DERRICK Guides · 5 min read
Toronto's Double Land Transfer Tax
Buying in Toronto means paying land transfer tax twice — provincial and municipal. The brackets, the first-time-buyer rebates, and a worked example.
Reviewed 2026-06-09 — regulatory figures are date-stamped in the text.
Land transfer tax is the closing cost that surprises people — especially in Toronto, where you pay it twice: once to Ontario, and once to the City. Figures below are current as of June 2026.
The brackets (residential)
Ontario’s land transfer tax is marginal, like income tax:
| Portion of price | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to $55,000 | 0.5% |
| $55,000 – $250,000 | 1.0% |
| $250,000 – $400,000 | 1.5% |
| $400,000 – $2,000,000 | 2.0% |
| Over $2,000,000 | 2.5% |
Buying within the City of Toronto adds the Municipal Land Transfer Tax (MLTT), which mirrors those brackets across the common range — effectively doubling the bill — and adds luxury tiers above $3 million that climb from 3.5% to 7.5% on the portion above $20 million. Buy in Mississauga, Vaughan, or anywhere else in the GTA outside the city limits, and the municipal tax simply doesn’t exist.
Worked example: $800,000 in Toronto
- Ontario LTT: $275 + $1,950 + $2,250 + $8,000 = $12,475
- Toronto MLTT: the same math again = $12,475
- Total: $24,950, due in cash at closing — it cannot be added to your mortgage.
The same house a few hundred metres outside the Toronto border: $12,475.
First-time buyer rebates
First-time buyers get a rebate of up to $4,000 against the Ontario tax and up to $4,475 against Toronto’s. In the example above, that brings the bill from $24,950 down to $16,475. To qualify you (and your spouse, while married to you) must never have owned a home anywhere in the world, and you must occupy the home within nine months.
Plan for it, don’t discover it
Because LTT is a cash cost on top of your down payment, it belongs in your budget from day one. Run your exact scenario — city or suburbs, first-time or not — through our land transfer tax calculator, then pressure-test the whole budget with the affordability calculator.
Weighing a Toronto address against a 905 alternative? Every community we serve — Caledon, Bolton, Orangeville, Brampton, and Mississauga — charges only the provincial tax. Ask Derrick — the difference is real money, and it should be part of the conversation, not a closing-day surprise.