Did you buy a home in 2015?

Did you know?
If you bought your home in 2015, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has tax credits and a program that may help you save money.

Home buyers’ amount
If you are a first-time home buyer, you may be able to claim an amount of $5,000 for the purchase of a qualifying home in 2015.

To qualify for the home buyers’ amount:

you or your spouse or common-law partner bought a qualifying home; and
you did not live in another home owned by you or your spouse or common-law partner that year or in any of the four preceding years
You do not have to be a first-time home buyer if:

you are eligible for the disability tax credit; or you acquired the home for the benefit of a related person who is eligible for the disability tax credit.
A qualifying home must be registered in your name or your spouse’s or common-law partner’s name according to the applicable land registration system, and must be located in Canada. It includes existing homes such as single-family houses, semi-detached houses, townhouses, mobile homes, condominium units, apartments in duplexes, triplexes, four-plexes, or apartment buildings, and homes under construction.

Home Buyers’ Plan
You may also be eligible to participate in the Home Buyers’ Plan, a program which allows you to withdraw funds from your registered retirement savings plan to buy or build a qualifying home for yourself or for a related person with a disability. You can withdraw up to $25,000 in a calendar year, and you have up to 15 years to repay the amounts you withdraw. Your first repayment starts the second year after the year you withdrew funds from your RRSPs for the HBP.

To be eligible to participate in the Home Buyers’ Plan, you must be a first-time home buyer and you must have a written agreement to buy or build a qualifying home for yourself. You are considered a first-time home buyer if, in the four-year period, you did not live in a home that you or your current spouse or common-law partner owned.

You must intend to live in the qualifying home as your principal place of residence within　one year after buying or building it. For more tax information for homeowners, go to www.cra.gc.ca/myhome.

Home Buyers’ Plan for persons with disabilities
You do not have to be a first-time home buyer to participate in this plan if you are eligible for the disability tax credit or if you acquired the home for the benefit of a related person who is eligible for the disability tax credit. The purchase must be made to allow the person with the disability to live in a home that is more accessible or better suited to the needs of that person.