First-time home buyer programs in British Columbia

Property transfer tax exemption

• Full exemption on the first $500,000 of fair market value when the home is worth $835,000 or less, which saves up to $8,000.
• A partial exemption applies between $835,000 and $860,000; there's no exemption above that.
• These thresholds took effect April 1, 2024. For homes bought before then, the full exemption applied only up to $500,000.
• The home must be your principal residence, and the property can't be larger than 0.5 hectares.

Federal programs available in every province

• First Home Savings Account (FHSA): contribute up to $8,000 a year, to $40,000 in total, with tax-deductible contributions and tax-free qualifying withdrawals.
• Home Buyers' Plan: withdraw up to $60,000 from your RRSPs and repay it over 15 years.
• GST/HST first-time home buyers' rebate: up to $50,000 of the federal GST on a newly built home, in full up to $1,000,000 and phased out at $1,500,000.
• Home buyers' amount: a federal non-refundable tax credit of $1,500 (15% of $10,000).
• With less than 20% down, first-time buyers can get an insured mortgage with an amortization of up to 30 years.

Estimate your costs in British Columbia

The calculator applies the provincial transfer tax or registration fees, with first-time buyer relief where the province offers it, plus default insurance and the monthly payment.

Before you rely on a program

Each figure on this page comes from the government page cited for it. We checked every program against its official page on November 13, 2026, and give the date a rule took effect wherever the government states one. Programs can close, run out of funding or change their limits, so confirm eligibility with the program before you sign an agreement of purchase and sale. Loans must be repaid, and income and price limits apply to the whole household.