Land transfer tax is not one national figure: it is set province by province, and in three cities — Toronto, Montreal and Halifax — a municipal tax stacks on top of the provincial one. Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec tax in percentage brackets; Alberta and Saskatchewan charge a land-titles registration fee instead; and Nova Scotia's deed transfer tax is municipal, not provincial, with Halifax's own rate and a separate 10% surcharge for non-resident buyers.
What each province (and its biggest city) actually charges
The table below is the full province set this calculator needs. Ontario's brackets run to 2.0% above C$400,000, with a 2.5% band above C$2,000,000 for one- and two-unit residential land; Toronto adds its own Municipal Land Transfer Tax on the same bracket structure up to C$2,000,000, then a steeper municipal-only schedule above that; British Columbia's Property Transfer Tax runs 1% to C$200,000, 2% to C$2,000,000, 3% above that, plus a further 2% on the residential portion above C$3,000,000; Quebec's welcome tax (droits de mutation) is a provincial-minimum schedule that Montreal replaces with its own steeper municipal brackets running to 4.0% above C$3,113,000; Manitoba taxes in five bands with no tax at all on the first C$30,000; Alberta and Saskatchewan don't call it a tax at all — both charge a land-titles registration fee, and Saskatchewan's is tiered rather than a flat percentage; and Nova Scotia's deed transfer tax is set municipality by municipality, not provincially, with Halifax Regional Municipality's own by-law setting a 1.5% rate.
| Province / city | Structure | Top bracket that applies at C$500,000 | Tax on C$500,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario | Provincial %, brackets to C$400,000 then 2.0% | 2.0% (over C$400,000) | C$6,475 |
| Toronto (adds to Ontario) | Municipal %, same brackets as Ontario to C$2,000,000 | 2.0% (over C$400,000) | C$6,475 |
| British Columbia | Provincial %, brackets to C$2,000,000 | 2% (C$200,000–C$2,000,000) | C$8,000 |
| Quebec (provincial minimum) | Provincial %, 3 brackets | 1.5% (over C$315,000) | C$5,611 |
| Montreal (replaces Quebec minimum) | Municipal %, 7 brackets to C$3,113,000+ | 1.5% (C$315,000–C$552,300) | C$5,611 |
| Manitoba | Provincial %, 5 brackets, first C$30,000 exempt | 1.5% (C$150,000–C$200,000) | C$3,650 |
| Alberta | Land-titles registration fee, not a tax | C$50 + C$5 per C$5,000 of value | C$550 |
| Saskatchewan | Tiered land-titles registration fee, not a tax | 0.4% of value above C$6,300.01 | C$2,000 |
| Nova Scotia — Halifax | Municipal deed transfer tax, set by-law | 1.5% flat, Halifax rate only | C$7,500 |
| New Brunswick | Provincial %, on the greater of price or assessed value | 1% of the higher figure | C$5,000 (if price is the higher figure) |
Rates as checked 2026-09-21 against each province's or city's own published schedule; see the paragraph above and the worked examples below for citations. Ontario/Toronto/BC figures shown for comparison only — see this page's other sections and the linked provincial closing-cost calculators for their full bracket math and first-time-buyer rebate treatment.
Working the brackets for Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick
Quebec's welcome tax is levied by the municipality using the provincial minimum brackets as a floor — Montreal's own schedule is steeper. On a C$500,000 Montreal purchase, using Montreal's 2026 brackets (0.5% to C$62,900; 1.0% to C$315,000; 1.5% to C$552,300):
Manitoba's Land Transfer Tax exempts the first C$30,000 of value entirely, then runs 0.5% to C$90,000, 1.0% to C$150,000, 1.5% to C$200,000, and 2.0% above that, with no first-time buyer program named on the province's own page.
Saskatchewan charges no land transfer tax at all, but its land-titles registration fee is tiered, not a flat 0.4%: free under C$500, a flat C$25 from C$500.01 to C$6,300, and only above C$6,300.01 does the 0.4%-of-value rate apply. Registering the mortgage itself uses a separate flat-tier fee schedule — for example a mortgage of C$250,000 to C$500,000 registers for a flat C$275, not 0.4% of the loan.
New Brunswick's real property transfer tax is 1% — but the base is whichever is greater: the price paid or the municipal assessed value, per the Real Property Transfer Tax Act. A buyer whose assessment exceeds their purchase price pays tax on the assessment, not the price.
Nova Scotia: a municipal tax, plus a separate 10% non-resident tax
Nova Scotia has no single provincial land transfer tax rate — the Municipal Deed Transfer Tax is set individually by each of the province's municipalities. Halifax Regional Municipality's own by-law sets its rate at 1.5% of the property's value; other Nova Scotia municipalities set their own rates, which are not covered by Halifax's figure.
On top of the municipal tax, Nova Scotia levies a wholly separate Non-resident Provincial Deed Transfer Tax, currently 10% of the purchase price or assessed value (whichever is higher), for agreements signed after March 31, 2025. It applies to residential property of three units or less, including vacant residential land, bought by a non-resident.
First-time buyer relief is capped differently in every province that offers it
A rebate is not a discount rate — each program caps the dollar amount it will refund, and the caps differ. Ontario's land transfer tax refund for first-time buyers tops out at C$4,000. Toronto's separate municipal rebate, layered on top for city purchases, tops out at C$4,475. British Columbia's first-time buyers' program gives a fixed exemption of up to C$8,000 for homes with a fair market value up to C$835,000, phasing out completely by C$860,000. Manitoba's own Land Transfer Tax page names no first-time buyer rebate or exemption at all.
Methodology
Bracket totals are computed by applying each province's or city's own published rate schedule to the stated purchase price, band by band, with each band's portion taxed only at its own rate — the method every source above describes for its own jurisdiction. Rebate and exemption figures are the caps as published by each authority; this page does not average them across provinces.
Sources
- Government of Ontario — Calculating land transfer tax — accessed 2026-09-21
- Government of Ontario — Land transfer tax refunds for first-time homebuyers — accessed 2026-09-21
- City of Toronto — Municipal Land Transfer Tax (MLTT) Rates and Fees — accessed 2026-09-21
- City of Toronto — MLTT Rebate Opportunities — accessed 2026-09-21
- Government of British Columbia — Property Transfer Tax — accessed 2026-09-21
- Government of British Columbia — First time home buyers' program — accessed 2026-09-21
- Gouvernement du Québec — Droits sur les mutations immobilières — accessed 2026-09-21
- Ville de Montréal — Comment sont calculés les droits sur les mutations immobilières — accessed 2026-09-21
- Government of Manitoba, Finance — Land Transfer Tax — accessed 2026-09-21
- Government of Nova Scotia — Municipal deed transfer and property tax — accessed 2026-09-21
- Halifax Regional Municipality — By-Law D-200 Respecting Deed Transfer Tax — accessed 2026-09-21
- Government of Nova Scotia — Non-resident Provincial Deed Transfer Tax — accessed 2026-09-21
- Government of Alberta — Land Titles and Surveys common documents fee schedule — accessed 2026-09-21
- Government of New Brunswick — Real Property Transfer Tax Act, s.2(1.03)-(1.04) — accessed 2026-09-21
- Information Services Corporation — Saskatchewan Land Registry Fees — accessed 2026-09-21