I’m sure we’ve discussed this before, but it’s worth repeating at this time of year.
Do you have an HST rebate owing to you? If you purchased a NEW home or condo in 2015 or 2016, do you know how that will affect your tax return? It doesn’t affect every new purchase but it’s important to know if there’s something you need to report, especially if you file your own taxes.
We read a lot of articles written by Mark Weisleder, who is a partner with Real Estate Lawyers.ca LLP. In the January 2017 edition of REM, Mr Weisleder talked a bit about HST rebates. Here are his main points:
- If you moved in on closing, you won’t be getting a rebate. The Harmonized Sales Tax is usually built into the purchase price and any rebate generally goes to the home builder.
- If you bought the home or condo as an investment and rented it to another party upon closing, it is possible that you can apply for a rebate on any extra HST you may have paid to the builder.
- If you built your own new home with the use of contractors, there may be a rebate coming to you with respect to what you paid out to contractors.
Mr Weisleder recommends checking with www.rebate4u.ca to get more information. You could also contact Revenue Canada or check their website for details. Any chance you have to put some more money in your pocket seems like a good opportunity to do some investigating.
If you are interested in more of what Mark has to say with respect to the laws and how they affect our real estate transactions, check him out at markweisleder.com.
We’re always interested in your feedback. You can reach John Weber at John@WeberTeam.ca or by cell at 705-727-6111. You can reach Christie Bond at Christie@WeberTeam.ca or by cell at 705-220-1152.
