Land transfer taxes: What are they?

January 28, 2008 · 10 comments

taxes.jpg

If you’ve ever bought a home in Brampton or anywhere else in Ontario for that matter, you’ve probably paid a land transfer tax with your closing costs. But if you’re a new home buyer, you may not know what a land transfer tax is.

Essentially, when you purchase a home, the Province of Ontario will apply a special levy known as the land transfer tax. It is quite easy to calculate, and is based on the property value. You will pay:

Up to $55,000 X .5 % of total property value
From $55,000 to $250,000 X 1 % of total property value
From $250,000 to $400,000 X 1.5 % of total property value
From $400,000 up X 2 % of total property value

You can also click here to calculate your land transfer tax online.

The City Of Toronto has recently approved new land transfer taxes just for the municipality of Toronto that are set to take place on February 1, 2008.

The land transfer tax will work as follows:

  • one-half of one per cent on the first $55,000 in property values
  • one per cent on the next $345,000 in property values
  • two per cent of the value residential units exceeding $400,000 for residential transactions
  • one and a half per cent on the remaining value of up to $40 million and one per cent above that on commercial properties

A rebate of up to $3,725 will apply to first-time purchasers of homes. This means a full rebate for first time buyers of homes valued at $400,000 or less. If you would like more information on this, click here. You can also visit the City of Toronto’s Municipal Land Transfer Tax page.  These new taxes do not affect Brampton.

But no matter where you buy, keep in mind that you must pay this land transfer tax when you purchase a property, so remember to budget this tax in your closing costs so there are no surprises at the end!

This post has 10 comments

  • lang
    For land transfer tax purposes, if the property is within the municipality of Toronto, it will be taxed as such. Lang

  • Ken
    What is the boundary to be considered as City of Toronto? since we usually refer to as GTA, it is a bit unclear of where is the clearcut.

{ 1 trackback }

Am I eligible for a land transfer tax refund? : Brampton Real Estate Blog - Life and real estate in Brampton, buying and selling tips, home and condo guides
July 25, 2008 at 8:44 pm

{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }

1 sosun May 18, 2008 at 4:47 pm

hey this is sosun my dad and my mom bought a condo and now we are looking for landtransfer tax return form can u tell me where i can get the form thanks

2 lang May 19, 2008 at 8:21 pm

Hi Sosun

You can find the form here:

http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/english/forms/ltt/pdf/0307.pdf

Best of luck,

Lang

3 manjinder September 28, 2008 at 2:57 pm

hi! me and my wife are buying a home in brampton. its a first home for both of us. do we get any rebate on landtransfer tax. thax in advance

4 Dan Lu March 6, 2009 at 7:57 am

Hi
Me and my wife is buying a new home, and its our first time home buyer, do we need to pay landtransfer tax and how do we get rebate on..

our new house cost 340900 what will be the landtransfer tax will be?

thank in advance

Dan & Loan

5 lang March 9, 2009 at 10:25 am

Hi Dan & Loan

As a first home time homebuyer, you are qualified for a rebate. Here is some more information on the program:

http://www.langvuong.com/2008/03/02/am-i-eligible-for-a-land-transfer-tax-refund/

Also, you can find a Land Transfer Tax calculator right here:

http://www.bramptonbuyers.com/landtransfertaxcalculator

Best of luck!

Lang

6 dave March 29, 2009 at 8:44 pm

Hi – here is a question –
I am native indian and currently
have a indian status card –

How and what provisions , tax wise
do I have to pay ?

Do you know how this works for resale or
new homes ?

7 lang March 31, 2009 at 11:36 am

Hi Dave

I’m not entirely certain what sort of tax implications you would face, as I am not in the legal field. My understanding is that unless activities or purchases of any kind are made on a reserve, they are taxable. I would advise speaking to a lawyer about this to get more accurate information. You can also check this link here:

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/brgnls/stts-eng.html

Of course, if you’re a first time home buyer, you would receive that refund of your land transfer tax of up to $2000. Please check back in if you find out the answer to your question – I am definitely interested!

Lang

8 Ken August 25, 2009 at 2:25 pm

What is the boundary to be considered as City of Toronto? since we usually refer to as GTA, it is a bit unclear of where is the clearcut.

9 lang August 25, 2009 at 4:27 pm

For land transfer tax purposes, if the property is within the municipality of Toronto, it will be taxed as such.

Lang

Leave a Comment

Previous post:

Next post: