ontario

If you have hired a Builder, General Contractor or hired trades to build a Custom Home within the last 2 years you may be entitled to a tax-free Housing Rebate of up to $24,000 from the Government. This home must be used as your Principal Residence and will qualify for the rebate regardless of your earnings or the fair market value of the home.

The Housing Rebate applies to:

• Custom Homes constructed on a vacant parcel on land
• Homes that are torn down and a new home is constructed
• Cottages that are torn down and a new home constructed as the owner’s Principal Residence
• Modular Homes

Who can apply for the Custom Home Rebate?
In order to qualify for this Rebate, the Custom Home must be owned by a person or group of people. If the Custom Home is owned by a company it will not qualify for the Custom Home Rebate. If a Custom Home is owned by more than one person, only one person from the group can apply for the Custom Home Rebate.

How much is Custom Home Rebate?
The Custom Home Rebate is a maximum of $24,000.

Do Cottages Qualify for the Custom Home Rebate?
In order to qualify for the Custom Home Rebate, the Custom-Built Home must be your primary residence. If the cottage is a secondary property it will not qualify.

What if I built the home and a family member lives in it?
In order to apply for the Custom Home Rebate, the homeowner does not need to live in the Custom Home. A close family member may however live in Custom Home. A homeowner can apply for a Custom Home Rebate if any of the following family members use the Custom Home as their primary residence:

• Children
• Parents
• Siblings

How long do I have to apply for the Custom Home Rebate?
The homeowner of a newly built Custom Home has 2 years to build a home, and 2 years from the date they moved into the Custom Home to apply for the Custom Home Rebate. Therefore, a homeowner can apply for a custom-built home rebate up to 4 years retroactive from today. After this deadline the Custom Home Rebate is no longer claimable.

Do I need to live in Canada in order to apply?
A homeowner does not have to reside in Canada in order to apply for the Rebate. If you own a home that you custom-built and a close relative is using it as their primary residence, you are entitled to receive a Custom Home Rebate no matter where you live in the world.

What happens if I built the Custom Home to flip it?

• If you have built the Custom Home with the intention of flipping the property you are not entitled to the Custom Home Rebate. Homeowners are cautioned not to apply for the rebate in this situation.
• If the homeowner applies for the Custom Home Rebate and receives it , then sells the property within 2 years of building it, more than likely the CRA will send them a tax bill for the Custom Home Rebate they received plus interest.

When should I apply for the Custom Home Rebate?
You can apply for the Custom Home Rebate when the home is 90% complete.

How long does it take to receive the Custom Home rebate?
Once the Custom Home Rebate application is filed you should receive your tax-free rebate cheque in 4-5 weeks.

If you have hired a Builder, a General Contractor or hired trades to Substantially Renovate your Principal Residence within the last 2 years then you may be entitled to a tax-free Housing Rebate of up to $24,000 from the Government. This is regardless of your earnings or the fair market value of the home, meaning this rebate will still apply to you if the home value is above $450,000. If the fair market value of your home is over $450,000 the maximum rebate amount is $16,080.

Housing Rebate applies to:

• Substantial Renovated Principal Residences
• Homes that are purchased as a new Principal Residence and are then Substantially Renovated
• Cottages that are Substantially Renovated and to be used as a Principal Residence upon completion

Who can apply for the Substantial Renovation Rebate?
In order to qualify for the Rebate, the home must be owned by a person or group of people. If the home is owned by a company it will not qualify for the Substantial Renovation Rebate. If the home is owned by more than one person, only one person from the group can apply for the Substantial Renovation Rebate.

How much is Substantial Renovation Rebate?
The Substantial Renovation Rebate is a maximum of $24,000.

Do Cottages Qualify for the Substantial Renovation Rebate?
In order to qualify for the Substantial Renovation Rebate, the renovated cottage must be your primary residence. If the cottage is a secondary property it will not qualify.

What if I substantially renovated property for a family member to live in?
In order to apply for the Substantial Renovation Rebate, the homeowner does not need to live in the property. A close family member may however live in the Substantially Renovated property. A homeowner can apply for a Substantial Renovation Rebate if any of the following family members use the Substantially Renovated property as their primary residence:

• Children
• Parents
• Siblings

How long do I have to apply for the Substantial Renovation Rebate?
A homeowner has 2 years to Substantially renovate a home, and 2 years from the date they completed the Substantial Renovations to apply for the Substantial Renovation Rebate. Therefore, a homeowner can apply for the rebate up to 4 years retroactive from today. After this deadline, the Substantial Renovation Rebate is no longer claimable.

Do I need to live in Canada in order to apply?
A homeowner does not have to reside in Canada in order to apply for the Substantial Renovation Rebate. If you own a home that you substantially renovated and a close relative is using it as their primary residence, you are entitled to receive a Substantial Renovation Rebate no matter where you live in the world.

When should I apply for the Substantial Renovation Rebate?
You can apply for the Substantial Renovation Rebate when the home is 90% complete.

How long does it take to receive the Substantial Renovation Rebate?
Once the Substantial Renovation Rebate application is filed you should receive your tax-free rebate cheque in 4-5 weeks.

If you have purchased a newly built (never been lived in before) home, townhome or condominium within the last 2 years with the intention of renting out the property, then you are entitled to apply for the Investment Property rebate of up to $30,000.00 from the Government.

