26 Grants and Rebates for Home Buyers and Owners

January 26, 2012

To own or buy a home in the Vancouver region, you need all the help you can get. And you can get lots of help!

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver has put together this indispensable list of places where you can get money or save money -- everything from tax credits and deferment programs to low-interest loans to incentives for making green improvements. It covers:

1. Canada Revenue Agency's Home Buyers' Plan
2.  GST Rebate on New Homes
3.  BC New Housing Rebate (HST)
4.  BC New Rental Housing Rebate
5.  BC Property Transfer Tax First-time Home Buyers' Program
6.  First-Time Home Buyers' Tax Credit
7.  BC Home Owner Grant
8.  BC Property Tax Deferment Programs
9.  CMHC Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program Grants
10. CMHC Mortgage Loan Insurance Premium Refund
11. Energy Saving Mortgages
12.Low-interest Renovation Loans
13. LiveSmart BC: Efficiency Incentive Program
14. BC Residential Energy Credit
15. BC Hydro Appliance Rebates
16. BC Hydro Fridge Buy-back Program
17. BC Hydro Windows Rebate Program
18. BC Hydro Mail-in Rebates/Savings Coupons
19. FortisBC Rebate Program
20. FortisBC Efficient Boiler Program
21. City of Vancovuer Solar Homes Pilot
22. City of Vancouver Rain Barrel Subsidy Program
23. City of Vancouver Greenest City 2020 Pilot Home Energy Loan Program
24. Vancity Green Building Grant
25. Local Government Water Conservation
26. Local Government Water Meter Programs

Take a look through this comprehensive list and you're bound to find savings, rebates or grants you didn't know you qualified for.

And here are more that didn't make the list above because they were just announced:

As BC moves from HST back to PST, the government has increased the sales tax rebate for newly built homes to $850,000.

BC Housing's Home Adaptations for Independent Living Program, which gives low-income seniors and people with disabilities financial help make changes that will allow them to stay in their homes, and the BC Seniors' Home Renovation Tax Credit, which is aimed at seniors only.