This page sets them side by side using the Canada Revenue Agency's GST pages, the Province's property transfer tax pages and BC Housing's warranty page, all read on 23 October 2026.
The short version
- GST generally applies to the sale of new housing. The sale of a home by an owner who lived in it is generally exempt.
- The first-time home buyers' GST rebate returns up to 100% of the GST, to a maximum of $50,000, on a new home at or below $1 million, less between $1 million and $1.5 million, and nothing at $1.5 million or more.
- BC's newly built home exemption removes property transfer tax on a principal residence up to $1,100,000, with a partial exemption up to $1,150,000.
- BC's first time home buyers' program exempts the first $500,000 of the price on a home up to $835,000, with a partial exemption up to $860,000.
- New homes carry the 2-5-10 warranty. It stays with the home, so a resale home a few years old may still have part of it.
GST: new homes pay it, lived-in homes generally do not
The Canada Revenue Agency's GST page for new housing says GST generally applies to the sale of new or substantially renovated housing. In BC there is no provincial sales tax on a home, so the tax is the 5% federal GST.
Its Memorandum 19.2.1 lists, among exempt sales, the sale of previously occupied housing by a seller who did not create or substantially renovate it. An owner who bought a home, lived in it and now sells it is generally not charging GST. If the seller is a company that created the strata, or an owner who substantially renovated the home before selling, GST can apply, so ask.
Read the contract for one more point: whether the price on a new home includes GST or has it added. The difference on a $1,000,000 home is $50,000.
The first-time home buyers' GST rebate
The Canada Revenue Agency's first-time home buyers' GST rebate is for an eligible individual buying a newly built home as their primary place of residence. Depending on the value of the home, the buyer can recover up to 100% of the GST paid, to a maximum of $50,000.
The value bands are set out plainly. At or below $1 million, the rebate is up to 100%, to the $50,000 maximum. Between $1 million and $1.5 million, the maximum is reduced gradually. At or above $1.5 million, there is no rebate. The agency's own example is a new home bought for $1.25 million, the midpoint of the band, which qualifies for 50% of the maximum, or $25,000.
Eligibility is narrow, and every condition matters. The agency's page says the buyer must be at least 18, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and must not have lived in a home that they or their spouse or common-law partner owned as their primary residence in the calendar year or the previous four. For a home bought from the company that created it, the agreement must be made on or after March 20, 2025. The buyer must be the first person to live in the home after it is completed, and neither they nor their spouse can have received this rebate before.
A resale home does not qualify, because the rebate is for new homes. That is one reason a new home and a lived-in home at the same price can cost a first-time buyer different amounts.
Property transfer tax: two different exemptions
BC charges property transfer tax when a property is registered in a buyer's name. Two exemptions help multiplex buyers, and they work differently.
The newly built home exemption, as the Province's page reads after its January 6, 2026 update, removes the tax on a newly built home used only as the buyer's principal residence, with a fair market value of $1,100,000 or less, for a title registered from April 1, 2024. A partial exemption applies between $1,100,000 and $1,150,000. The buyer must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, it must be the first registration of the property with a completed home, and the buyer must meet occupancy requirements after registration.
The first time home buyers' program applies to any home, new or lived in, if every condition is met. With a fair market value of $835,000 or less, the buyer is exempt from tax on the first $500,000 of the price. A partial exemption applies between $835,000 and $860,000. If one buyer qualifies and another does not, only the qualifying buyer's share of the property gets the exemption.
So for a first-time buyer on a home over $860,000, a new home can still qualify for the newly built home exemption up to $1,150,000, while a lived-in home at the same price gets no transfer tax exemption at all.
| Brand new home | Home someone has lived in | |
|---|---|---|
| GST | Generally applies (5%) | Generally exempt if sold by an owner who lived in it |
| First-time buyers' GST rebate | Up to $50,000 at or below $1 million; less to $1.5 million | Not available |
| Newly built home exemption (PTT) | Full to $1,100,000; partial to $1,150,000 | Not available |
| First time home buyers' program (PTT) | First $500,000 exempt if value is $835,000 or less | Same rule |
| 2-5-10 warranty | Full term from first occupancy or title transfer | What is left of the term |
Canada Revenue Agency and Province of BC pages, and BC Housing's warranty page, read 23 October 2026. Each program has conditions not listed here.
