Is GST charged on resale homes in BC or only new construction?

Direct answer

The 5% goods and services tax applies to new or substantially renovated housing in BC, and a resale home is exempt from it under the federal Excise Tax Act. The line between "new" and "used" turns on whether the home has been "previously occupied as a place of residence" — the first sale by a builder of a never-occupied home is GST-taxable; subsequent resales are exempt. "Substantial renovation" (≥90% of the interior gutted and rebuilt) re-triggers GST as if the home were new. Three less-obvious resale scenarios: (1) presale assignments — effective May 7, 2022, every assignment of a new-construction purchase contract is GST-taxable on the assignment fee (the markup over the deposit) under the Budget Implementation Act, 2022. (2) builder spec homes that the builder briefly occupied — CRA scrutinizes "lived in by the builder for tax purposes" structures; documented owner-occupancy by the builder for ≥1 year typically converts the home to GST-exempt resale, but very short occupancies are challenged. (3) homes converted from commercial use (e.g., a former office converted to residential) trigger GST on the first residential sale. The federal GST New Housing Rebate (36% of GST paid, max $6,300, full rebate to $350K phasing out to zero at $450K) applies only to NEW housing, never to resale, and the same is true of the first-time-buyer GST rebate that took effect in March 2026: a resale home carries no GST for anyone to rebate.