Reminder - Letter of Good Standing for Claiming the Ontario and British Columbia Provincial Transitional New Housing Rebates

GST/HST Notices - Notice 258
November 2010

Builders of newly constructed or substantially renovated housing in Ontario and British Columbia (B.C.) may be entitled to claim a provincial transitional new housing rebate to recover the estimated Ontario retail sales tax (RST) or the estimated B.C. provincial sales tax (PST) embedded in the cost of housing that was completed in full or in part before July 2010. For more information on the conditions for claiming a provincial transitional new housing rebate and calculating the amount of the rebate, refer to GST/HST Info Sheet GI-096, Harmonized Sales Tax: Provincial Transitional New Housing Rebates for Housing in Ontario and British Columbia.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) would like to remind builders that they have to attach a letter of good standing to their rebate application when they submit this application for the first time. This letter is issued to builders by the governments of Ontario and B.C. and it remains valid for one year, unless the letter is revoked by the province. Ontario and B.C. determine the circumstances under which a letter of good standing is issued.

The CRA has noted that many builders have not attached a letter of good standing to their rebate application. The CRA will not process a provincial transitional new housing rebate application and will return it to the builder if:

• a letter of good standing is not attached to the application form that a builder submits for the first time,
• the letter of good standing attached to the rebate form is not valid, or
• the letter of good standing on file with the CRA is no longer valid.

Information on obtaining these letters is available on the following Web sites:

• for Ontario: www.rev.gov.on.ca/en/tax/rst/faq_new_home.html
• for B.C.: www.sbr.gov.bc.ca/business/Consumer_Taxes/Harmonized_Sales_Tax/
  new_housing_rebate.htm

To avoid any delays in processing your rebate applications, the return of your rebate applications or the denial of your rebate, ensure that each rebate application is completed in full and that all required signatures are included on the application.

Enquiries by telephone

All technical publications on GST/HST are available on the CRA Web site at www.cra.gc.ca/gsthsttech.