The Ontario teacher first-time buyer guide

An Ontario teacher buying a first home can stack the FHSA (up to $8,000 a year, $40,000 lifetime), the Home Buyers' Plan (up to $60,000 from an RRSP), the federal Home Buyers' Amount (a $10,000 claim worth up to $1,500 as a non-refundable credit), and the Ontario land transfer tax refund (up to $4,000, plus up to $4,475 in the City of Toronto). Figures are as published by the CRA, Ontario and Toronto on the dates in the sources.

The programs below stack, and most teachers leave money on the table by not combining them. Each figure here was read from the government page that sets it, and those pages are linked at the end. A teacher's advantage is predictable income: you know your grid step next year, which makes a multi-year savings plan across these accounts realistic rather than hopeful.

The programs at a glance

FHSA: First Home Savings Account

Your participation room is $8,000 in the year you open the account and $8,000 each year after, to a $40,000 lifetime maximum. Unused room carries forward, but the carry-forward is capped at $8,000, so an account opened and left empty for three years does not hold $24,000 of room. Contributions are tax-deductible and qualifying withdrawals for a first home are tax-free. Opening the account early, even with a small deposit, starts the room accumulating.

Home Buyers' Plan (HBP)

You can withdraw up to $60,000 from your RRSP tax-free for a first home and repay it over 15 years. The CRA allows an HBP withdrawal and an FHSA withdrawal for the same qualifying home, which is the most powerful stack for a saver. For participants making a first HBP withdrawal between January 1, 2026 and December 31, 2028, the start of the 15-year repayment period is deferred by an additional three years.

Land transfer tax refunds

As a first-time buyer in Ontario you can claim a refund of up to $4,000 on the provincial land transfer tax, which the Ministry of Finance describes as no tax payable on the first $368,000 of the purchase price for eligible homes. If you buy in the City of Toronto, you can claim a rebate of up to $4,475 on the municipal land transfer tax as well. Both are claimed on the purchase, not per buyer, so a two-teacher couple gets each refund once.

Federal Home Buyers' Amount

You can claim up to $10,000 on line 31270 of your tax return for the year you buy, worth up to $1,500. It is a non-refundable credit, so it reduces tax owing rather than paying out as cash, and it can be split between spouses or common-law partners as long as the total claim stays at $10,000.

Program figures are set by the federal government, Ontario, and the City of Toronto and were read on the dates shown in the sources. Eligibility rules apply and figures change, so confirm before you file.

A worked stack on a $600,000 first home

The minimum down payment on $600,000 is $35,000: 5 per cent of the first $500,000 plus 10 per cent of the remaining $100,000. A teacher who has used four years of FHSA room ($32,000 plus growth) and holds RRSP savings can fund that entirely from the two tax-sheltered accounts, keep the $4,000 provincial refund (and $4,475 more in Toronto) for closing costs, and claim the $1,500 credit on that year's return. Two teachers buying together can each use their own FHSA and HBP, so the tax-sheltered pool doubles even though the land transfer tax refunds do not.

Why a defined-benefit pension matters here

A teacher's pension is not a down-payment asset, but it is a stability story that supports your file. Build your down payment in an FHSA and RRSP, and let the pension do its job as a long-term creditworthiness signal.

Sources and dates

Figures in this guide come from the sources below. Each entry shows the date the source states, or the date it was read when the source gives none. After the review date, treat any number as a starting point and check the source.

• Canada Revenue Agency, participating in your FHSAs (accessed 2026-08-26)
• Canada Revenue Agency, the Home Buyers' Plan (accessed 2026-08-26)
• Canada Revenue Agency, line 31270 Home buyers' amount (accessed 2026-08-26)
• Ontario Ministry of Finance, land transfer tax refunds for first-time homebuyers (as of 2026-02-10)
• City of Toronto, municipal land transfer tax rebate opportunities (accessed 2026-08-26)
• Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, how much you need for a down payment (accessed 2026-08-26)

Common questions