First time Home Buyer Federal Tax Credit
(Separate from the RSP Home Buyers Plan)
You can claim a $5,000 non-refundable federal tax credit for the purchase of a qualifying home in 2017 if both of the following apply:
•You or your spouse or common-law partner acquired a qualifying home;
•You did not live in another home owned by you or your spouse or common-law partner in the year of acquisition or in any of the four preceding years (first-time home buyer).
You must intend to occupy the home, or you must intend that the related person with a disability occupy the home, as a principal place of residence no later than one year after it is acquired.
A qualifying home must be registered in your and/or your spouse's or common-law partner's name in accordance with the applicable land registration system and it must be located in Canada. It includes existing homes and homes under construction. The following are considered qualifying homes:
•single-family houses;
•semi-detached houses;
•townhouses;
•mobile homes;
•condominium units; and
•apartments in duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, or apartment buildings.
You and your spouse or common-law partner can split the claim, but the combined total cannot exceed $5,000. If more than one person is entitled to the amount (for example, when two people jointly buy a home), the total of all amounts claimed cannot exceed $5,000. There are no supporting documents that need to be included with your return on filing (whether electronically or by paper) but keep it in case CRA requests them!
* The $5,000 federal non-refundable tax credit can result in a maximum $750 in savings on your tax return ($5,000 * 15%). As a former 'beancounter', there may or may not be an advantage to claiming this credit; depends on your specific tax situation!
Note - You do not have to be a first-time home buyer if you are eligible for the disability tax credit or if you acquired the home for the benefit of a related person who is eligible for the disability tax credit. However, the purchase must be made to allow the person with the disability to live in a home that is more accessible or better suited to the needs of that person. For the purposes of the home buyers' amount, a person with a disability is a person who is eligible for the disability tax credit for the year in which the home is acquired, or a person who would be entitled to claim the disability amount if they did not claim costs for attendant care or care in a nursing home as medical expenses on lines 330 or 331.