Land transfer tax (LTT)

Land Transfer Tax (LTT) is a provincial government tax imposed on a property whenever it is transferred from one owner to another. It is paid by the purchaser of the property when the transaction closes.

In Ontario, LTT is calculated as a percentage of the value of consideration on a property, using the following guidelines:

  
    Value of Consideration

    LTT Rate

    Up to and including $55,000
    0.5%
  
    Exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000
    1%
  
    Exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000
    1.5%
  
    Between $400,000 and $2,000,000
    2%
  
    Exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences
    2.5%

To find out more, please use this LTT calculator provided: https://www.ratehub.ca/land-transfer-tax

First-Time home Buyers

If you are a first-time home buyer, you may be eligible to receive a refund for at least some of the land transfer tax, up to a maximum of $4,000. In Ontario, this rebate is available to a purchaser who meets the following criteria:

Must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada;
Must be 18 years of age or older;
Must reside in the home within 9 months of date of purchase;
Must not have previously owned a home; and,
If married, the spouse cannot have owned a home at any time during the marriage.

For a home with a value of consideration that results in LTT above $4,000, home buyers will qualify for the maximum refund but will still owe the remainder of their land transfer tax. If a property is being purchased with a spouse, but only one person in the marriage qualifies as a first-time home buyer, then it is still possible to receive 50% of the rebate.