How do I claim the GST/HST rebate on a home my client built or substantially renovated?
In 2026, your client claims the owner built home GST/HST rebate on Form GST191, with worksheet GST191-WS listing every construction invoice, plus RC7191-ON in Ontario. The federal rebate is 36% of the GST paid, up to $6,300, phased out to nil when fair market value at completion reaches $450,000. The deadline is usually two years after substantial completion.
Which forms does an owner built claim need?
Form GST191 is the claim itself, for an individual who built a new house, had one built, substantially renovated, added a major addition or converted a building to residential use canada.ca. It never travels alone.
| Form | What it does | Who needs it |
|---|---|---|
| GST191 | Calculates the federal rebate, the first time buyer top up and the Ontario consent questions | Every owner built claim |
| GST191-WS, Construction Summary Worksheet | Lists every construction invoice and the GST/HST on it | A new house or a substantial renovation |
| RC7191-ON, GST191 Ontario Rebate Schedule | Calculates the rebate of the 8% provincial part of the HST | Homes in Ontario |
The worksheet is required whenever your client built a new house or substantially renovated an existing one canada.ca. RC7191-ON covers the provincial part for the same kinds of projects in Ontario
canada.ca.
Your client can file online through My Account, or mail the forms: to the Sudbury Tax Centre for a property in Ontario, and to the Prince Edward Island Tax Centre in Summerside for a property anywhere else canada.ca. One exception as of October 2026: a claim that includes the Ontario enhanced new housing rebate can only be mailed until fall 2026, when the CRA starts processing those claims
canada.ca.
How much does the federal rebate pay on an owner built home?
Under subsection 256(2) of the Excise Tax Act, the rebate is A × ($450,000 minus B) / $100,000. A is the lesser of 36% of the GST (or federal part of the HST) paid and $6,300. B is the greater of $350,000 and the fair market value of the home when the work is substantially completed laws-lois.justice.gc.ca.
So at a value of $350,000 or less the factor is 1 and your client gets the full 36%, up to $6,300. At $450,000 or more there's nothing. Fair market value means land, building and other structures together, and the CRA suggests a professional appraisal when the value is close to or above $350,000; provincial land transfer tax stays out of it canada.ca. That's the trap: a client who bought land years ago can cross $450,000 on the land alone and lose the federal rebate, even though construction cost much less.
Worked example. Your client already owned a lot in Ontario, bought from an individual with no HST charged. In 2025 they paid $300,000 before tax to contractors and suppliers, all at 13% HST. The home was worth $420,000 with the land when it was substantially completed.
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| HST paid at 13% on $300,000 | $39,000 |
| Federal part (5%) | $15,000 |
| A: 36% of $15,000, under the $6,300 cap | $5,400 |
| B: greater of $350,000 and $420,000 | $420,000 |
| Factor: ($450,000 minus $420,000) / $100,000 | 0.3 |
| Federal rebate on GST191 | $1,620 |
| Provincial part (8%) | $24,000 |
| Ontario rebate: 75% is $18,000, capped at $16,080 because no HST was paid on the land | $16,080 |
| Total back on $39,000 of HST | $17,700 |
The Ontario cap is $24,000 if your client paid HST on the land and $16,080 if they didn't canada.ca. Had your client paid HST on the lot, the cap would rise to $24,000 and the land's HST would count in both calculations.
When is the GST191 deadline?
Your client must file within two years after a base date, and the base date depends on what happened first canada.ca.
| Situation | Base date | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Moved in after the work was substantially completed | Substantial completion | Two years after completion |
| Sold the home in an exempt sale before anyone lived in it | Earlier of the ownership transfer and substantial completion | Two years after that date |
| Moved in before the work was substantially completed | Earlier of two years after first occupancy and substantial completion | Two years after that date |
The third row catches clients who live in an unfinished house for years. If they moved in and finished slowly, the base date can be two years after move in, and any GST/HST that became payable more than two years after first occupancy is left out of the calculation canada.ca. The rule comes from subsection 256(3), which also lets the Minister allow a later date
laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. In practice the CRA considers a late owner built application only for extraordinary circumstances, such as a disaster, a serious illness or a delay the CRA caused
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Which projects qualify, and which clients are shut out?
