HST & The Home Buyer
HST & The Home Buyer
Lawyer’s fees, which were only subject to GST before, will now be subject to the full HST. Incidental and disbursement costs (faxes, postage, etc.) were subject to both provincial and federal taxes before, and therefore will not change.
The biggest bite for home sellers is probably that real estate commissions will be subject to HST instead of just GST as before. That means on a $30,000 real estate commission on a $600,000 resale home in Cobourg, that’s an extra $2,400 you didn’t have to pay on June 30.
However, not all fees associated with a house sale will change: resale (existing) houses and most banking and mortgage fees will remain tax-exempt, as before.
New homes are eligible for rebates of a portion of the provincial part of the new tax, depending on their purchase price. In Ontario, new homes with a price of less than $400,000 will be eligible for a rebate of 75%, up to a maximum of $24,000. New homes costing over $400,000 are also eligible, provided the home will be used as the purchaser’s primary residence.
The biggest bite for home sellers is probably that real estate commissions will be subject to HST instead of just GST as before. That means on a $30,000 real estate commission on a $600,000 resale home in Cobourg, that’s an extra $2,400 you didn’t have to pay on June 30.
However, not all fees associated with a house sale will change: resale (existing) houses and most banking and mortgage fees will remain tax-exempt, as before.
New homes are eligible for rebates of a portion of the provincial part of the new tax, depending on their purchase price. In Ontario, new homes with a price of less than $400,000 will be eligible for a rebate of 75%, up to a maximum of $24,000. New homes costing over $400,000 are also eligible, provided the home will be used as the purchaser’s primary residence.
