Individuals can claim the GST/HST new housing rebate when they have paid for a new house or significantly renovated house that will be used as their primary place of residence or the primary place of residence for their relations. This rebate allows individuals to reclaim part of the goods and service tax (GST) or the federal portion of the harmonized sales tax (HST) paid on the home. However, only individuals who satisfy all of the conditions for claiming the rebate, which can be found online, may apply. If an individual co-owns the primary place of residence with another person who is not an individual, such as a corporation or partnership, that person is not eligible for the rebate.
A house, for the purpose of this rebate, includes a detached or semi-detached single-unit house, a townhouse, a mobile home or modular home, a duplex, a condominium unit, a unit in a co-operative housing corporation,, and a floating home. A house may also include, under particular circumstances, a recreational unit grounded to land and having the characteristics of a house.
Your primary place of residence is simply a residence that you own, or co-own, that you plan to live in permanently or for a significant length of time. If you own multiple homes, one of these homes will be considered your primary place of residence.
Payment could take as long as six months to process since all applications are subject to auditing. Payments could take longer if there is missing or incomplete paperwork, incorrect repayment calculation, inaccurate information, or requested documentation not included with your application.
Generally, you will not need to send supporting documentation with your application. However, if your vendor did not invoice you the GST/HST, you may need to include these invoices with your application. You may send photocopies of these invoices. You may have to submit proof of occupancy as well.
Like most applications, it is wise to retain copies of your completed application, and all invoices should be kept for as long as six years in the case of an audit.
Original invoices in the name of the individual or co-owner are the only acceptable invoices. The following documents are not accepted without the original invoices: photocopies, account statements, credit card or interac slips. Estimates and quotes will not be accepted either. All requested invoices will be returned.
As long as you originally planned to reside in a primary place of residence on a permanent basis, you may make an exempt sale of the house and transfer ownership while still claiming the rebate.
Exempt sales, for GST/HST consideration, usually require that the seller not be a builder of the house and that the seller did not claim any input tax credits (ITCs) for the GST/HST component of the building or renovation costs.
You may be the builder of the house and claim the rebate if you had a primary or secondary intention to sell the house instead of using it as your or your relation’s primary place of residence. However, consider that if you are the builder of the house, your sale of the house may be taxable and would therefore make you ineligible for the HST/GST rebate.
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