Ontario is moving to take a bigger swing at housing affordability — this time by scrapping the HST on new homes for a broader pool of buyers.As part of its 2026 Budget, the Government of Ontario says it will remove the full 13% Harmonized Sales Tax for eligible purchasers of new homes priced up to $1 million, translating to a maximum rebate of $130,000. That max rebate would also extend to homes valued up to $1.5 million, before phasing down on a sliding scale to $24,000 for homes priced at $1.85 million and above.The move builds on previous changes aimed at first-time buyers, but significantly widens the scope — both in terms of who qualifies and the price points covered.The province says the Government of Canada has agreed to cost-share the program, pending legislation, covering the five per cent federal portion of the HST. In total, the two levels of government estimate the measure will deliver nearly $2.2 billion in housing-related tax relief.For Premier Doug Ford, the announcement lands against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, including tariffs and ongoing global pressures. The province is positioning the rebate as both an affordability measure and an economic lever, estimating it could help spur 8,000 additional housing starts, support up to 21,000 jobs, and add roughly $2.7 billion to Ontario’s GDP.The enhanced rebate is designed as a temporary measure, set to run from April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027, through an expansion of Ontario’s existing new housing rebate programs. Eligibility rules won’t change — buyers still need to be purchasing a home for use as a primary residence or as a rental property — but the scale of the rebate will.Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy framed the move as a response to persistently high costs, particularly for major purchases like housing, while Housing Minister Rob Flack pointed to the need to accelerate construction and get more homes built.The announcement also expands on measures introduced last fall targeting first-time buyers, including aligning the provincial rebate’s timing with the federal government’s proposed March 20, 2025 eligibility date.It’s one piece of a broader housing push from the province, which also includes removing the provincial portion of the HST on qualifying purpose-built rental housing and continuing to roll out infrastructure funding through programs like the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program and the Building Faster Fund.More details are expected when the province tables its 2026 Budget on March 26.
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