Buying a home in Canada runs offer, conditions, lawyer or notary, and closing, and the tax on the transfer is set province by province. This guide walks the sequence and the provincial land-transfer taxes, GST/HST on new housing, and first-time buyer measures, with worked figures only where a government page states the rate.
Applies in: CA
Buying a home in Canada follows the same spine in every province: settle what a lender will support, make a written offer, satisfy the conditions in that offer, and let a lawyer or notary search title, register the transfer and the mortgage, and settle the money on the closing date. What changes from province to province is the tax charged on the transfer itself, who must do the legal work, and which extra taxes apply to foreign buyers, vacant homes, and new housing. This guide owns that spine and those taxes. It does not recommend a price, a neighbourhood, a mortgage type, or a time to buy. Mortgage mechanics are covered in the mortgage guides linked at the end.
A pre-approval is a lender's check of income, debts, credit history, and the source of the down payment funds. It is not a promise to lend on a specific home, and it does not replace the financing condition in an offer, because the lender still has to accept the property itself. Get the check done first anyway: it sets the price range on a lender's figure, it shows what documents the lender will want, and it stops a buyer from offering on a home the financing cannot carry. Keep the down payment funds where their source can be shown. Money moved between accounts, gifted funds, and funds drawn from a First Home Savings Account or a registered retirement savings plan under the Home Buyers' Plan each carry their own paper trail, and the lender and the lawyer will both ask for it. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation publishes step-by-step buying guides that walk the same ground, including affordability checks and what to look for in a home, and they are a useful second read alongside a lender's own figures.
The offer is the agreement of purchase and sale. It names the buyer and seller, the property, the price, the deposit, the closing date, and what is included in the sale. Fixtures stay with the home; chattels, such as appliances or window coverings, stay only if the agreement lists them. The deposit is paid as the agreement directs, usually to the seller's brokerage or lawyer in trust, and the agreement states the terms on which it is held and what happens if the deal does not close. Read the deposit clause before signing, because the deposit is the money most exposed if a condition fails after the buyer has waived it. In Quebec the same stage runs through a promise to purchase followed by a deed of sale before a notary, rather than an Ontario-style agreement of purchase and sale, and the notary is the legal professional who carries the file. The words differ; the discipline does not: price, deposit, dates, inclusions, and conditions in writing, before money moves.
Most offers carry conditions, each with its own deadline. The common ones are financing, a home inspection, a review of condominium documents for a condo purchase, a title search, and, for a buyer who must sell first, the sale of the buyer's existing home. A condition protects the buyer only while it is open. Once the buyer is satisfied, the condition is waived in writing, and the offer becomes firm on that point. Waiving a financing condition before the lender has approved the specific property, or waiving an inspection condition without an inspection, removes the exit the condition provided. A home inspection is not a warranty and it is not a valuation. It reports the condition of what the inspector could see on the day, and the buyer decides what, if anything, to ask the seller to address before waiving. For a condominium, the document review is the equivalent check on the building: the buyer or the buyer's lawyer reads the status certificate and related records for the unit and the corporation, and the condition window is the time to do it. Keep every deadline in one list with the date each condition expires, because a missed waiver date can leave an offer firm by default under the agreement's own terms.
In most provinces a lawyer acts for the buyer. In Quebec a notary acts, and in British Columbia a lawyer or notary can act. The legal professional searches title to confirm the seller can sell, what charges and liens sit against the property, and whether anything on title needs clearing before closing. The mortgage is registered against title, the transfer is registered, and the transfer tax for the province is calculated and paid as part of the closing funds. Before closing, the buyer receives a statement of adjustments. It prorates the items that straddle the closing date: property taxes already paid by the seller, utility charges, and condominium fees where they apply, split between seller and buyer by the number of days each owned the home. The statement is where small surprises live. A seller who prepaid a full year of property tax is credited for the part of the year after closing, and a buyer who takes over mid-billing-period owes the seller's share back. Ask for the statement early enough to check each line against a bill or a tax notice, rather than reading it for the first time on the closing day. In Ontario the transfer is registered electronically through Teraview, and the land transfer tax statements, including the Non-Resident Speculation Tax statements, form part of that registration. In British Columbia a property transfer tax return is filed and the tax is paid on registration at the Land Title Office, unless an exemption is claimed in the return.
