First-Time Home Buyer Incentives in Nova Scotia 2025
Nova Scotia First-Time Home Buyer Calculator
Nova Scotia First-Time Home Buyer Incentive
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.
How do I qualify for Nova Scotia’s First-Time Home Buyers Rebate?
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.
Nova Scotia Down Payment Assistance Program (DPAP)
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 $500,000 within Halifax or the Municipality of East Hants, or $375,000 in the Municipality of West Hants, Annapolis Valley (Kings, Annapolis and Digby Counties) and the South Shore (Shelburne, Queens and Lunenburg Counties), or $300,000 in Yarmouth County and Northern and Eastern regions (Cumberland, Colchester, Pictou, Antigonish, Guysborough and Cape Breton Counties)
- The applicant's household income must be less than $145,000
- The applicant is a first-time home buyer with a credit score of at least 650
- Live in Nova Scotia as a resident for at least 183 days each year, 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. The maximum amount of the loan is $25,000.
Maximum Nova Scotia Down Payment Assistance Program Loan Amounts for 2024
| Halifax and East Hants | West Hants, Annapolis Valley, and the South Shore | Yarmouth County, Northern, and Eastern Regions |
|---|---|---|
| $25,000 | $18,750 | $15,000 |
Source: Government of Nova Scotia
| 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 |
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