Purchasing•By Ratellow Research Team•Verified 2026-10-29•How we research

How do the Atlantic provinces compare?

Only PEI has a first-time buyer transfer tax break: a full exemption with no price cap. New Brunswick charges 1% with no first-time buyer exemption, Nova Scotia's municipal deed transfer tax has none, and Newfoundland and Labrador has no transfer tax.

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Read the deeper guide · Purchasing

First-Time Home Buyer Programs by Province: 2026 Canada Guide (Rebates, Exemptions & Savings)

Related Questions

How does mortgage insurance enable lower down payments?

Mortgage insurance lowers the risk for lenders, allowing them to offer mortgages to borrowers with down payments between 5% and 20%.

How will lenders evaluate my debt service ratios, and what key factors are considered?

Lenders assess your ability to repay the mortgage by calculating your Gross Debt Service (GDS) and Total Debt Service (TDS) ratios.

What property considerations impact my mortgage application?

Lenders carefully assess the property's value and characteristics, directly influencing the loan amount you can secure.

How does the 'straight switch' exemption benefit you at renewal?

The 'straight switch' exemption lets uninsured mortgage borrowers move their mortgage to a new federally regulated lender (FRFI) at renewal without needing to pass the Minimum Qualifying Rate (MQR) .

New Brunswick: Real Property Transfer Tax of 1% of the greater of the purchase price or assessed value, with no first-time home buyer exemption; the province's Homeownership Assistance Program offers a repayable loan to first-time homeowners with household income below $40,000. Nova Scotia: no provincial LTT; each municipality sets its own deed transfer tax (1.0% to 1.5%, 1.5% in Halifax), no FTHB exemption. PEI: Real Property Transfer Tax of 1% of the greater of price or assessed value, but first-time home buyers are fully exempt with no price cap. You file a declaration when the deed is registered, must have lived in PEI for six months (or filed PEI tax returns in two of the previous six years), and must live in the home for at least 183 consecutive days. Newfoundland & Labrador: no provincial land transfer tax, but the Registry of Deeds charges $100 plus $0.40 per $100 of value above $500 (about $1,700 on a $400,000 home) plus a mortgage registration fee capped at $5,000; NL Housing's First-Time Homebuyers Program offers eligible lower-income buyers a grant of 50% of legal closing costs (up to $1,500) and a repayable down payment loan. Atlantic provinces generally have lower property values, making the federal programs proportionally more impactful.