On December 1, the Government of Canada released their 2020 Fall Economic Statement which included some good news for Ontario home owners, buyers, sellers, and REALTORS®.
The First-Time Home Buyer Incentive
The government is expanding the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive to enhance eligibility in Toronto.
To help people in Toronto buy a house, the federal government is expanding the program to be available to eligible buyers to purchase a home up to 4.5 times their household income, an increase from the current limit of 4 times household income.
Additionally, the eligible buyer’s income threshold is being raised from $120,000 to $150,000 for Toronto. These changes will come into effect in the spring of 2021.
Home Energy Retrofits and Assessments
The government is proposing to provide $2.6 billion over 7 years, starting in 2020-21, to Natural Resources Canada to help homeowners improve their home energy efficiency by providing up to 700,000 grants of up to $5,000 to help homeowners make energy-efficient improvements to their homes.
Additional information on home energy efficiency grants will be provided in a future announcement, and eligibility for these grants will be retroactive to December 1, 2020.
The government also recognizes that homeowners and landlords need to be able to access simple and affordable financing to make deeper home energy retrofits. Over the coming months, the government will outline details of a low-cost loan program that integrates and builds on available energy audits and grants, and which can be easily accessed by Canadians.
Extending the Application Deadline for CEBA
The government is extending the application deadline for the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) to March 31, 2021.
CEBA provides an interest-free loan to small businesses of up to $40,000, with up to $10,000 being forgivable if the loan is paid back by December 31, 2022. The CEBA program will also soon be expanded, allowing eligible businesses to access an additional interest-free $20,000 loan where it is needed.
To read the full Fall Economic Statement, please click the button below: