housing Yes
Existing New Housing Rebate No general first-time requirement Individual claimant rules apply New, substantially renovated or eligible owner-built housing Generally yes

A practical way to check your situation

1
Check your ownership history Write down whether you or your spouse or common-law partner owned and lived in a home during the current year and previous four calendar years.
2
Identify the property type Determine whether you are considering an existing resale home, new construction, substantial renovation, co-op unit or owner-built property.
3
Check your FHSA and RRSP position If you are still saving, determine whether you can open an FHSA. If you already have RRSP funds, separately review the HBP conditions.
4
Confirm your intended use Several programs require you to intend to occupy the property as your principal place of residence within a specified period.
5
Check dates before moving money Purchase agreements, withdrawals, construction dates, occupancy and application deadlines can all affect eligibility.
Do not move RRSP or FHSA money based only on a general eligibility article. An incorrectly structured withdrawal can have tax consequences. Check the CRA conditions that apply on the actual withdrawal date before requesting funds from your financial institution.

Can spouses qualify differently?

Yes. Home ownership involving a spouse or common-law partner can affect eligibility differently depending on the program and the specific test being used.

For example, spouse or common-law partner ownership is directly relevant when determining whether someone qualifies to open an FHSA.

The FHSA rules for making a qualifying withdrawal are not worded exactly the same as the rules for opening the account. This is another reason not to assume one first-time buyer test applies everywhere.

What if you owned a home years ago?

Previous ownership does not always permanently prevent you from becoming eligible for a first-time-buyer program.

Because several rules use a four-calendar-year look-back, someone who sold a former principal residence and has been renting for long enough may later satisfy a program’s first-time buyer definition.

The exact date matters. Check the definition used by the particular program before assuming that enough time has passed.

What if you are buying with someone who is not a first-time buyer?

That does not automatically answer whether you personally qualify.

The result depends on the program, your relationship to the other buyer, whether you lived in a property they owned and which first-time buyer definition is being applied.

This is particularly important for couples where one person previously owned a home and the other did not.

The quickest way to narrow down the five programs:

If you are still saving, check the FHSA.
If you have RRSP savings, check the HBP.
If you acquired a qualifying home, check the Home Buyers’ Amount.
If you are a first-time buyer of qualifying new housing, check the new FTHB GST/HST Rebate.
If the home is new or substantially renovated but you do not meet the first-time test, check the existing GST/HST New Housing Rebate separately.

Compare what each program offers before choosing your next step.

🏠 See the 5 Programs →
Information checked against official Canada Revenue Agency and Government of Canada guidance:

CRA — Opening your First Home Savings Accounts
CRA — FHSA qualifying withdrawals
CRA — Home Buyers’ Plan eligibility and participation
CRA — Home Buyers’ Amount, Line 31270
CRA — First-Time Home Buyers’ GST/HST Rebate eligibility
CRA — GST/HST New Housing Rebate

Eligibility can depend on exact dates and individual circumstances. Program rules and tax amounts can change, so current CRA guidance should be checked before making a withdrawal, purchase or tax claim.