If you're planning a custom build or new home purchase in Muskoka, there's a real deadline attached to real money right now. Ontario's enhanced HST new housing rebate offers up to $130,000 back on an eligible new home. Depending on how you buy, either your agreement has to be signed or your construction has to begin by March 31, 2027. Miss the date that applies to you and you miss the rebate.
What qualifies
The rebate applies to new homes bought from a builder with the land, and to owner-built homes, within this window, with the rebate amount tied to the total value of the home. Given that many custom builds in Muskoka land near or above $1.5M once lot and construction costs are combined, this threshold is worth understanding clearly before you sign anything. We'd recommend confirming your specific numbers with your accountant, since eligibility and rebate amount both depend on total home value.
Why the deal structure matters
At Fuller Developments, we default to a lot-first, build-contract-second structure for Deerhurst Highlands buyers rather than a single combined purchase. Beyond the HST rebate implications, this structure alone typically saves buyers $19,000 to $28,000 in land transfer tax, since the land and construction contract are taxed as separate transactions instead of one combined purchase price. If you go this route, the rebate follows the owner-built rule: construction has to begin by March 31, 2027.
Two paths, two different deadlines
The rebate works differently depending on whether you are buying from a builder or building on land you already own, and conflating the two is where most people get this wrong.
If you buy a lot at Deerhurst Highlands and the home from us together, on one agreement, that is a purchase from a builder. Your agreement of purchase and sale has to be signed between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027. Construction then has to begin on or before December 31, 2028, with substantial completion by December 31, 2031.
If you already own your land, including a lot you bought from us first, and hire us to build on it, that is an owner-built home for rebate purposes, and the rules are tighter. Construction itself has to begin between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027. There is no agreement-signing milestone that extends this, and the home must be substantially completed by December 31, 2029, two years earlier than the builder-purchase deadline.
The full value tiers and the eligibility rules are set out on our HST rebate guide.
What this means for timing
If you're buying the lot and the home from us on one agreement, the practical deadline isn't March 31, 2027 itself, it's however many months earlier your agreement needs to be signed and in place before then, accounting for design, permitting, and contract negotiation time. If you own the land or buy the lot first, you need to be permitted and ready to dig before that date, and frost season sits in between, so early spring is the realistic window. If you're seriously considering a Deerhurst Highlands lot or a build on your own land, the conversation needs to start well before the deadline, not at it.
Talk to us
We can walk you through current lot availability at Deerhurst Highlands, our $635 per square foot plus HST construction pricing, and how the lot-first structure and HST rebate interact for your specific situation. Contact us to start that conversation.
More answers in our HST rebate FAQ