The Home Buyers' Amount is a non-refundable credit. This means it can reduce your federal tax to zero, but it cannot create a "minus" balance or a refund of money you didn't pay in federal tax.
Check Line 35000 (Total Non-Refundable Tax Credits): If your other credits (like the Basic Personal Amount, CPP, and EI premiums) have already reduced your federal tax to zero, the software will not "use" the Home Buyer credit because there is no more tax left to offset. It won't show up on Line 31270 if it’s not being utilized.
The "Large Payable" Trap: You mentioned you have a large payable. However, if that payable is mostly CPP for self-employment or provincial tax, the Home Buyer credit (which is federal) cannot be used to pay those down. It only applies to the Federal Income Tax portion of your bill.
Is this a joint return?
Are you preparing this return as a joint return with a spouse? If so, have you checked your spouse’s tax summary to see if TurboTax automatically assigned the credit to them to maximize your combined refund?
If the credit is missing but you definitely have federal tax to pay, go back to the "Home Buyers' Amount" section in the interview and ensure you didn't accidentally tick a box saying your spouse is claiming the full amount.
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