On the closing date the buyer's funds, including the mortgage advance, go to the seller through the lawyers or notaries, the transfer and mortgage are registered, and the buyer gets possession as the agreement states, usually with keys through the buyer's legal professional or agent. The purchase does not end the paperwork. The buyer should confirm the transfer is registered in the buyer's name, keep the closing file with the statement of adjustments and the tax receipts, and note the deadlines that follow: any speculation or vacancy tax declaration for the property, the first property tax instalment, and the tax return claims for the year of purchase. In British Columbia every owner of residential property in a speculation and vacancy tax area must complete an annual declaration, even when an exemption applies, and the declaration deadline is March 31 each year. Missing a declaration can cost more than the tax itself would have, because the tax is assessed at the maximum rate when no declaration is made.
There is no national land transfer tax. Each province sets its own charge, on its own base, and the base matters as much as the rate: British Columbia charges on fair market value, Manitoba on fair market value at registration, New Brunswick on the greater of the consideration or the assessed value. Budget on the base the province uses, not on the price alone, and confirm the figure with the lawyer's closing calculation before waiving conditions.
Ontario charges land transfer tax on the value of the consideration, in brackets: 0.5 per cent up to and including $55,000, 1.0 per cent from $55,000 to $250,000, 1.5 per cent from $250,000 to $400,000, and 2.0 per cent above $400,000, rising to 2.5 per cent on the portion above $2,000,000 where the land contains one or two single-family residences. A $600,000 purchase therefore carries $8,475 of Ontario tax before relief. Qualifying first-time buyers can claim a refund of up to $4,000 for registrations on or after January 1, 2017, usually taken at registration so it offsets the tax payable, and otherwise claimed from the Ministry of Finance within 18 months of the transfer. The refund test is strict: the claimant must be at least 18, must never have owned a home or an interest in a home anywhere in the world, and the spouse must not have owned a home while a spouse. Toronto adds a second tax. The municipal land transfer tax has applied in Toronto since February 1, 2008 in addition to the provincial tax, mirroring the provincial brackets at the lower end and, from April 1, 2026, charging higher graduated rates above $3,000,000 for homes with one or two single-family residences: 4.40 per cent over $3,000,000 to $4,000,000, 5.45 per cent over $4,000,000 to $5,000,000, 6.50 per cent over $5,000,000 to $10,000,000, 7.55 per cent over $10,000,000 to $20,000,000, and 8.60 per cent above $20,000,000. Toronto also has a first-time buyer rebate program for the municipal tax; the current maximum was not verified on the City page, so check the City's rates and fees page before budgeting it.
British Columbia charges general property transfer tax at 1 per cent of fair market value up to and including $200,000, 2 per cent on the portion above $200,000 up to and including $2,000,000, and 3 per cent above $2,000,000, plus a further 2 per cent on the residential property value above $3,000,000. A $500,000 home carries $8,000 of general tax, and an $800,000 home carries $14,000, before any exemption. The first time home buyers program, for registrations on or after April 1, 2024, exempts the tax on the first $500,000 where the fair market value is $835,000 or less, a partial exemption applies between $835,000 and $860,000, and the property must be 0.5 hectares or smaller, contain only residential improvements, and be used only as the buyer's principal residence. The buyer must move in within 92 days of registration and occupy the home continuously to the first anniversary to keep the exemption. British Columbia also charges an additional property transfer tax of 20 per cent on the proportionate share of the fair market value of the residential portion for foreign nationals, foreign corporations, and taxable trustees, in the Capital, Fraser Valley, Metro Vancouver, Central Okanagan, and Nanaimo regional districts. Confirmed British Columbia Provincial Nominees can claim an exemption from that additional tax.
