Photograph: Anastasia Shuraeva on Pexels
A Toronto buyer pays two land transfer taxes, one to Ontario and one to the City. On a $1,100,000 home that is $18,475 each, about $36,950 in total, due in cash on closing. First time buyers can claim back up to $4,000 from the province and $4,475 from Toronto.
Buy inside the City of Toronto and you pay land transfer tax twice. Ontario charges it on every purchase in the province. Toronto charges a second one of its own on top, at matching rates up to $3,000,000. That doubling is the largest single closing cost most Toronto buyers face, and it has to be paid in cash on the day the deal closes.
How much is land transfer tax in Toronto?
On a $1,100,000 home, about $36,950. That is $18,475 in provincial land transfer tax and another $18,475 in Toronto's municipal land transfer tax, plus a City administration fee of $102.56 and HST.
Both taxes are graduated, which means each rate applies only to the slice of the price inside its band rather than to the whole purchase. Ontario's rates on land with one or two single family residences on it are 0.5 per cent up to $55,000, 1 per cent from there to $250,000, 1.5 per cent to $400,000, 2 per cent to $2,000,000 and 2.5 per cent above that. Toronto's rates are identical up to $3,000,000 and climb steeply after it.
Who pays land transfer tax, the buyer or the seller?
The buyer, every time. Ontario's rule is that when you acquire land or a beneficial interest in land, you pay land transfer tax to the province when the transaction closes. The seller pays nothing toward it.
The part that catches people is that it cannot be added to the mortgage. Land transfer tax comes out of the same cash as the down payment, so it has to be in the account before closing. A buyer with exactly 20 per cent saved on a $1,100,000 purchase and nothing beyond it is roughly $37,000 short.
What does it cost at different prices?
Figures below are for a resale home in Toronto with one or two single family residences on it. Each line reads as province, City, total, then the total if both first time buyer rebates are claimed in full.
- $600,000. $8,475 plus $8,475, so $16,950. First time buyer, $8,475.
- $800,000. $12,475 plus $12,475, so $24,950. First time buyer, $16,475.
- $1,000,000. $16,475 plus $16,475, so $32,950. First time buyer, $24,475.
- $1,200,000. $20,475 plus $20,475, so $40,950. First time buyer, $32,475.
- $1,500,000. $26,475 plus $26,475, so $52,950. First time buyer, $44,475.
- $2,000,000. $36,475 plus $36,475, so $72,950. First time buyer, $64,475.
The City administration fee of $102.56 and HST sits on top of every one of those. Our land transfer tax calculator works out both halves and the rebates for any price.
How much can a first time buyer get back?
Up to $8,475 in Toronto, made up of $4,000 from the province and $4,475 from the City. Ontario's maximum refund has been $4,000 since 1 January 2017, which the ministry describes as meaning no land transfer tax is payable by qualifying first time purchasers on the first $368,000 of the value of the consideration. Toronto's rebate is up to $4,475, which is exactly the City's tax on a $400,000 purchase.
The two tests are close to identical. You have to be at least 18, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and you cannot ever have owned a home or an interest in one anywhere in the world at any time. You have to occupy the home as your principal residence within nine months of the transfer.
The spouse rule is the one that surprises people. If your spouse owned an eligible home while the two of you were spouses, the province's position is that no refund is available to either spouse. Buying in one name only does not fix it.
Neither rebate is automatic. Both the province and the City give you 18 months from registration to apply.
What changed for homes over $3 million on 1 April 2026?
Toronto's tax on expensive homes went up sharply. City Council passed the amendment introducing graduated rates for high value residential property on 17 December 2025, and the new rates took effect on 1 April 2026. The City now charges 4.40 per cent above $3,000,000, 5.45 per cent above $4,000,000, 6.50 per cent above $5,000,000, 7.55 per cent above $10,000,000 and 8.60 per cent above $20,000,000.
Because the rates are graduated, only the portion of the price above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate. On a $3,500,000 house the City's share is $83,475 and the province's is $73,975, so $157,450 between them. The same house at $2,900,000 attracts $58,975 from each, or $117,950. Six hundred thousand dollars more house costs $39,500 more tax.
These rates apply only to residential property with one or two single family residences on it. Commercial, industrial and multi residential purchases in Toronto still top out at 2 per cent.
Do buyers outside Toronto pay the municipal tax?
No. The municipal land transfer tax applies only inside the City of Toronto boundary, which since amalgamation covers the old City of Toronto, East York, York, North York, Etobicoke and Scarborough. Buy in Mississauga, Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, Brampton, Oakville or anywhere else in the region and you pay the provincial tax alone.
On a $1,100,000 purchase that is an $18,475 difference between the same price paid in Scarborough and paid in Markham. It belongs in the budget before you decide where to search, not after. Our affordability calculator lets you see what that does to the cash you need on closing.
What if the buyer is not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident?
Start with whether the purchase is allowed at all. Federal law provides that it is prohibited for a non-Canadian to purchase, directly or indirectly, any residential property, with exemptions set out in the regulations and explained by CMHC. Anyone who is not a citizen or permanent resident should check that first, before price.
Where a purchase is permitted, two speculation taxes stack on top of the ordinary land transfer tax. Ontario's Non Resident Speculation Tax has been 25 per cent of the purchase price since 25 October 2022 and applies to residential property anywhere in Ontario bought by a foreign national, a foreign corporation or a taxable trustee. Toronto added a Municipal Non Resident Speculation Tax of 10 per cent effective 1 January 2025.
When is the money actually due?
On closing. Your lawyer collects it with the rest of the closing funds and remits it when the transfer is registered, because Ontario's land transfer tax is payable when the transfer is registered. If a deal closes without the transfer being registered, the buyer files a return on the acquisition of a beneficial interest in land and pays the ministry directly within 30 days of the closing date.
Practically, that means the number has to be right weeks earlier, when you are deciding what you can offer. Getting it wrong at the offer stage is what turns a firm deal into a scramble. If you want the figure for a specific price and a specific municipality before you write anything, start here.
Rates and rebates above are as published by the Ontario Ministry of Finance and the City of Toronto and were checked on 21 August 2026. They change. This is general information rather than legal or tax advice, and your lawyer will confirm the exact amount payable on your closing.
