Ontario Land Transfer Tax
When purchasing a condo, home, or property in Ontario you are subject to Ontario’s Land Transfer Tax which are due upon closing. The Land Transfer tax can often be your single biggest expense on closing, and in Toronto, provincial and municipal land transfer tax have to be paid.
If you’re interested in knowing what the Ontario Land Transfer Tax is going to be for a unit you are looking to invest in, give our free calculator a try.
Approximate cost for units under $350k is 1% for provincial and 1% for Toronto land transfer tax. When you go over $350k, the rate is more than 1%.
Ontario Land Transfer Tax Rates in 2017
Purchase Price |
Land title transfer fee |
|---|---|
| Up to and including $55,000 | 0.5% |
| $55,000.01 to $250,000.00 | 1.0% |
| $250,000.01 to $368,333 | 1.5% |
| $368,334 to $400,000.00 | 1.5% |
| $400,000.00 to $2,000,000.00 | 2.0% |
| Over $2,000,000.00 | 2.5% |
First-Time Homebuyer Refund
First-time homebuyers of a new construction home may be eligible for a refund of all or part of the Ontario Land Transfer Tax.
As the name implies, any previous ownership in a home would prevent you from qualifying for the Ontario Land Transfer Tax refund. The means of which the home was acquired(e.g., purchase, gift or through an inheritance) is irrelevant.
Ontario Land Transfer Tax Refund Amounts
If you moved into your first home before January 1, 2017 the maximum amount you can refund of your Ontario Land Transfer Tax is $2,000.
f you moved into your first home on or after January 1, 2017, you will pay no Ontario Land Transfer Tax on the first $368,000 and the maximum amount refundable for homes $368,000+ is $4,000.
Ontario Land Transfer Tax Refund Qualifications
To qualify for a refund:
• The purchaser must be at least 18 years old.
• They must occupy the home as their principal residence within nine months of the date of transfer.
• The purchaser cannot have ever owned an eligible home, or an interest in an eligible home, anywhere in the world, at any time.
• If the purchaser entered into an agreement of purchase and sale before December 14, 2007, the home must be a newly constructed home and the purchaser must be eligible for the Tarion New Home Warranty.
• If the purchaser has a spouse, the spouse cannot have owned an eligible home, or had any ownership interest in an eligible home, anywhere in the world, while he or she was the purchaser’s spouse. If this is the case, no refund is available to either spouse.
Other Costs
Buyers should keep in mind that there are other out-of-pocket costs that are associated with buying a new condo, home, or property in addition to the Ontario Land Transfer Tax.
To learn more about the costs associated with buying a pre-construction condo, read our blog below or visit our condo closing costs calculator.