The Government of Nova Scotia’s First-Time Home Buyers Rebate gives a rebate of up to $3,000 on newly built homes. The incentive is 18.75% of the provincial portion of the HST on the home, or 1.31% of the purchase of capital stock in a housing cooperative.
To qualify for the rebate, you must be buying a home in Nova Scotia. The home must be new construction, and not an existing/resale property, and it must become your principal residence. Only one homeowner can apply for the rebate for the property. To be considered a first-time home buyer, you must not have owned or occupied a home in the last five years in Canada. If you have owned or occupied a home, you can qualify if your home was involuntarily destroyed. You have two years to apply for the rebate.
The Nova Scotia Down Payment Assistance Program helps first-time home buyers by providing an interest-free loan of up to 5% of their home's purchase price to be used towards the down payment.
To be eligible, the resident must not be able to afford a 5% down payment,the purchase price must be below $280,000 within the Halifax Regional Municipality, or $150,000 for the rest of the province. The applicant's household income must be less than $75,000, have been a Nova Scotia resident for at least 12 months, and are a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident. The property must become your principal residence. The down payment loan is interest-free, and is repayable over ten years.
Household Income | Maximum Loan Amount (Halifax) | Maximum Loan Amount (Rest of Province) |
---|---|---|
$65,000 | $14,000 | $7,500 |
$66,000 | $13,300 | $7,125 |
$67,000 | $12,625 | $6,775 |
$68,000 | $12,000 | $6,425 |
$69,000 | $11,400 | $6,100 |
$70,000 | $10,825 | $5,800 |
$71,000 | $10,300 | $5,525 |
$72,000 | $9,775 | $5,250 |
$73,000 | $9,300 | $4,975 |
$74,000 | $8,825 | $4,725 |
$75,000 | $8,400 | $4,500 |