Toronto is the only major Canadian city where buyers pay land transfer tax twice — once provincially, once municipally. Here's exactly what it costs, when first-time buyer rebates apply, and the calculation that catches most people off guard.
Enter a purchase price and indicate whether you qualify as a first-time homebuyer. The calculator applies current Ontario provincial brackets and Toronto MLTT brackets (effective April 1, 2026).
Brackets reflect the Toronto MLTT structure that took effect April 1, 2026 (the December 17, 2025 council amendment) and the standard Ontario LTT structure unchanged since 2017. This is an informational tool — confirm exact figures with your lawyer before any closing decision.
Every property purchase in Ontario triggers the provincial Land Transfer Tax — the older of the two LTTs that Toronto buyers face. The Ontario LTT applies anywhere in the province, structured as a five-tier graduated tax on the purchase price. The brackets have not changed since January 2017, and the rate structure for residential property is straightforward enough to compute by hand:
0.5% on the first $55,000; 1.0% on $55,000.01 to $250,000; 1.5% on $250,000.01 to $400,000; 2.0% on $400,000.01 to $2,000,000; and 2.5% on every dollar above $2,000,000 — but only when the property contains one or two single-family residences. (The 2.5% top bracket does not apply to multi-residential buildings, commercial property, or rental investment portfolios above $2M; those structures are taxed at 2.0% on the entire amount above $400,000.)
The provincial tax is collected at closing by the buyer's lawyer and remitted to the Ontario Ministry of Finance. It is not negotiable, not waivable except through the first-time buyer rebate (covered in §04 below), and not deductible against income tax for owner-occupied homes. For investment property purchases, the LTT becomes part of the property's cost base and is deductible against the eventual capital gain on sale — a tax accountant should confirm the exact treatment for your situation.
Toronto is the only municipality in Ontario that collects its own Municipal Land Transfer Tax (MLTT), introduced in 2008 and substantially restructured in 2024 and again in April 2026. The MLTT applies to every property purchase inside the City of Toronto's boundary — and crucially, it applies in addition to the provincial LTT, not instead of it. Buyers in Toronto pay both. The same purchase in Mississauga, Hamilton, or Ottawa pays only one.
For purchases below $2,000,000, the MLTT brackets mirror the provincial brackets exactly: 0.5% / 1.0% / 1.5% / 2.0%. This means a $1.5M Toronto home incurs the same provincial LTT as the same purchase in Hamilton, plus an equal municipal LTT on top — effectively doubling the LTT bill. Above $2M, the MLTT was already higher than the provincial tax, and as of April 1, 2026 the gap has widened materially.
The April 2026 graduated structure (passed by Toronto City Council on December 17, 2025) added new luxury bands that escalate sharply: 2.5% on the $2M–$3M slice, 4.40% on $3M–$4M, 5.45% on $4M–$5M, 6.50% on $5M–$10M, 7.55% on $10M–$20M, and 8.60% on every dollar above $20M. The structure applies only to residential properties containing one or two single-family residences; mixed-use, commercial, and multi-residential properties follow a different schedule. For luxury buyers, the practical effect is that purchases above $3M now incur a meaningfully larger Toronto MLTT than they would have in March 2026.
Ontario and Toronto both offer first-time homebuyer rebates that can offset some or all of the LTT bill. The provincial rebate is up to $4,000, which fully covers the provincial LTT on purchases up to roughly $368,000 and partially offsets it above that. The Toronto MLTT rebate is up to $4,475, which fully covers the municipal LTT on purchases up to $400,000. Combined, the two rebates can save an eligible first-time buyer up to $8,475 in closing costs — a meaningful figure on a starter purchase, less consequential on a $2M+ luxury purchase.
Eligibility is strict. The buyer (and spouse, if applicable) must be 18 or older, must occupy the home as a principal residence within nine months of closing, and — critically — must never have owned an interest in a home anywhere in the world. This last condition trips up more buyers than people expect. A spouse who owned a property before the marriage, a buyer who inherited a small share of a family home decades ago, or a buyer who briefly held an investment condo can all disqualify the household from the rebate. The rebate is per couple, not per person; spouses cannot stack rebates.
Common mistakes: claiming the rebate without confirming spouse eligibility (the entire claim can be reversed); assuming the rebate scales above $400,000 (it does not — it caps at $4,000 / $4,475 regardless of purchase price); and forgetting that the rebate is paid as a credit against the LTT on closing, not as a refund weeks later. Your lawyer will apply the rebate at closing if you qualify; it is the buyer's responsibility to confirm eligibility before signing.