Manitoba charges land transfer tax on fair market value at registration: nil on the first $30,000, 0.5 per cent on the next $60,000, 1.0 per cent on the next $60,000, 1.5 per cent on the next $50,000, and 2.0 per cent on amounts above $200,000, plus a registration fee. A $300,000 Manitoba purchase therefore carries $3,650 of land transfer tax. New Brunswick's Real Property Transfer Tax Act, as amended in 2012, sets the tax at 0.5 per cent of the greater of the consideration or the assessed value. Confirm the current New Brunswick rate with Service New Brunswick or the acting lawyer before closing, because this guide's rate comes from the amending statute rather than a current Service New Brunswick fee page. Nova Scotia's general deed transfer tax schedule was not verified on a provincial page and no figure is stated for it here; check the municipality and Service Nova Scotia for the rate that applies to the specific property. What was verified for Nova Scotia is the non-resident provincial deed transfer tax: 10 per cent, calculated on the purchase price or assessed value, whichever is higher, on the ownership interest transferred to non-residents, for residential property with three units or fewer under agreements signed after March 31, 2025, with an exemption path for non-residents who move to Nova Scotia within the required time.
Quebec charges transfer duties on immovables, payable to the municipality where the property sits, and the transferee is liable for payment. The governing statute is the Act respecting duties on transfers of immovables, and the rates and thresholds that apply to a given property sit in the municipal framework under that Act. No Quebec rate is stated in this guide, because the rate schedule was not verified on a working official page. Ask the notary for the municipality's current duties calculation before signing the promise to purchase. For Alberta, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the territories, no province-wide ad valorem transfer-tax schedule was verified on an official page, and no figure is stated for them here. That does not mean closing is free in those places: land title registration fees, legal fees, and disbursements still apply, and the acting lawyer or notary will quote them. Budget a registration and legal allowance in every province, and treat any transfer-tax figure for those jurisdictions as unconfirmed until the registry or the lawyer confirms it.
British Columbia's speculation and vacancy tax is an annual tax, assessed on ownership as of December 31 each year, in 59 designated communities. For the 2026 tax year the rate is 3 per cent of assessed value for foreign owners and untaxed worldwide earners, and 1 per cent for Canadian citizens and permanent residents who are not untaxed worldwide earners. From January 1, 2027 the rates are 4 per cent and 1 per cent respectively. More than 20 exemptions exist, including principal residence and tenanted-property exemptions, and a newly bought property has a year-of-purchase exemption where the buyer paid property transfer tax or qualified for an exemption from it. A British Columbia resident who does not qualify for an exemption may claim a tax credit, which rose from $2,000 to $4,000 from January 1, 2026. Ontario has no provincial vacancy tax. Its charge on foreign buyers is the Non-Resident Speculation Tax, a one-time tax at closing rather than an annual tax: 25 per cent of the value of the consideration, in addition to general land transfer tax, on land containing at least one and not more than six single-family residences anywhere in Ontario, payable by foreign nationals, foreign corporations, and taxable trustees. Toronto adds a municipal non-resident speculation tax of 10 per cent on certain residential purchases, effective January 1, 2025, in addition to the municipal land transfer tax. Several cities also levy their own vacant-home taxes with their own declaration duties and rates; check the city where the home sits, and do not assume the provincial position covers the municipal one.
The distinction that catches buyers out is new versus used. Sales of new housing and substantially renovated housing are taxable supplies, and GST at 5 per cent, or HST at the provincial rate where HST applies, is charged on the price. Sales of previously occupied housing, described by the Canada Revenue Agency as housing last used as a place of residence, are generally exempt. A builder's list price may be quoted plus tax or tax included, and the agreement should state which, and whether any new housing rebate has been assigned to the builder and credited against the price. The standard GST/HST new housing rebate refunds generally 36 per cent of the GST or federal part of the HST, to a maximum of $6,300, in full at $350,000 or less, falling away between $350,000 and $450,000, with no rebate at $450,000 or more. The newer first-time home buyers GST/HST rebate, described in the answer above, tops that up to 100 per cent of the federal tax for qualifying buyers up to $1 million. In HST provinces the provincial part of the tax has separate rebate rules administered through the same forms, with separate limits; this guide states no provincial rebate figure, because the provincial schedules were not all verified on Canada Revenue Agency pages. In Quebec, the Quebec sales tax position on new housing is separate again and must be confirmed with Revenu Quebec or the notary. Where the builder agrees to pay or credit a rebate, the builder files the application; otherwise the buyer files it, and the filing deadline runs from the transaction, so check the form for the deadline that fits the purchase type rather than assuming a single two-year rule for every case.
