First-time buyer · Tax credit in force
Bought in 2026? You can collect up to $5,875 without waiting for your tax return. But the application has a deadline.
In force, not a promise
The refundable tax credit for home ownership access was announced in the Quebec Department of Finance information bulletin of 17 April 2026. Revenu Quebec states it is available as of the 2026 taxation year, for qualifying homes acquired after 31 December 2025.
In other words: this is not an election promise. It is an existing tax measure that applies to a purchase made today.
The calculation, exactly
- 100% of the first $5,000 paid in transfer duties (the "welcome tax").
- 25% of the $3,500 paid above that first bracket, for additional assistance of up to $875.
- Maximum $5,875, reached once the transfer duty hits $8,500.
The reduction above $750,000
Revenu Quebec: the credit is reduced by an amount equal to 2.35% of the excess of the transfer duty tax base over $750,000, so that the credit is $0 where the tax base is at least $1 million.
The tax base generally corresponds to the market value of the immovable at the time of acquisition. So at $850,000, the reduction is $2,350.
The advance payment, and its deadline
Rather than waiting for your tax return, you can request an advance payment. Five conditions:
- you reside in Quebec at the time of the application;
- you or your spouse paid the transfer duty;
- the tax base does not exceed $1 million;
- the estimated credit exceeds $1,000;
- you consent to direct deposit.
The application must be filed no later than December 1 of the tax year concerned. Revenu Quebec communicates the filing procedures.
The trap for couples
Many buyers assume two eligible spouses collect two credits. They do not. Revenu Quebec: where more than one individual is entitled to the credit for the same qualifying home, the total of the amounts each may obtain cannot exceed the amount that would have been granted if only one of them had been entitled.
The maximum stays $5,875 per home, not per person.
Who counts as a first-time buyer here
Two cumulative conditions. The individual has not owned, alone or jointly, a dwelling they occupied during the period beginning at the start of the fourth preceding calendar year and ending the day before the acquisition. And their spouse has not owned, during that same period, a dwelling the individual lived in during their union.
A detail that matters: the home is deemed acquired on the first day on which both the right in the dwelling is published in the land register and the dwelling is habitable.
Our rule on this page
We report what each party wrote, with the published figures and the source. We tell nobody how to vote, we do not predict the result, and we do not turn a promise into a certainty. An election platform is not a law: it becomes one only if a government tables it, passes it and sets its terms.
The most useful distinction for you is not who is right. It is knowing what applies today and what stays conditional.
Related
Frequently asked
What is the deadline for the advance payment?
December 1 of the tax year concerned, according to Revenu Quebec.
Can a couple collect $5,875 twice?
No. The total granted for one qualifying home cannot exceed what a single person would have received.
Does the credit apply above $750,000?
It is reduced by 2.35% of the excess over $750,000 and falls to $0 once the tax base reaches $1 million.
Primary sources, consulted 13 September 2026: Revenu Quebec (tax news of 21 April 2026), the Quebec Department of Finance explanatory document on the refundable tax credit for home ownership access (17 April 2026), Elections Quebec, Radio-Canada (Liberal financial framework, 13 September 2026), plq.org, pq.org, the Quebec solidaire release distributed by CNW (30 August 2026), the PCQ plan (11 September 2026), and APCIQ (4 September 2026). This page reports what each party published. It endorses no party and is neither tax nor legal advice.
Published by the Loaa & Manseur team, number one team at RE/MAX Platine in 2024 and 2025. Tell us about your project.