Costs and closing
Land transfer tax
A provincial tax on property purchases in most of Canada. Alberta doesn't charge one.
Most provinces charge land transfer tax when property changes hands. It's calculated on a sliding scale against the purchase price and paid in cash at closing. Toronto adds a municipal tax on top of Ontario's provincial one, which roughly doubles it.
Alberta charges no land transfer tax, provincial or municipal. It's one of the largest cash-to-close differences between buying here and buying in central Canada. On a $500,000 purchase, the tax is roughly $6,475 in Ontario and about $12,950 in Toronto. In Alberta you'd pay about $1,000 in Land Titles registration fees instead.
It's also why Alberta has no first-time buyer rebate. Rebate programs in other provinces exist to refund land transfer tax, and there's no tax here to refund.
Be careful with national calculators. Several default to Ontario and will quote you a tax that doesn't exist in Alberta.
Related terms
Land Titles registration fee
Alberta's registration charge in place of a land transfer tax: $50 plus $5 per $5,000 of value, on both the transfer and the mortgage.
Closing costs
The cash you need on possession day on top of the down payment, including legal fees, registration fees, adjustments, insurance and inspections.
First-time home buyer
For most federal programs, someone who hasn't owned a home they lived in during the current year or the 4 preceding calendar years.
This definition describes how the term is used in Canadian residential mortgage lending. It’s general information, not advice on your file. Rules, thresholds and rates change. Where a figure is quoted, it’s current as of the date shown on the related guide.
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