What type of properties is eligible for the Investment Property Rebate?
In order to qualify for the Investment Property Rebate program, you must have purchased a New (never been lived in):

• Investment condominium
• Investment home or townhome

Purchases of Multi-unit Investment properties do not qualify. This includes duplexes, triplexes, and apartment buildings.

How long do I have to apply for the Investment Property Rebate?
An Investor has 2 years from the date of closing to apply for the Investment Property Rebate. After this time the Investment Property Rebate is no longer claimable.

Do I need to live in Canada in order to apply for the Investment Property Rebate?
An Investor does not have to reside in Canada in order to apply for the Investment Property Rebate. If you have purchased a new investment property it does not matter where you live in the world in order to receive the Investment Property Rebate.

What happens if I purchased the property to flip it?

• If the investment was made to flip the property, the Investor is not entitled to the Investment Property Rebate. Investors are cautioned not to apply for the rebate in this situation.
• If the Investor applies for the Investment Property Rebate, receives it, then sells the property within 2 years of purchasing it, it is more than likely CRA will send them a tax bill for the Investment Property Rebate they received plus interest.

What happens if I bought the property to live in, but I am renting it now instead?
It is very common to change your mind on the use of a property after it is purchased. As life changes, what we originally intended does not always happen. If you purchased a property with the intention of living in it, the builder can apply for an Investment Property Rebate on your behalf. This reduces the price of the home to the purchaser and the taxes owed to the Government by the builder.

In most cases, the home purchaser has no idea this has happened. If you then decide to rent the home instead of living in it, the Investor (homeowner) will more than likely receive a tax bill from CRA for the Investment Property Rebate applied to the new home purchase.

The Investor will need to apply for an Investment Property Rebate, which offsets the bill from CRA. Again, this must be done within 2 years of purchasing the investment property or the Investment Property Rebate will no longer be claimable.

If you are planning on renovating your home or investment property you may be entitled to rebates for energy efficiency upgrades.

Before starting your renovation call us to see if your renovation project will qualify for Energy Efficiency Rebates. Rebates are available for:

• Air Sealing
• Boilers
• Furnaces
• Insulation upgrades
• Skylights
• Water Heater
• Windows

Most Ontarians are completely unaware that Property Tax rebates and refunds are available to them if any of the following situations apply:

• The property’s tax class has changed during the year. e.g. Commercial property is converted to a residential property
• A home was either destroyed by fire, demolished, or otherwise is deemed unusable for at least a 3-month period
• The home underwent repairs or renovations during the year which prevented the home to be lived in for at least 3 months during the year
• The taxpayer is unable to pay taxes because of sickness or extreme poverty.

In order to qualify for Property Tax Rebates, the property must be the homeowner’s Principal Residence. This rebate does not apply to cottages, investment properties, and second homes.

 The Non-Resident Speculation Tax (NRST) is a 15% tax charged on the purchase of a residential property located in the Greater Golden Horseshoe Region (GGH) by individuals who are not citizens or permanent residents of Canada or to foreign corporations (foreign entities) and taxable trustees. 

The NRST applies in addition to the general Land Transfer Tax in Ontario. The NRST came into effect on April 21, 2017.

A rebate of the NRST may be available in the following situations:

• A Foreign National who becomes a Permanent Resident of Canada: The foreign national becomes a permanent resident of Canada within four years of the date of the purchase or acquisition.
• International Student – The foreign national is a student who has been enrolled full-time for a continuous period of at least 2 years from the date of purchase or acquisition in an “approved institution” at a campus located in Ontario. Full-time means enrolled in at least 60% (if the individual does not have a disability) or 40% (if the individual has a disability) of what the approved institution considers to be a full course load for the academic year)
• Foreign National working in Ontario – The foreign national has legally worked full-time under a valid work permit in Ontario for a continuous period of at least one year since the date of purchase or acquisition. Full-time means an employment position that requires no fewer than 30 hours of paid work per week over a 12-month period and no fewer than a total of 1,560 hours of paid work over that period.

To qualify for a rebate, the foreign national must exclusively hold the property, or hold the property exclusively with his or her spouse. The property must also have been occupied as the foreign national’s (and if applicable his or her spouse’s) principal residence for the duration of the period that begins within 60 days after the date of the purchase or acquisition.

*NRST applications are subject to audit. Since these applications have strict requirements, we recommend calling us as soon as possible.

With the increase in severe weather experienced throughout Ontario, Municipalities are upgrading their stormwater management and drainage systems to help protect the environment and reduce the risk of flooding to private property.

These improvements ensure that the Municipalities stormwater management and drainage systems, as well as wastewater sewer systems, are more resilient to impacts of climate change, including more frequent and severe localized wet weather.

To augment these initiatives, several Municipalities throughout Ontario offer Basement Flooding Prevention Subsidy Programs which make it easier and more affordable for residents to make improvements that can help reduce the risk of flooding caused by severe rainstorms.

Additionally, sewers may also become overloaded due to excessive water from downspouts, weeping tiles, foundation drains, or sump pumps connected to sanitary sewers. 

Funding initiatives differ per Municipality and are offered for:

• Downspout removal
• Sewer backup Valves
• Sump Pumps
• Weeping Tile Removal