Whistler Real Estate Listings

1 Home Buyers’ Plan Qualifying home buyers can withdraw up to $25,000 (couples can withdraw up to $50,000) from their RRSPs for a down payment. Home buyers who have repaid their RRSP may be eligible to use the program a second time. Canada Revenue Agency www.cra.gc.ca Enter ‘Home Buyers’ Plan’ in the search box. 1.800.959.8287 2 GST Rebate on New Homes New home buyers can apply for a rebate for the 5% GST if the purchase price is $350,000 or less. The rebate is equal to 36% of the GST to a maximum rebate of $6,300. There is a proportional GST rebate for new homes costing between $350,000 and $450,000. At $450,000 and above the rebate is nil. Canada Revenue Agency www.cra.gc.ca Enter ‘RC4028’ in the search box. 1.800.959.8287 3 BC Property Transfer Tax (PTT) First-Time Home Buyers’ Program Qualifying first-time buyers may be exempt from paying the PTT of 1% on the first $200,000 and 2% on the remainder of the purchase price of a home priced up to $425,000. T...

About Home Owner Grant The purpose of the home owner grant is to help reduce the amount of residential property tax British Columbians pay. The home owner grant applies to taxes paid by British Columbians to their municipality or to the Surveyor of Taxes for rural areas. The grant is available to Canadian citizens or holder of permanent residency status in Canada, who live in British Columbia, and he or she must occupy the home as his/her principal residence. The home owner grant program includes the following types of grants: Basic Additional Retroactive Multiple For 2011, the home owner grant will be reduced on higher-valued properties by $5 for each $1,000 of assessed value over $1,150,000. The basic grant is eliminated on homes assessed at $1,264,000 or more, and the additional grant is eliminated on homes of $1,319,000 or more. Continuing from the 2007 tax year, the home owner grant is provided to some low-income homeowners or occupants who did not qua...

By Maureen Bader , January 28, 2010 Taxpayers in British Columbia are outraged about the harmonized sales tax , and rightly so. It will add a new tax to many items previously exempt from the provincial sales tax, such as restaurant meals and new homes. The HST does, however, have some theoretical benefits. It simplifies the tax system and makes the province a more competitive place for business investment. Nevertheless, the surprise HST announcement was met by a business lobbying effort demanding relief from the tax. One group that got a break was the new-home building industry. While this may help a few new-home buyers, it undermines the tax simplification benefits of the HST and does little to improve B.C.’s competitiveness. In fact, the government could have bolstered the competitiveness of the province and helped all families struggling to purchase homes by eliminating the property transfer tax instead. See also Paul R. Landry: HST will boost safety and energy effi...

What’s Taxable under the HST and What’s Not? Here are some examples of common products and services purchased by British Columbians and how they will be affected by the HST. This is not an exhaustive list of all goods and services. Input tax credits apply under the GST/HST to items purchased for use in business.  For further information on input tax credits, please go to:    http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/bsnss/tpcs/gst-tps/bspsbch/itc-cti/menu-eng.html . For further information on the application of the GST/HST, please go to:   http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/bsnss/tpcs/gst-tps/gnrl/menu-eng.html. For further information on the application of the PST, please go to:   http://www.sbr.gov.bc.ca/individuals/Consumer_Taxes/Provincial_Sales_Tax/bulletins.htm . For information on HST transition rules, please go to: http://hst.blog.gov.bc.ca/2010/04/01/learn-more/