In an effort to help first-time homebuyers—but not hurt the equilibrium of housing markets outside of Toronto—the Ontario Liberal government announced today that they’ll double the first-time homebuyers’ maximum Land Transfer Tax refund to $4,000. 
This increased rebate will take effect January 1, 2017 and will mean that eligible homebuyers in Ontario would pay no Land Transfer Tax (LTT) on the first $368,000 of their home’s purchase price.

​As a general rule, real property transactions are taxable, even when the vendor is a small supplier and/or is not registered for GST/HST. In such cases, the vendor must collect and remit the tax (unless the purchaser is a GST/HST registrant—see discussion that follows). However, the sale of used residential property and certain sales of real property by an individual who is not engaged in a business are generally exempt from GST/ HST. In the case of bare land, if the property has been subdivided into more than two parts, even an unregistered individual must generally collect GST/HST when the property is sold.

by  ConnectCPA
​
​If you are a Real Estate Agent in Canada, you should read this to save Tax and HST!
 
The following is post from Lior Zehtser, CPA, CA, co-founder and partner of ConnectCPA, Chartered Accountants – a virtual accounting firm that leverages technology to bring simplicity to the lives of business owners.
 
You won’t find many Chartered Accountants who felt the need to study another discipline after all was said and done with their articling and studies.  Getting through the Canadian Chartered Accounting exams is a rigorous process and looking at another textbook and studying for another exam is probably the last thing an accountant would want to do.  Thinking back to it, I don’t know why I went for it, but my passion for real estate led me down the Real Estate Agent path and I’m happy it did.
 
As co-founder of a Chartered Accounting firm, my priorities lie with my accounting clients – but when I hear about a unique property or when I have some spare time to browse MLS, it is sometimes hard to resist and I have to investigate further.