If you are building a suite or laneway home for a parent or a family member with a disability, Ottawa will refund part of the cost. The Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit is a refundable federal credit worth 15 percent of up to $50,000 in eligible expenses, a maximum of $7,500 back. Refundable means you receive it even if you owe no tax that year.
We keep seeing the number published as $7,000, including on well-funded competitor tools. It is $7,500. The math is not complicated: 15 percent of $50,000. When a site gets the arithmetic wrong on its flagship incentive, check its other numbers too.
Who and what qualifies
The credit applies to creating a self-contained secondary unit, with its own entrance, kitchen, bathroom, and sleeping area, so that a qualifying relative can live with you. A qualifying relative is a senior, 65 or older by the end of the year the renovation is completed, or an adult eligible for the disability tax credit. The unit must be for a relation: grandparent, parent, child, grandchild, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew of the owner or their spouse.
The detail most coverage misses: CRA guidance has confirmed that a detached secondary unit, such as a laneway home or garden suite, can qualify, not just an in-house basement suite. For SSMUH projects in BC, where the laneway home is often the multigenerational piece, that ruling matters a great deal.
The fine print worth knowing
- One qualifying renovation per eligible person over their lifetime, claimed in the tax year the work is completed.
- Eligible costs include materials, permits, professional labour, and equipment rental. Your own labour, furniture, and routine maintenance do not count.
- The credit is claimed on Schedule 12 of the federal return, and it began with the 2023 tax year.
- It stacks with the practical benefit that the same suite can later become a rental if family circumstances change.
Confirm eligibility for your specific situation with your accountant. But if a multigenerational suite is part of your SSMUH plan, budget with the credit in the model. $7,500 pays for real finishes.
Shortcut: text Dawar directly at 604-808-3797 with your address. He answers his own phone, and he'll tell you straight what your lot allows. No form needed.