British Columbia issued this notice to provide information on the transition from the current PST to HST for residents of the province who are buying new homes or constructing their own homes as well as to builders who are constructing new homes. Generally, sales of new homes under written agreements of purchase and sale entered into on or before November 18, 2009 would not be subject to the provincial component of the proposed HST, even if both ownership and possession are transferred to the purchaser on or after July 1, 2010. The proposed HST would also not apply on new home sales where ownership or possession is transferred before July 1, 2010.
The province has proposed to increase the threshold for the British Columbia HST new housing rebate from $400,000 to $525,000. This will ensure that purchasers of new homes up to $525,000 on average pay no more tax with the implementation of HST than is currently embedded as PST. The province also announced an enhanced new rental housing rebate of 71.43 per cent of the provincial component of HST paid, up to a maximum rebate of $26,250.