Land transfer tax is usually the biggest cheque you write on closing after the purchase price itself, and it is not charged at one flat rate. It is calculated in brackets, it doubles in Toronto, and the first-time buyer rebate only helps if someone claims it for you.
Our charges include applicable taxes. Disbursements are extra and billed at cost — itemized upfront, in writing, never hidden.
From $1,354.87 taxes included
Ontario land transfer tax is charged on a sliding scale, which is why quoting a single percentage never works. The rate is 0.5% on the first $55,000 of the purchase price, 1% on the portion from $55,000 to $250,000, 1.5% from $250,000 to $400,000, and 2% on everything above that. On a $1,000,000 home the provincial tax comes to $16,475.
Land containing one or two single family residences attracts a further 2.5% band on the portion above $2,000,000. Toronto is the only municipality in Ontario permitted to add a municipal land transfer tax of its own, and its brackets mirror the provincial ones up to $3,000,000. A Toronto purchase therefore carries close to twice the tax of an identical purchase in Mississauga, Ottawa or Hamilton, and well over twice above $3,000,000, where Toronto applies additional graduated rates on land with one or two single family residences that the province does not match. Nowhere else in the province adds a second layer.
The buyer pays, always. The tax is due on closing and is taken through the electronic registration system at the moment your transfer registers — there is no bill afterwards, no instalment option, and no way to roll it into the mortgage unless your lender agrees to advance more. It is a government charge collected at cost, entirely separate from what a lawyer charges to close the deal.
Work the number out before you make an offer, not after. Our <a href="/land-transfer-tax-calculator">land transfer tax calculator</a> gives you the provincial and Toronto figures in seconds, and your written quote itemizes the exact amount once the file opens. Our flat fee for a residential closing is $1,354.87 with taxes included; land transfer tax and disbursements sit outside it, billed at cost. Compare everything on <a href="/pricing">pricing</a>.
The provincial rebate is worth up to $4,000. That erases the tax completely on a purchase of roughly $368,000 and reduces it on anything above. Toronto grants a separate municipal rebate of up to $4,475 on top of it. Both are applied by your lawyer through the registration system on closing day, so an eligible buyer never watches the money leave and come back months later.
To qualify you must be at least 18, you must occupy the home as your principal residence within nine months of the date of transfer, and you must never have owned an eligible home anywhere in the world. A spouse counts against you: if your spouse owned a home while the two of you were spouses, the rebate is gone, even if your name was never on that title.
The rebate is also restricted to Canadian citizens and permanent residents. If you close before your status comes through and then obtain it within 18 months of registration, you can apply to the Ministry of Finance for the refund directly rather than losing it outright. Tell your lawyer your status before closing — it is a question we are required to ask, not an accusation.
Where two buyers take title together and only one of them has never owned, the rebate is prorated to that buyer's share of the property. There is an exception where the other buyer's past ownership ended before the two of you became spouses. The rules are fiddly, they turn on dates most people have not thought about in years, and they are far cheaper to confirm before closing than to fix after.
Tax is charged on the value of the consideration, not on the price line in the agreement. That includes any mortgage you assume from the seller, any debt forgiven as part of the deal, and the value of anything else given for the land. On a new build it excludes HST, so the tax is worked out on the price net of tax — a distinction worth several hundred dollars on an average purchase.
A transfer of the beneficial interest in land is taxable even when nothing is registered. Trust arrangements, changes in a partnership, and some corporate reorganizations all fall into this. The tax is self-reported to the Ministry of Finance within a short deadline of the transaction, and the fact that the parcel register looks unchanged is not a defence when the Ministry asks.
Some transfers are exempt. Transfers between spouses for nominal consideration, certain family farm transfers, transfers to a family business corporation, and transfers from an estate to a beneficiary entitled under a will can all be structured without tax. The trap is the mortgage: a gift deed given for natural love and affection still attracts tax on the balance of any mortgage the recipient takes on.
Buyers who are not citizens or permanent residents should also budget for the Non-Resident Speculation Tax, which applies on top of land transfer tax to residential land across Ontario. It is charged at a flat rate on the full value rather than in brackets, and it is large enough to decide whether a purchase makes sense at all. The exemptions and rebates are narrow. Ask before you sign anything.
$16,475 provincially. The tax is calculated in brackets — 0.5% on the first $55,000, 1% up to $250,000, 1.5% up to $400,000, and 2% above that — so it climbs faster than the price does. If the property is in Toronto, the municipal land transfer tax adds a comparable amount again on the same closing.
Yes, and it is due on closing like any other purchase. The tax is calculated on the price excluding HST, so the number is slightly lower than the headline price suggests. Builder closings often land with little notice, so it is worth having the figure confirmed in writing months ahead rather than during pre-delivery inspection week.
Yes. On a normal closing the rebate is applied electronically at the moment the transfer registers, so you simply pay less. You file nothing. We ask about your prior ownership, your spouse's prior ownership and your residency status because those three things decide eligibility, not because we doubt what you have told us.
You can apply to the Ministry of Finance for a refund directly, but only within 18 months after the transfer registered. You will need the registered transfer, the statement of adjustments and proof that you occupied the home. Once that window closes there is no discretion to extend it, so check old closings sooner rather than later.
Sometimes. Adding a spouse for no consideration is usually exempt, but if the person added becomes responsible for a share of the existing mortgage, tax is payable on that share. Adding an adult child, a sibling or a friend follows the same logic. Get the calculation done before the transfer registers, not after.
Open your file tonight — a licensed Ontario lawyer will confirm everything with you by tomorrow.