July 15, 2021
At BelleMaison, we build beautiful homes for first-time buyers. But we also like to give helpful advice when we can. When buying your first home, there are a number of incentives that are aimed at reducing the financial burden, but getting all the right info can be confusing and time-consuming. That’s why we’ve put together an easy-to-understand guide to the incentives and rebates that can help you on your way to owning your first home.
The first thing you need to know about is the First Time Home Buyer Incentive. This one’s simple. You choose whether the government loans you 5% or 10% of the cost of your new home. When you decide to sell, they take that same percentage from the value of whatever your house is worth at the point of sale. It doesn’t matter if your house has gone up or down in value – the rate remains fixed at 5% or 10%. Just go here and download the two application forms you need to get started.
Your second stop is right here in Saskatchewan. The provincial government will give first-time buyers an income tax credit of up to $1050 on the first $10,000 of a house purchase. You can find more about it here. In addition, the federal government will give up to $750 in tax credit for eligible applicants (most first homeowners are eligible). This is known as the Home Buyers’ Amount, and you can get started here.
Another option is the Home Buyers’ Plan. This means you can take out up to $35,000 from your registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) to put towards your first home purchase. You have up to 15 years to repay, and the repayments don’t begin until a year after you’ve withdrawn the funds.
Finally, did you know you can get tax relief on moving expenses? If you’ve moved location for work and your new home is at least 40 km nearer to your job than your old home was, you can deduct moving expenses from your new employment income. Get started here.
We hope we’ve helped by outlining some of the incentives you could take advantage of when buying your first home. To go more in-depth, just click the house icons below.
🏡 Saving Plans and Incentives
🏡 Homebuyer Incentives and Rebates
🏡 First Time Home Buyer Incentive
🏡 Saskatchewan Tax Credit
Author Trevor Percy
