25 Government Grants, Rebates & Tax Credits for Alberta Homeowners

Are you looking to add a suite to your home? Are you perhaps getting older and finding it hard to move around? Or maybe you’d like to purchase a new home or make your current home more energy efficient?

Well, luckily for you, Alberta residents have options that allow them to save money!

In addition to federal government grants for Alberta homeowners, there are provincial programs and municipal grants if you live in Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer, Medicine Hat, Grand Prairie, Lethbridge, or Banff.

Seniors and people with disabilities also have programs created specifically by the Province of Alberta to help with renovation costs and property taxes.

Below we’ve listed all of the current homeowner grants for Alberta.  Let’s take a look at them.

Home Improvement Grants, Rebates, and More Available in Alberta

Federal Programs for Alberta Homeowners

• RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan

• This program allows you to withdraw up to $25,000 from your RRSP to buy or build a new home.
• You can also use it to buy or build a home for yourself or someone you know with a disability.

• Home Buyers’ Tax Credit

• The THBTC is a non-refundable tax credit that helps homeowners recover closing costs such as legal expenses and inspections. First-time buyers can claim up to $5,000for the purchase of a qualifying home on their personal tax return on the year of purchase. However, you cannot have lived in another home you or your partner owned in the previous 4 years.
• If you have a disability (i.e., you are eligible for the disability tax credit) or if you bought the house to improve accessibility for someone who is disabled, you do not have to be a first-time home buyer.

• GST/HST New Housing Rebate

• The GST/HST new housing rebate gives back some of the GST or the federal part of the HST you paid – up to $1,500 – for a new or substantially renovated house that is your primary place of residence provided you meet all the eligibility requirements.

• Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program for Secondary/Garden Suite On-Reserve

• This program is open to First Nations and First Nation members owning residential properties that want to create affordable, self-contained rental accommodation (secondary, granny, or garden suites) within their primary residence.
• Eligible households can receive fully forgivable loans that do not have to be repaid as long as you stick to the conditions of the program, such as renting the suite to low-income tenants. The most you can get is $60,000 per unit unless you live in a northern or remote community. In that case, the amount increases by 25%.

• CMHC Green Home

• If you buy, build, or renovate for energy efficiency using CMHC-insured financing, you could receive a 15% rebate for building a home to ENERGY STAR® standards or up to 25% for building a home to R-2000 building standards.

• Genworth Canada Energy-Efficient Housing Program

• Receive a 25% rebate when you build a home through one of Genworth Canada’s qualifying energy-efficient building programs or meet the prescribed minimum Natural Resources Canada EnerGuide requirements and fund it through a Genworth Canada insured mortgage.

Energy Efficiency Rebates for Alberta Homeowners

• Energy Efficiency Alberta’s Home Improvement Rebate program (EEA)

• If you’re an Albertan homeowner and would like to improve the efficiency of your home, which not only helps the environment but saves you money, this program can help you spend less to achieve that goal.
• Save up to $1,500 on new windows, $1,000 on a tankless water heater, up to $3,500 on new insulation, and much more!
• Online rebates are also available for energy-efficient appliances and more (though there is a limit of two products per category per address). You can save as much as a $100 on refrigerators, washers, or smart thermostats!
• This program even offers a Home Efficiency Tool calculator, which helps you calculate the savings potential of your home.
• A first of its kind in Canada, this program even includes The Residential and Commercial Solar Program as part of the EEA, which offers incentives to homeowners, businesses, and non-profits that wish to install solar photovoltaic systems. Learn more about it and the qualifications here.

Alberta Seniors Homeowners Grants

• Seniors Home Adaptation and Repair Program (SHARP)

• Seniors can receive a loan of up to $40,000 for seniors to make renovations to their primary residence.
• Maximum household income for this home is $75,000 and applicants must own at least 25% of their primary residence.

• Alberta Seniors Benefit program

• Seniors who have lived in Alberta for 10 years and are receiving OAS and GIS can qualify for this monthly benefit in addition to their federal income benefits.
• After you fill out an application, you could qualify if you are a single senior with an annual income of $27,300 or less or a senior couple with a combined annual income of $44,335 or less.

• Seniors Property Tax Deferral Program

• The Alberta government will pay your residential property tax on your behalf. And then you pay the loan, with interest, when you sell the home or sooner.
• Qualifications are that you are 65 or older, an Alberta resident, and own 25% equity in your home

• Special Needs Assistance for Seniors (SNA) Program

• Alberta recognizes that quality of life can decrease as we age, so the provincial government created this program to assist seniors with some of the cost of appliances and some health and personal supports.
• A single senior with a total annual income of $27,300 or less or a senior couple with a total combined annual income of $44,335 or less can qualify to receive up to $5,000/year.