The First Home Savings Account, the Home Buyers' Plan, and the home buyers' amount are routinely described as one package. They are not. Each has its own definition of a first-time buyer, its own timing, and its own paperwork, and the provincial transfer-tax refunds add two more definitions on top. The First Home Savings Account gives participation room of $8,000 in the first year an account is opened and a further $8,000 each following year, to a lifetime limit of $40,000, and contributions are generally deductible. A qualifying withdrawal requires a written agreement to buy or build a qualifying home, with the acquisition or construction completion date before October 1 of the year following the withdrawal, and the buyer must not have acquired the home more than 30 days before the withdrawal and must occupy or intend to occupy it as a principal place of residence within one year of buying or building it. The Home Buyers' Plan currently allows withdrawals of up to $60,000 in total from registered retirement savings plans, taken in the same calendar year as the first withdrawal and in January of the following year, using Form T1036 for each withdrawal. Repayment runs over 15 years, normally starting in the second year after the year of withdrawal; for a first withdrawal between January 1, 2026 and December 31, 2028, the Canada Revenue Agency states the repayment period is deferred to the fifth year following the year of first withdrawal. A qualifying First Home Savings Account withdrawal and a Home Buyers' Plan withdrawal can be made for the same qualifying home, provided the conditions are met at the time of each withdrawal. The home buyers' amount is different in kind: it is claimed on the tax return, not drawn before closing, and for 2025 it allows up to $10,000, a non-refundable credit worth up to $1,500. It does not put cash in hand on the closing date, so it should never be budgeted as closing funds. Finally, the Underused Housing Tax is a federal annual tax described by the Canada Revenue Agency as 1 per cent on vacant or underused housing, with filing duties for certain owners; its current status and any repeal were not verified on a Canada Revenue Agency page, so check the Agency's Underused Housing Tax pages before relying on it for a purchase that closes in 2026 or later.
Transfer tax is usually the largest single closing cost, and it is also the one buyers most often under-budget, because they budget the provincial rate and miss the municipal tax, the foreign-buyer tax, or the GST/HST on a new home. The rest of the closing bill has no single figure, because it is set by the professionals and registries involved. Expect legal or notary fees and disbursements, land title or registry search and registration fees, a mortgage registration fee, title insurance where the lawyer advises it, and the cost of an appraisal and a home inspection where those were ordered. The statement of adjustments adds the prorated property taxes, utilities, and condominium fees. Get a written closing-cost estimate from the acting lawyer or notary before waiving the financing condition, with the transfer tax, the municipal tax if any, the GST/HST position, and each disbursement shown as its own line. If any line cannot be estimated, ask what it depends on and when the firm will know. A buyer who learns the transfer tax figure from a calculator and the legal figure from a quote, and checks both against the statement of adjustments, rarely meets a surprise on the closing date. A buyer who budgets only the price and the down payment will.
Do not waive a financing or inspection condition to make an offer look stronger without understanding that the waiver removes the exit. Do not budget transfer tax from a national table or a calculator that does not name the province, the municipality, and the tax base, because British Columbia, Ontario, and Manitoba alone charge on three different bases and Toronto doubles the Ontario charge. Do not assume a first-time buyer label earned under one program carries into another: the Ontario refund, the British Columbia exemption, the First Home Savings Account, the Home Buyers' Plan, and the home buyers' amount each test prior ownership over different periods and with different spousal rules. Do not sign as a non-Canadian buyer without advice on the federal prohibition as it stands on the signing date, and do not assume its expiry, if it happens, removes the provincial foreign-buyer taxes. Do not treat a rebate as closing cash until the builder or the Canada Revenue Agency has confirmed who files it and when it is paid or credited. And do not skip the speculation or vacancy declaration after closing in British Columbia or in a city with its own vacant-home tax, on the assumption that living in the home exempts the owner from declaring.
On the Ontario schedule the tax is $8,475 before any first-time buyer refund: 0.5 per cent on the first $55,000 ($275), 1.0 per cent on the next $195,000 ($1,950), 1.5 per cent on the next $150,000 ($2,250), and 2.0 per cent on the remaining $200,000 ($4,000). A qualifying first-time buyer can claim a refund of up to $4,000, which leaves $4,475 on that price. In Toronto, the municipal land transfer tax is charged on top of the provincial tax, so a Toronto purchase costs more than the same price elsewhere in Ontario. The Ontario refund must be claimed within 18 months of the transfer if it was not taken at registration.
