New housing transition measures give certainty to an important economic sector and help to keep taxes equitable throughout the transition as the province returns to the PST, says BC Finance Minister Kevin Falcon.

B.C. will return to the PST on April 1, 2013, meeting the Province’s commitment to return to the PST as quickly and responsibly as possible, while ensuring businesses can plan their training and systems switch-over effectively to apply the sales tax correctly.

Government is announcing new relief measures that will benefit purchasers and builders of new homes. The B.C. new housing rebate threshold will be increased to $850,000, effective April 1, 2012, meaning more than 90 per cent of newly built homes will now be eligible for a provincial HST rebate of up to $42,500. It is important to note that the HST does not apply to resale housing.

In addition, to help support workers and communities in B.C. that depend on residential recreational development, purchasers of new secondary vacation or recreational homes outside the Greater Vancouver and Capital regional districts priced up to $850,000 will now be eligible to claim a provincial grant of up to $42,500 effective April 1, 2012.

The housing transition rules help ensure when people buy a newly constructed home under the PST, whether built entirely under the HST, entirely under the PST, or partly under HST and partly under the PST, they will all pay a consistent and equitable amount of tax.

house plan from wikipedia