
If you’re a first time home buyer in Alberta and are feeling an equal mixture of excitement, trepidation, and hyperventilation, those feelings are perfectly normal!
When going through a transaction as large as a home purchase, those feelings actually are expected. (Learning to control your breathing to keep the hyperventilation from ruining your day would be a good idea, though.)
Studying all of the different aspects of home buying can help you feel more confident as you go through the process for the first time, allowing you steer the extra energy from your excitement into a useful direction.
And keeping a bit of skepticism close at hand while searching for the right home will help you avoid making mistakes based more on emotion than on the facts in front of you.
Finally, if your trepidation relates to the financial burden of buying a home for the first time, the province of Alberta has quite a few programs and grants in place that can help alleviate this feeling.
In the paragraphs that follow, we’ve put together a list of the programs and processes available to help first-time Alberta home purchasers meet the financial burden. As an added benefit, we’ve collected a series of tips that can help you figure out how to afford your first house purchase.
To start, we’ve listed a series of federal government grants that Alberta residents can use to buy their first home; then we follow up with provincial and municipal government grants that are only available to Alberta residents.

Federal Government First Time Home Buyer Programs
First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit
As a first time home purchaser in Alberta, you may qualify for what ends up being a rebate on your following year’s federal tax return. As long as you and your home qualify, you could receive up to $750 back on your tax payment.
Some people find the receipt of the tax credit confusing because of the way you must fill out the tax form. On the correct line of the tax form, you’ll have to write off $5,000, which eventually calculates to the $750 credit as you work your way through the various lines on the tax form.
You won’t receive the rebate in the same year you purchase the home, which may confuse some people. If, for example, you purchase the home in 2019, you’ll receive the rebate after you file your 2019 tax return, which will occur early in 2020.
You could end up having to wait a dozen months or more after purchasing the home to receive the rebate.
The First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit does have a few restrictions on qualification, which are detailed at the link we’ve provided. Most Canadian citizens, including Alberta citizens, will be able to qualify, though.
Borrowing from Your RRSP
For those Canadians who have begun saving for retirement through an employer’s Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), borrowing money from your savings in this program can help you come up with the down payment you need for the purchase of your first home.
The RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) program rules for first-time home purchasers allow for use of any amount in your RRSP account up to a maximum of $25,000 for this purpose.
Should you and your spouse or partner be purchasing a home together for the first time, each of you is eligible to borrow up to $25,000 from your personal RRSP, meaning you can end up with a total of $50,000 for the down payment. Repayment of the loan occurs over a 15-year period.
Goods and Services Tax Credit
Another option available to both Alberta and Canadian residents trying to purchase a home for the first time is through the GST/HST credit, which is a rebate for up to 5% of the federal sales tax paid on real estate taxes or retail purchases you may have made for remodeling the home.
Residents who meet the income thresholds for receiving this credit don’t have to apply for it. To qualify, home buyers must be at least 19 years old, be married or have a common-law partner, and be living with at least one child.
If you meet these criteria, your income level on the previous year’s income tax return will determine whether you qualify to receive the tax credit.

