Dear First Time Home Buyer,
As a front line point of contact for home purchases, I would like to bring to your attention certain measures that our government has introduced in Canada's Economic Action Plan to assist home buyers and homeowners.
Increasing the Home Buyers' Plan limit
The HBP allows first-time home buyers to withdraw amounts from an RRSP to purchase a home without having to pay tax on the withdrawal. The federal government is providing first-time homebuyers with additional access to their registered retirement savings plans (RRSP’s) for home purchases, by increasing the Home Buyers' Plan (HBP) withdrawal limit to $25,000 from $20,000. This is the first increase in the withdrawal limit since the HBP was introduced in 1992. It will allow a couple to withdraw up to $50,000 from their RRSP funds toward the purchase of their first home. For more information, please visit:
Introducing the Home Renovation Tax Credit
To encourage Canadians to undertake new renovation projects, the federal government has introduced a 15% non-refundable tax credit that will apply to eligible home renovation expenditures for work performed or goods acquire after January 27 ,2009, and before February 1,2A1A, pursuant to contracts entered into after January 27,2009. The credit may be claimed on the portion of eligible expenditures exceeding $1,000, but not more than $10,000, and will provide up to $1,350 in tax relief. Individuals may claim the HRTC when filing their income tax returns for 2009, and will need to keep receipts for expenditures. For more information, please visit:http://www.actionplan.gc.ca/initiatives/eng/index.asp?mode=5&initiativeID=42&clientid=4
Introducing the First Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit
Through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the federal government will introduce a First-Time Home Buyers' Tax Credit (HBTC) to help with the purchase of a first home. This will assist first-time homebuyers with the costs associated with the purchase of a home, such as legal fees, disbursements and land transfer taxes, which are a particular burden for first-time homebuyers, who must also save for a down payment. The 95,000 non-refundable HBTC amount will apply to qualifying homes acquired after January 27,2009, and will provide up to $750 in federal tax relief. For more information, please visit:
Expanding and improving the ecoENERGY Retrofit Program
Effective April 1, 2009, the ecoENERGY Retrofit - Homes program has been expanded by $300 million over two years, and grants have been increased by 25%. Homeowners are encouraged to act now to take advantage of this special, limited-time offer. ecoENERGY Retrofit - Homes provides home and property owners with grants of up to $5,000 to offset the cost of making energy-efficiency improvements. The grants apply to a range of measures that reduce energy consumption and provide for a cleaner environment, from increasing insulation to upgrading a furnace. To be eligible, the homeowner must have an energy evaluation performed by a certified energy advisor before beginning the project, and a post-retrofit evaluation when the upgrades are completed. For more information, please visit: http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/residential/personal/home-improvement.cfm?attr=0
Also check out our website for details on land transfer tax rebate up to $2,000 available to First Time Homeowners. For more information please visit:
Life is good!
Talk to you soon.
Kind regards,
Geraldine Mahood
