Buy in the City of Toronto and you pay land transfer tax twice, once to Ontario and once to the city. Here is the bracket math at real Toronto asking prices, plus both first-time buyer rebates.
Written by Hamidreza Etebarian on
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A $1,000,000 home in the City of Toronto carries $32,950 in land transfer tax, and $16,475 of that goes to the city rather than the province. Toronto is the only municipality in Ontario that charges its own land transfer tax on top of the provincial one, so buyers here pay twice on the same purchase price. There are 8,031 active residential listings in Toronto on Zealty right now, including 4,403 condos and 2,607 houses, and every one of them carries both bills at closing. This guide walks the brackets, shows the running total at the price points where that inventory actually sits, and covers the two first-time buyer rebates.
Ontario charges land transfer tax on every property transfer in the province under the Land Transfer Tax Act (Ontario). Toronto charges a second, municipal version on top, calculated on the same purchase price with its own rate table under Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 760. No other Ontario municipality does this. A buyer weighing a house in Toronto against a similar house one street past the city line is comparing two different closing bills.
Both are due on closing, and neither can be added to a mortgage. They come out of the same cash as the deposit, the legal fees and the title insurance, which is why the number matters before the offer, not after.
One note on our data. Ontario listing information on Zealty comes from the CREA Data Distribution Facility (DDF) feed, and what we can show is limited to what that feed covers, which is active listings rather than sold history. The active counts in this article come from that feed, pulled on September 14, 2026.
The rate is marginal, not flat. Nobody pays a single percentage on the whole price. Each slice of the price is taxed at its own rate, the way income tax brackets work. Estimating in your head almost always overshoots.
These are the provincial rates under the Land Transfer Tax Act (Ontario), in effect since January 1, 2017 and confirmed against the Ontario Ministry of Finance rate page on September 14, 2026. Run a $600,000 condo through them and the provincial tax is $8,475: $275 on the first $55,000, $1,950 on the next $195,000, $2,250 on the next $150,000, and $4,000 on the $200,000 above $400,000.
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The municipal tax uses the same first four brackets, so on any purchase under $2,000,000 the city bill is identical to the provincial one. Above that, Toronto's residential rates climb faster. These rates come from Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 760 (City of Toronto) and took effect on April 1, 2026, confirmed against the City of Toronto rate page on September 14, 2026.
The pattern holds across most of the market. Below $2,000,000 the city tax matches what the province charges, so any provincial figure you have seen quoted for Ontario understates a Toronto purchase by half.
These are not round numbers picked for the example. They are the bands where Toronto inventory clusters. On September 14, 2026 there were 2,522 active Toronto condos asking $600,000 or less, 428 asking $400,000 or less, 744 houses asking $1,000,000 or less, and 1,072 houses asking between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000.
Every figure above is calculated from the two rate tables cited in this article and applies to a purchase with no rebate claimed. None of it is financeable, which is the part that surprises buyers moving in from outside the city.
Ontario refunds up to $4,000 of the provincial tax to a first-time buyer. That maximum has applied since January 1, 2017 under the Land Transfer Tax Act (Ontario). The buyer must be at least 18, must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and must never have owned a home or an interest in one anywhere in the world. A spouse's prior ownership during the marriage disqualifies the claim. At $4,000, the refund fully covers the provincial tax on a purchase up to $368,333.
Toronto rebates up to $4,475 of the municipal tax to a first-time purchaser under Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 760 (City of Toronto), confirmed on September 14, 2026. The eligibility test mirrors the provincial one, with one addition: the buyer must occupy the home as a principal residence no later than nine months after the transfer. At $4,475, the rebate fully covers the municipal tax on a purchase up to $400,000.
Both rebates are claimed at closing through your lawyer, so the money is usually netted off the bill instead of refunded later. You can apply afterwards if the claim is missed, but the deadlines are tight and the paperwork is heavier.
Stacked, the two rebates are worth $8,475. A first-time buyer of a $600,000 Toronto condo pays $8,475 in combined land transfer tax rather than $16,950. At $1,000,000 the same buyer pays $24,475 rather than $32,950. The rebates are capped, so they shrink as a share of the bill the higher the price goes.
Past $3,000,000, Toronto's municipal rate climbs well above the provincial one, and the step is steep enough to change what a buyer offers. On a $3,500,000 house the provincial tax is $73,975 and the municipal tax is $83,475, for $157,450 in combined land transfer tax. There are 422 active Toronto houses asking $3,000,000 or more as of September 14, 2026, so this is not a corner case in the detached market.
Treat the two taxes as one line in the closing budget, and check the current rate tables before you write an offer. Toronto changed its top residential rates on April 1, 2026. The province has left its brackets alone since 2017.
You can browse current asking prices on active Toronto listings or across all of Ontario to see which band your budget lands in before running the numbers.
This article is educational and is not tax or legal advice. Land transfer tax rates, rebate amounts and eligibility rules change. Confirm your own numbers with the Ontario Ministry of Finance, the City of Toronto, and your real estate lawyer before closing.
NOTE: This representation is based in whole or in part on data generated by Greater Vancouver REALTORS®, Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board, or The Canadian Real Estate Association which assume no responsibility for its accuracy. This information is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed accurate by these organizations or by the agent or brokerage hosting this website. Data presented here is under the license agreement of Holywell Properties, a British Columbia Brokerage.
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