13 - Real Estate Victoria

Page 4
week beginning March 29, 2012 Real Estate Victoria
Your Home
Your Real Estate
First-Time New Home Buyers Get a Bonus
The February 2012 provincial budget came with an unexpected boost for first-time buyers of new and substantially
renovated homes: up to $10,000 to offset the purchase. While the news may seem too good to be true, the BC Firsttime
New Home Buyers’ Bonus may be available to you if you meet the following criteria:
• You purchase or build an eligible new home located in BC
• You, or you and your spouse or common-law partner, have never previously owned a primary residence
• You file a 2011 BC resident personal income tax return, or if you move to BC after December 31, 2011, you
file a 2012 BC resident personal income tax return (you will not be eligible for the bonus if you move to BC
after December 31, 2012)
• You are eligible for the BC HST New Housing Rebate
• You intend to live in the home as your primary residence.
The bonus amount will be calculated as 5% of the purchase price of the home (or in the case of owner-built homes,
5% of the land and construction costs subject to HST) to a maximum $10,000. It is not linked to your taxable
income unless you and your spouse have an annual net income over $150,000. At that stage the bonus gradually
reduces until your annual income reaches $200,000 at which point you would not be eligible.
Buyers need to know that while the new bonus has been announced, it has not been passed into legislation and
may not for a few weeks. Once that final step takes place, the Ministry of Finance will post applications on its
website for your use. Once your application has been processed, a cheque will be issued and sent to
you directly from the Ministry.
For detailed information, see the BC Ministry of Finance’s Fact Sheet and Q&A online
(www.gov.bc.ca/fin). For information on new and renovated properties, seek the advice of a
REALTOR ® who will be able to help you.
For our complete consumer resource library, please visit www.vreb.org/articles/