Alberta Resident-Only First Time Home Buyer Programs
Next, we’ve collected a series of programs and grants that Alberta residents purchasing a home for the first time can use to help with the down payment, the purchase of the home, or the cost of needed renovations immediately after taking possession of the home.
Edmonton - First Place Home Ownership Program
The First Place Home Ownership Program is available in Edmonton to help people who meet certain income limitations to purchase a first home.
Certain builders participate in the program in various areas of the city, so you cannot select just any home and qualify. These properties usually will consist of townhomes and condominiums.
Once you have qualified for a mortgage, you then can apply to the First Place program. You must agree to live in the condominium unit for at least five years.
Calgary – Attainable Homes Calgary
Specifically for Calgary residents, the Attainable Homes Calgary program provides help with finding money for a down payment.
In this program, you will have to move into a home in one of the development areas associated with the program (meaning you can’t just pick any home). You’ll then pay a $2,000 down payment, and the program will make up the difference. When you sell the home later, you must give a portion of the proceeds back to the program.
Income limitations apply for those who want to use the program.
PEAK Program
The Public, Essential, and Key (PEAK) program will give low-income people help with finding the funds for a down payment on a first home. After you’ve qualified for your mortgage, PEAK helps you obtain a second mortgage that provides some money for your down payment up to a maximum 5% of the purchase price on the property.
The first five years of payments on this second mortgage are interest free, which is a great feature. You will need to meet income restrictions to qualify.
Residential Access Modification Program (RAMP)
If you’re purchasing a first home in Alberta, and you need to make renovations to the home to make it safer for someone with a physical disability, you may qualify for the Residential Access Modification Program (RAMP).
This program provides a grant of up to $7,500 annually for those Albertans who meet certain income guidelines. The proposed project must be eligible under the program rules and must be a permanent type of construction.

Energy Efficiency Programs (Federal & Provincial)
Several programs are available to first-time home buyers in Alberta who want to do some renovations on the home after taking possession to create better energy efficiency. We’ve collected information about some of the programs here.
CHMC Green Home
You can receive a refund of as much as 25% of your home mortgage insurance premium when remodeling an existing home to install energy efficiency features.
You’ll need to apply for the CHMC Green Home program, and you may need to allow an inspection of the home’s energy efficient features before and after the remodeling work. Genworth Canada provides a similar program for those who use Genworth insurance premiums.
Energy Efficiency Alberta Home Improvement Rebate Program
When you perform renovations to your home that result in energy savings, such as by installing insulation, new windows, a tankless water heater, or a drain water heat recovery system, you may receive some of what you spent on the work in the form of a rebate.
Specific qualification information is available at the Energy Efficiency Alberta web site. Rebate amounts depend on the amount of energy savings you receive, but they can range from a couple hundred dollars to several thousand dollars for large renovation jobs.
Energy Efficiency Alberta Appliance Rebate Program
When you replace an old appliance with an energy efficient appliance, such as a new refrigerator, a smart thermostat, or an efficient washing machine, you may be able to qualify for additional rebates of up to $75 for one appliance or $150 for two appliances.
Energy Efficiency Alberta Solar Power Program
If you’re buying or building a first home, and you’d like to add solar panels to the building, you may be eligible for rebates for part of the money you spend on the installation.
Qualification rules and rebate amounts vary significantly for this solar energy program, so visit the link for more details.

Energy Efficiency Programs (Municipal)
A few energy efficiency programs and grants in Alberta are available to residents of certain cities, as we’ve outlined here. If you plan to do some quick renovations after your first home purchase, these programs can help with some of the costs.
Banff
The town of Banff offers rebates to first-time homeowners (and other homeowners) who purchase energy efficient appliances and devices that reduce water usage. The rebates range from $25 to a few hundred dollars, depending on the project.
Lethbridge
If you’re building a first home in Lethbridge, the city offers rebates when you construct a new home with energy efficient features.
Medicine Hat
For residents of Medicine Hat, many energy efficiency rebates are available for appliances, solar panels, and air sealant projects through a project called Hat Smart.
Red Deer
When you install a low flow or dual flush toilet in Red Deer, you’ll be eligible for a $25 or $50 rebate for up to two new toilets per household.
5 Tips for Affording Your First Home in Alberta

After you’ve explored all of the grants and programs available to first-time home purchasers in Alberta that we’ve listed above, you may feel more comfortable about starting the process of searching for a home, but you may need a final nudge in the right direction.
We have five additional tips that can help you take the step toward home ownership!
how do I get the disibilty grant to get siding and a roof maby acouple windows
It is very common for the government to come out with schemes that allow new homeowners to benefit. I have seen so many people take advantage of this situation right now.