The numbers below match the calculator above to the cent. Confirm with your lawyer before closing.
| Scenario | Provincial LTT | Toronto MLTT | Rebate | Total payable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $500,000 · first-time buyer | $6,475 | $6,475 | −$8,475 | $4,475 |
| $1,000,000 · first-time buyer | $16,475 | $16,475 | −$8,475 | $24,475 |
| $2,000,000 · repeat buyer | $36,475 | $36,475 | — | $72,950 |
| $5,000,000 · luxury purchase | $111,475 | $159,975 | — | $271,450 |
Land transfer tax is paid on the closing day of the purchase, not before. The buyer's real estate lawyer collects the LTT alongside the down payment, legal fees, title insurance, and any closing adjustments, and remits the LTT to the Province of Ontario and the City of Toronto on the buyer's behalf. The total amount due at closing — purchase price plus LTT plus all other closing costs — is communicated by the lawyer in a "statement of adjustments" usually delivered three to five business days before closing.
For luxury buyers, LTT can be the largest single closing cost beyond the down payment itself — on a $5M purchase, the $271,450 in combined LTT exceeds typical legal fees by roughly seventy times. Buyers who do not budget for it are sometimes caught short on closing day; experienced representation flags the LTT figure at the offer stage, not the closing stage.
The new Toronto MLTT structure, effective April 1, 2026, has shifted the math for luxury buyers in a way the headline rate changes do not capture by themselves. A $5M Toronto purchase under the previous (2024) structure would have triggered approximately $211,475 in combined LTT; under the new April 2026 structure, the same purchase triggers approximately $271,450 — a $59,975 increase, or roughly 1.2% of the purchase price. For a $10M purchase, the differential is materially larger, and for $20M+ purchases, the new 7.55%–8.60% top brackets add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the closing cost.
Practical implications for buyers in the $3M+ band: budget LTT explicitly in your offer-strategy conversation, not just in your closing-cost spreadsheet. The LTT increase changes effective price-per-square-foot in a way that should influence which neighbourhoods and price tiers are actually competitive. Consider closing timing carefully if you were already negotiating a transaction in March 2026 — the brackets are based on closing date, not offer date. Re-underwrite holding-period economics on investment properties; the LTT is part of the cost base, and on luxury rental purchases the new brackets meaningfully extend the years required to recover transaction costs through rental income or appreciation.
For TSW clients in the luxury bands, we walk every offer through the LTT math at the strategy stage — not as a surprise on closing day. The right pre-offer conversation includes the after-LTT cost, the after-LTT effective price-per-square-foot, and the after-LTT comparison to alternative properties the buyer is considering. The numbers, once seen, often change which property the buyer actually wants to pursue.
Toronto buyers pay both Ontario provincial LTT (0.5–2.5%) and Toronto Municipal LTT (0.5–8.60%, effective April 2026). On a $1M home, total LTT before rebates is approximately $32,950 ($16,475 + $16,475). On a $5M home, total LTT is approximately $271,450. First-time buyers receive up to $8,475 in combined rebates.
Eligible first-time buyers receive a maximum $4,000 Ontario provincial rebate and a maximum $4,475 Toronto MLTT rebate, totalling $8,475. On a $400,000 purchase, the rebates fully offset both taxes. Above roughly $400,000 the buyer pays the difference. Eligibility requires that the buyer (and spouse) has never owned an interest in a home anywhere in the world.
Land transfer tax is paid on the closing day of the property purchase, collected by the buyer's real estate lawyer and remitted to the Province of Ontario and the City of Toronto. Buyers should budget for LTT alongside legal fees, title insurance, and adjustments — it is one of the largest single closing costs and often catches first-time buyers off guard.
For owner-occupied principal residences, land transfer tax is not deductible against income tax. For investment properties, LTT becomes part of the cost base of the property and is deductible against the eventual capital gain on sale. Speak with a tax accountant for specific advice; the rules differ for owner-occupied vs. rental property and for sales between related parties.
Toronto is the only major Canadian city where buyers pay LTT twice (provincial + municipal). On a $2M home, Toronto buyers pay approximately $73,000; in most other Ontario cities (Ottawa, Hamilton, London) the same purchase incurs approximately $36,000 — half. Above $3M, the Toronto premium grows materially due to the new April 2026 graduated brackets.
Co-Principal, TSW Realty. Two decades of Toronto market data and pre-construction analysis. Tal writes the data-led half of the TSW Journal, including quarterly market analysis and longer-form investor briefings. More about Tal →