Alberta Grants for People with Disabilities

• Residential Access Modification Program

• This is a grant program that will provide up to $7,500 for one year, with a maximum of $15,000 over ten years to be given for renovations to a home to make it easier for people with disability issues to live in their own home.
• Eligibility for single adults is $36,900 with a maximum of $94,500 for families.
• Claims must be filed within 90 days of renovations.

Calgary Homeowner Reno Programs

• Attainable Homes Calgary Corporation (AHCC)

• This program is designed to give help Calgarians purchase new homes. New homeowners only make a $2000 payment to start.
• Maximum household is $90,000 for a dual parent family.
• If you decide to sell or refinance your home, a portion of the appreciated value goes back to the AHCC to further finance future homeowners.
• There is also a mandatory home education class that must be taken by applicants.

• Peak Housing Initiative

• Peak provides a second mortgage that is interest free for the first five years of the program.
• To qualify, the maximum income for a dual income household is $90,000 with dependents.
• You must provide at least $1,000 as a deposit on the home.

Edmonton Homeowner Reno Programs

• The Home Program

• This is a free educational program to help first time home buyers plan for their first home purchase.
• As well as providing educational programs, it also provides credit counseling services as well.
• While the program isn’t completely up and running yet, it will be soon, so they encourage prospective clients to send their information.

• Cornerstones II: Building (or renovating) a New Secondary, Garage, or Garden Suite

• This program offers up to $20,000 or 50% of the cost of building a new secondary suite in your home.
• The suite must be rented out to low income residents in Edmonton ($55,036 for a household of two people).
• This program also applies to renovating a secondary suite as well.

• Spot the Difference EnerGuide Rebate Program

• Good news Edmontonians! Eligible homeowners who get an EnerGuide evaluation done on their house and share the results on Edmonton’s EnerGuide for Homes Map get a $400 rebate. That’s at least 80% off!

Red Deer Homeowner Reno Programs

• Toilet Rebate Program

• Save money, save water, and save energy with Red Deer’s Toilet Rebate Program. Replace your high-flow toilet with a dual-flush toilet and receive a $50 rebate or with a low-flow toilet (6 L or less) and receive a $25 rebate.

Medicine Hat Homeowner Reno Programs

Medicine Hat residents are in luck too! This city has a few different programs designed to help you.

The Community Warmth Program helps low-income Medicine Hat Utility customers facing financial difficulties out of their control who have received a disconnection notice.

With a program called Hat Smart, you can take advantage of many different rebate programs at the same time as you increase your energy efficiency. Below is a list of the rebates that make up this program:

• Scratch & Win

• (up to $100 back on the purchase of energy-efficient everyday items)

• Solar Electric Panels

• ($0.75/watt to a maximum of $5,000)

• EnerGuide® Ratings

• ($100 per gigajoule below the typical new house baseline to a maximum of $10,000)

• Clothes Dryer

• ($75 per qualified unit installed)

• Air Sealing

• (10% reduction in air leakage – $500, 20% reduction – $500, 30% reduction in air leakage – $700)

Grande Prairie Homeowner Reno Programs

• Low Income Access Programs

• Eligible low-income families and individuals can get transit passes at 50% off through the Low Income Access Program.
• You can also take part in the Low Income Recreation Access Program, which aims to allow low-income residents access to recreation centres. Though this program is currently under review, you can still get a 10-punch pass to Eastlink Centre. Check their website often to see the new program guidelines.

Lethbridge Homeowner Reno Programs

• SunRidge BuiltGreen Homeowner Rebate

• The City of Lethbridge is offering home buyers in the SunRidge development up to $3,500 to maximize energy efficiency in their homes.

Banff Homeowner Reno Programs

If you live in Banff, there are two energy-saving rebate programs you have access to:

• Home Energy Use Reduction:

• $200 for high-efficiency (ENERGY STAR certified) full-sized refrigerators
• $50 for window and door (ENERGY STAR certified) replacement
• $650 for certified Solar Hot Water Systems
• $100 for high-efficiency (ENERGY STAR certified) dishwashers
• $50 for programmable thermostats
• $500 for high-efficiency (ENERGY STAR certified) furnaces
• $100 for energy audits
• $100 for ENERGY STAR Most Efficient certified front-loading clothes washers

• Water Use Reduction:

• $100 for dual-flush toilet replacement
• $100 for high-efficiency (4.8L or less) toilet replacement
• $100 for ENERGY STAR Most Efficient certified front-loading clothes washers
• $100 for high-efficiency (ENERGY STAR certified) dishwasher replacement
• $25 for rain barrels

As you can see, there are many different programs available to Alberta homeowners to save money on purchasing homes, making renovations, or becoming greener.

Photo by Andrew Welch on Unsplash

Enjoy the savings!

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