How the land transfer tax calculator works
The live tool stays on the land transfer tax calculator. This page is the bracket schedules and city-level worked examples.
What every province charges
Six jurisdictions charge nothing resembling a transfer tax; three use flat rates; the rest use marginal brackets, so only the portion of the price falling inside each band is taxed at that band’s rate. Names differ: British Columbia calls it property transfer tax, Quebec the welcome tax, Nova Scotia a deed transfer tax.
| Province or territory | Structure | First-time buyer relief |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario | Marginal, 0.5% to 2.5% | Rebate up to $4,000 |
| Toronto (municipal) | Mirrors the Ontario brackets | Rebate up to $4,475 |
| British Columbia | Marginal, 1% / 2% / 3% / 5% | Full exemption to $500,000, partial to $525,000 |
| Quebec | Marginal, 0.5% to 2.5% | None provincially |
| Manitoba | Marginal, 0.5% to 2% | None |
| Nova Scotia | Flat deed transfer tax, 1.5% in Halifax | None |
| New Brunswick | Flat 1% | None |
| Prince Edward Island | Flat 1% | None |
| Alberta | None — title registration about $50 plus $2 per $5,000 | Not applicable |
| Saskatchewan | None — registration fees only | Not applicable |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | None — registration fees only | Not applicable |
| Yukon | Flat transfer fee plus an assurance fee | Not applicable |
| Northwest Territories, Nunavut | $1.50 per $1,000 to $1M, then $1.00 per $1,000 | Not applicable |
The Ontario brackets, worked through
Ontario taxes each slice of the price at its own rate. On a $900,000 purchase, only the amount above $400,000 attracts the 2% band — a distinction that matters, because the headline rate is not the effective rate. The effective rate here is 1.61%, not 2%.
| Portion of price | Rate | Tax on a $900,000 purchase |
|---|---|---|
| First $55,000 | 0.5% | $275 |
| $55,000 – $250,000 | 1.0% | $1,950 |
| $250,000 – $400,000 | 1.5% | $2,250 |
| $400,000 – $2,000,000 | 2.0% | $10,000 |
| Over $2,000,000 | 2.5% | — |
| Provincial total | $14,475 |
A first-time buyer in Toronto on that $900,000 purchase owes $14,475 provincially and $14,475 municipally, claims the $4,000 and $4,475 rebates, and closes with $20,475 of land transfer tax. The same buyer outside Toronto — in Ottawa, Hamilton or London — owes only the provincial half, $10,475 after the rebate.
The same purchase in six cities
| City | Price | Tax before relief | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto | $900,000 | $28,950 | Provincial and municipal combined |
| Vancouver | $1,100,000 | $20,000 | Above the $525,000 first-time buyer ceiling |
| Ottawa | $650,000 | $9,475 | $5,475 after the first-time buyer rebate |
| Montreal | $600,000 | $7,843 | Provincial schedule; Montreal adds municipal brackets |
| Halifax | $550,000 | $8,250 | Flat 1.5% deed transfer tax |
| Calgary | $650,000 | ~$310 | Title registration fee, no transfer tax |
Read across those rows and the geography premium is stark. Priced at the same $900,000, Toronto’s $28,950 is about seventy times the $410 an Alberta registration would cost — and none of it is financeable. It has to be sitting in an account on closing day.
First-time buyer relief, in detail
Ontario’s rebate is capped at $4,000, which fully offsets the tax on a purchase up to roughly $368,000 and shrinks as a percentage of the bill above that. Toronto’s municipal rebate of $4,475 works the same way against the municipal half. Both are claimed through your lawyer at closing.
British Columbia takes the opposite approach with a hard cliff. A first-time buyer at $500,000 is assessed $8,000 of property transfer tax and exempted from all of it, closing at zero. At $512,500 the exemption is half phased out: the tax is $8,250 and the relief $4,125, leaving $4,125 payable. Above $525,000 the exemption is gone entirely, which is why a Vancouver buyer at $1,100,000 pays the full $20,000.
Eligibility in both provinces generally requires that you have never owned a home anywhere in the world, that you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and that you occupy the property as your principal residence within a set window after closing — commonly nine months. Tell your lawyer before closing; a rebate claimed late is far more work than one claimed on the statement of adjustments.