Land Transfer Tax Calculator
The largest closing cost most Canadian buyers face, and the one most often left out of the budget. Every province works differently — and if you're buying in Toronto, you pay it twice.
How it works
Land transfer tax is charged by the province when property changes hands, and it's due in cash on closing — you cannot roll it into your mortgage. Most provinces use marginal brackets, exactly like income tax: each portion of the price is taxed at its own rate, so a higher bracket never applies to the whole purchase price.
The breakdown table above shows each bracket separately, so you can see precisely where the money goes rather than being handed a single number.
Ontario's brackets
| Portion of price | Rate |
|---|---|
| First $55,000 | 0.5% |
| $55,000 – $250,000 | 1.0% |
| $250,000 – $400,000 | 1.5% |
| $400,000 – $2,000,000 | 2.0% |
| Over $2,000,000 (1–2 single-family residences) | 2.5% |
On a $500,000 home that works out to $275 + $1,950 + $2,250 + $2,000 = $6,475.
Toronto charges it twice
Buy inside the City of Toronto and you pay the provincial tax plus a municipal land transfer tax that broadly mirrors the same brackets. In practice that means roughly double. On an $850,000 home the provincial tax is $13,475 and Toronto adds another $13,475 — about $26,950 due in cash on closing, for the tax alone.
This single fact reshapes budgets for buyers comparing Toronto against the surrounding 905 region, and it's routinely discovered far too late.
First-time buyer rebates
- Ontario: up to $4,000 — fully covering the tax on homes up to about $368,000
- Toronto: a further $4,475, stacked on top of the provincial rebate
- British Columbia: full exemption below a threshold, partial above it
- Prince Edward Island: full exemption for eligible first-time buyers
A first-time buyer in Toronto can therefore save $8,475 — genuinely worth confirming eligibility for. Definitions vary: most provinces require that you have never owned a home anywhere in the world, and in some cases your spouse must not have owned one during your relationship either.
The provinces that don't charge it
Alberta and Saskatchewan levy no land transfer tax at all. Instead they charge modest title registration and mortgage registration fees — typically a few hundred dollars rather than tens of thousands. For anyone moving from Ontario or BC, this is one of the larger and less-publicised financial differences between provinces.
Budget for the rest of closing too
Land transfer tax is the biggest line but not the only one. Expect legal fees ($1,500–$2,500), a title insurance policy ($250–$500), a home inspection ($400–$700), an appraisal if your lender requires one, adjustments for prepaid property tax, and moving costs. A common planning figure is 1.5–4% of the purchase price in closing costs, all payable in cash.