The 2-5-10 warranty, and what is left on a resale home
BC Housing's page on home warranty insurance sets out the 2-5-10 cover on new homes. The first part covers defects in materials and labour, with limits: 12 months for detached homes and the parts of a strata home that are not common property, 15 months for common property in multi-unit strata buildings, and 24 months for major systems such as electrical, plumbing, heating and ventilation, plus outside cladding, windows and doors. The second part covers water getting in through the roof, walls and windows for 5 years. The third covers defects in the structure for 10 years.
For a strata home, cover starts at first occupancy or when title is transferred, whichever comes first. Claims on a strata home are capped at the lesser of the first owner's purchase price or $100,000, and on common property at the lesser of $100,000 per home or $2.5 million per building.
BC Housing says the cover stays with the home, not the owner, and if you sell, the remaining warranty passes to the new owner. So a multiplex home that is three years old still has part of its 5-year and 10-year cover. Ask the seller for the warranty certificate and the provider's name, and work out what is left.
What a lived-in home gives you instead
A home that someone has lived in has a history you can read. The Strata Property Regulation requires a strata to keep its minutes, budgets and financial statements for at least 6 years, so even a few years of records show how the owners decide things. The strata has minutes, a budget that has been tested by a few years of bills, and possibly a record of warranty claims already made and settled. You can see how the home has aged, talk to the neighbours and look at the yard in a second summer.
A brand new home has none of that yet. Under section 13 of the Strata Property Act the company that created the strata sets an interim budget for the first 12 months, and if costs come in higher, section 14 makes it pay the difference. After that, the owners set the fees from what the building costs to run.
In our view, a lived-in multiplex home a few years old can be a good middle ground: part of the warranty remains, the strata has a short record, and GST generally does not apply. A first-time buyer who qualifies for the GST rebate and the newly built home exemption may still come out ahead on a new home. Work out both, with your lawyer or notary, before you choose which homes to view.
Questions buyers ask
More in Compare Home Types
Also worth reading
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page comes from the body that issues it. Rules and rates change, so each entry says when we checked it.
- GST/HST and home construction (sales of new and substantially renovated housing). Canada Revenue Agency. Current page, accessed 23 October 2026.
- GST/HST Memorandum 19.2.1, Residential Real Property: Sales (exempt sales of previously occupied housing). Canada Revenue Agency. Current page, accessed 23 October 2026.
- First-time home buyers' (FTHB) GST/HST rebate: what the rebate is. Canada Revenue Agency. Current page, accessed 23 October 2026.
- First-time home buyers' (FTHB) GST/HST rebate: who can apply. Canada Revenue Agency. Current page, accessed 23 October 2026.
- Newly built home exemption (property transfer tax). Government of British Columbia. Last updated January 6, 2026, accessed 23 October 2026.
- First time home buyers' program (property transfer tax). Government of British Columbia. Last updated June 20, 2025, accessed 23 October 2026.
- Home warranty insurance for new homes. BC Housing, Licensing and Consumer Services. Current page, accessed 23 October 2026.
- Strata Property Act, Part 3: Duties of the company that created the strata (sections 13 and 14). BC Laws, King's Printer for British Columbia. Current consolidation, accessed October 8, 2026.
General information only. The GST, GST rebate, property transfer tax and warranty figures on this page are illustrative and based on rules as of the dates noted. They are not tax or legal advice, and not a guarantee that you qualify for any rebate or exemption. Rebate and exemption rules and thresholds change. Always consult a tax professional and an independent real estate lawyer or notary before making any purchase decision.
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