The house has to be for your client's or a relation's primary residence, and your client or the relation must be the first individual to live in it after the work began, unless they made an exempt sale before anyone moved in. They also need to have paid GST/HST on the land, the construction materials and services, or both canada.ca.
A renovation counts only as a substantial renovation: generally 90% or more of the interior of the existing house removed or replaced, measured on livable space and not on a garage or crawl space. A major addition qualifies only when the result looks like a newly built house, so a porch, sunroom, family room or bedroom alone doesn't. Converting a commercial building into the home counts as a substantial renovation even if the work wouldn't pass the 90% test canada.ca. The CRA gives a full second story on a bungalow as an addition that can qualify
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Joint owners must all be individuals, and only one of them applies; the rebate is paid to that claimant alone canada.ca. A client who built with a plan to sell may be treated as a builder, which can make the sale taxable with no rebate, and an exempt sale generally requires that your client didn't claim input tax credits on the construction
canada.ca. A client who bought a finished home from a builder uses Form GST190 instead, covered in the GST/HST new housing rebate.
What the worksheet needs: original invoices, never quotes
GST191-WS takes the details of each construction invoice that is eligible for the rebate, whether or not GST/HST was charged on it, and Part C on page 4 of the form lists expenses that don't qualify. Never enter quotes or estimates canada.ca.
Your client generally doesn't send receipts with the claim. The exception is an invoice where the vendor charged no GST/HST: those go in with the worksheet, and photocopies are fine canada.ca. Everything else stays on file for six years, and the CRA accepts only original invoices in the name of the claimant or the joint owners. Credit card slips, Interac slips and account statements without the invoice don't count
canada.ca. The CRA may also ask for proof of occupancy later
canada.ca.
What do Ontario and first time buyers add on top?
In Ontario, RC7191-ON returns 75% of the provincial part of the HST, capped at $24,000 or $16,080 depending on whether HST was paid on the land, and it can apply even when the home is worth $450,000 or more canada.ca.
The temporary Ontario enhanced new housing rebate applies to owner built homes when construction or the substantial renovation begins between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027 canada.ca. CRA Notice 346 (August 2026) adds that the work must be substantially completed before 2030 and the home must be worth less than $1,850,000 at completion, for combined relief of up to $80,000 of the 8% provincial part. The same GST191 also asks whether your client consents to the CRA sharing information with Ontario for the province's new home affordability payment of up to $50,000; without consent, your client sends that information to the province directly
canada.ca.
A first time buyer gets a federal top up under subsection 256(2.1): A × (($1,500,000 minus B) / $500,000) minus C, where A is the lesser of $50,000 and the tax paid, B is the greater of $1,000,000 and the fair market value, and C is the regular rebate. Construction must begin after March 19, 2025 and before 2031, with completion and first occupancy before 2036 laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. It's claimed in Part D, section 2 of the same Form GST191, and the first time buyer must be the claimant named on it
canada.ca. In the example above, if your client qualified, the top up would be $15,000 minus $1,620, or $13,380, bringing the federal relief to the full $15,000. Who counts as a first time buyer is on the first time home buyers' GST rebate page.
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Does GST paid on the land count toward the rebate?
Yes. Land is one of the expense categories in Part C of GST191-WS, and the eligibility test accepts GST/HST paid on the land, on construction, or both canada.ca. In Ontario it also decides the provincial cap: $24,000 if HST was paid on the land, $16,080 if not.
Can my client still get anything if the home is worth more than $450,000?
Yes, outside the regular federal rebate. In Ontario, the provincial rebate on RC7191-ON can still apply, up to $24,000, when value is the only reason the federal rebate fails canada.ca, and the first time buyer top up runs to $1,500,000 of fair market value
laws-lois.justice.gc.ca.
Can a corporation claim the owner built rebate?
No. Every owner of the house must be an individual, and only one of them files canada.ca. If a client built to sell rather than to live there, the builder rules on GST on residential real estate decide whether the sale is taxable.
Can I file GST191 for my client online?
General information for the tax year shown, not advice for a specific client. Confirm the facts before you file or remit.