Land transfer tax
Buying a home in Ontario triggers a tax on the price, paid in cash at closing and not added to the mortgage. Homes in Toronto pay a second, municipal tax on top.
The rules
Both taxes are marginal: each rate applies only to the part of the price in its bracket. For a property with one or two single-family residences:
| Part of the price | Ontario | Toronto |
|---|---|---|
| Up to $55,000 | 0.5% | 0.5% |
| $55,000 to $250,000 | 1.0% | 1.0% |
| $250,000 to $400,000 | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| $400,000 to $2,000,000 | 2.0% | 2.0% |
| $2,000,000 to $3,000,000 | 2.5% | 2.5% |
| $3,000,000 to $4,000,000 | 2.5% | 4.40% |
| $4,000,000 to $5,000,000 | 2.5% | 5.45% |
| $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 | 2.5% | 6.50% |
| $10,000,000 to $20,000,000 | 2.5% | 7.55% |
| Over $20,000,000 | 2.5% | 8.60% |
The Toronto rates above $3,000,000 took effect on April 1, 2026; before that date they were lower. Toronto also charges an administration fee of $102.56 plus 13% HST, on prices of $14,399 or more.
First-time buyer refunds. Ontario refunds up to $4,000, which covers all the tax on the first $368,000. Toronto refunds up to $4,475, which covers all of its tax on the first $400,000. Each refund is limited to its own tax, and the administration fee is not refunded. Both require that the buyer has never owned a home anywhere in the world, is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and moves in within nine months.
What the engine does
- Works out each tax from its brackets, adds the two, subtracts the refunds the buyer is marked as eligible for, and includes the result in the cash needed at closing.
- Treats the home as in Toronto unless told it is elsewhere in Ontario. Outside Toronto there is no municipal tax.
- Uses the Toronto rates in force on the closing date.
- Applies the 2026 brackets and refunds to a purchase in any later year, unindexed, which is also what the law says as written. The plan's assumptions note the closing year.
- Adds the tax to the home's cost for the capital gain on a sale.
Together with default insurance tax, this is most of the closing cash beyond the down payment; see down payment sourcing.
What it deliberately does not
- Eligibility. The planner takes the first-time buyer box as the buyer's own statement and does not check it, nor the nine-month and 18-month deadlines.
- Buildings of three or more units, new-build rebates and non-resident speculation taxes.
- Legal fees, title insurance and other closing costs. These are entered as one amount.