It depends on the fair market value and on meeting every condition in the British Columbia first time home buyers program. For a registration on or after April 1, 2024, a qualifying buyer is exempt from property transfer tax on the first $500,000 of a home with a fair market value of $835,000 or less, which is worth $8,000. A home at $500,000 or less therefore pays no general property transfer tax under the program, and a home between $500,000 and $835,000 pays the tax on the value above $500,000. Between $835,000 and $860,000 a partial exemption applies. The buyer must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, meet the British Columbia residency test, never have owned an interest in a principal residence anywhere, and occupy the home as a principal residence, moving in within 92 days and staying for the first year.
In general, no. The Canada Revenue Agency lists the sale of housing last used as a place of residence as an exempt supply, so most sales of previously occupied residential housing carry no GST/HST on the price. The position reverses for new housing: sales of new and substantially renovated housing are taxable, and GST/HST is charged at the rate for the province where the home sits. That is why a resale home and a new home at the same price can leave very different amounts owing at closing, and why a buyer of a new home needs to ask whether the price is quoted plus tax or tax included, and whether any rebate has already been credited by the builder.
It is a federal rebate that, together with the long-standing GST/HST new housing rebate, refunds 100 per cent of the GST or the federal part of the HST on a newly constructed or substantially renovated single-unit home or condominium unit valued up to $1 million, for a qualifying first-time buyer. Between $1 million and $1.5 million the rebate is gradually reduced, and at $1.5 million or more none is available. The older new housing rebate on its own is generally 36 per cent of the GST or federal part of the HST, to a maximum of $6,300, with the amount falling between $350,000 and $450,000 and reaching nil at $450,000 or more. The first-time buyer rebate came from amendments in Bill C-4, which received royal assent on March 13, 2026, according to the Canada Revenue Agency. The provincial part of HST has its own rebate rules, which are separate and must be checked province by province.
Check the federal position before signing anything, because it has a fixed date on it. The Department of Finance announced on February 4, 2024 that the federal ban on foreign ownership of Canadian housing, then set to expire on January 1, 2025, would be extended to January 1, 2027. As of October 31, 2026, no extension or replacement could be verified on a federal page, so the position after January 1, 2027 is not settled in this guide. The Act and its regulations set the scope and the exemptions, and provincial taxes are separate laws: Ontario's 25 per cent Non-Resident Speculation Tax and British Columbia's 20 per cent additional property transfer tax do not expire with the federal ban. A non-Canadian buyer needs legal advice on the federal rules and the provincial tax for the province where the home sits, before an offer is signed.
They are three different federal measures with three different definitions of a first-time buyer, and meeting one does not prove the others. The First Home Savings Account lets a qualifying buyer build participation room of $8,000 a year to a $40,000 lifetime limit, with a qualifying withdrawal tied to a written agreement to buy or build and an occupancy deadline. The Home Buyers' Plan lets a qualifying buyer withdraw up to $60,000 from registered retirement savings plans, with repayment over 15 years. The home buyers' amount is a non-refundable tax credit claimed on the tax return for the year of purchase, up to $10,000 for 2025, worth up to $1,500. A buyer can use a qualifying FHSA withdrawal and a Home Buyers' Plan withdrawal for the same home if the conditions are met at the time of each withdrawal, but the transfer-tax refunds in Ontario and British Columbia each have their own stricter tests.
Where a figure could not be verified on an official page, this guide states no figure and points to the official source instead: the Quebec transfer-duty rate schedule; the Nova Scotia general deed transfer tax schedule; transfer-tax schedules for Alberta, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the territories; the current Toronto first-time buyer rebate maximum; provincial new housing rebate amounts for the provincial part of HST; lawyer, notary, appraisal, inspection, and title insurance costs; and the current status of the Underused Housing Tax. The federal foreign-buyer prohibition was extended to January 1, 2027 by the February 4, 2024 announcement, confirmed October 31, 2026, and its position after January 1, 2027 must be rechecked on a federal page before a non-Canadian buyer signs an offer.