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Attention home buyers in British Columbia! The British Columbia provincial government and the Ministry of Finance recently published a tax information notice on Enhanced New Housing Rebates and the Re-Implementation of the Provincial Sales Tax.

This Notice is intended to provide certainty about the application of tax during the transition for British Columbians who are buying new homes or constructing their own homes and for builders& who are constructing new homes. The temporary transition measures for new housing will help to ensure that purchasers are treated equitably and& will smooth& the transition from the HST to the PST/GST.

This Summer, British Columbians participated in a province-wide referendum on the elimination of the harmonized sales tax (HST) and the re-introduction of the provincial sales tax (PST) plus federal goods and services tax (GST). The vote turned out in favor of the return to the PST/GST system. The provincial government has committed to make the transition and PST will be re-implemented on April 1, 2013.

As a result of this enhancement, eligible purchasers of new homes with a purchase price of up to $850,000 will be entitled to receive a rebate of 71.43 per cent of the provincial component of the HST paid up to a maximum of $42,500. For a new home wit a purchase price of $850,000 and above, the purchaser will be entitled to the maximum rebate of $42,500. This enhanced rebate represents a 60 per cent increase in the maximum rebate currently available.

Download and read more about Enhanced New Housing Rebates in B.C.