How much do first-time buyer land transfer tax rebates save in Canada?
First-time buyer relief on land transfer tax works very differently depending on where in Canada you buy. Ontario gives a refund of up to C$4,000, and Toronto adds a rebate of up to C$4,475, for C$8,475 in total. Those amounts don't depend on the price, so they matter most on cheaper homes.
British Columbia does the opposite. It waives the whole property transfer tax on a first home at or below C$500,000, which is C$8,000 at that price, then gives a flat C$8,000 up to C$835,000, and nothing at all from C$860,000.
How we worked these out
For each of eight prices from C$400,000 to C$1,000,000, we ran three calculators on this site twice, once as a first-time buyer and once as a repeat buyer, and took the difference:
- The Ontario land transfer tax calculator for a home elsewhere in Ontario
- The Toronto land transfer tax calculator for both the provincial and municipal taxes
- The BC first-time buyer exemption calculator for British Columbia's property transfer tax
Every run is a home on land with one or two single family residences, at the rules in force in 2026. The figures assume the buyer meets every eligibility test and claims the full relief available. They don't cover BC's separate newly built home exemption, the foreign buyer taxes, or any province other than Ontario and BC, which the engine doesn't model.
The numbers at every price
Click any heading to sort. The "saving" columns show how much the first-time buyer relief takes off a repeat buyer's bill.
Land transfer tax for a first-time buyer vs a repeat buyer: Ontario, Toronto and BC, 2026 (Canadian dollars)
Download CSVSingle-family home. "First-time" columns apply Ontario's refund, Toronto's rebate and BC's First Time Home Buyers' exemption at their 2026 maximums.
| C$400,000 | C$475 | C$4,000 | C$475 | C$8,475 | C$0 | C$6,000 |
| C$500,000 | C$2,475 | C$4,000 | C$4,475 | C$8,475 | C$0 | C$8,000 |
| C$600,000 | C$4,475 | C$4,000 | C$8,475 | C$8,475 | C$2,000 | C$8,000 |
| C$700,000 | C$6,475 | C$4,000 | C$12,475 | C$8,475 | C$4,000 | C$8,000 |
| C$835,000 | C$9,175 | C$4,000 | C$17,875 | C$8,475 | C$6,700 | C$8,000 |
| C$850,000 | C$9,475 | C$4,000 | C$18,475 | C$8,475 | C$11,800 | C$3,200 |
| C$860,000 | C$9,675 | C$4,000 | C$18,875 | C$8,475 | C$15,200 | C$0 |
| C$1,000,000 | C$12,475 | C$4,000 | C$24,475 | C$8,475 | C$18,000 | C$0 |
Ontario: a flat C$4,000
Ontario's first-time homebuyer refund is a fixed cap, not a percentage. It wipes out the provincial tax completely on a home up to C$368,000. Above that, it simply takes C$4,000 off whatever you owe. On a C$500,000 home a first-time buyer pays C$2,475 instead of C$6,475. On C$700,000 it's C$6,475, and on C$1,000,000 it's C$12,475.
Because the cap hasn't moved since 2017 while prices have climbed, the refund covers a shrinking share of the tax. It's still worth claiming, and you can apply at registration or within 18 months afterwards.
Toronto: two rebates, one purchase
A first-time buyer in Toronto claims twice: Ontario's refund of up to C$4,000, and the City's own rebate of up to C$4,475 against its municipal land transfer tax. Together that's C$8,475.
It helps, but Toronto's double tax still bites. On a C$500,000 home the bill drops from C$12,950 to C$4,475. On C$1,000,000 it falls from C$32,950 to C$24,475, so the relief covers 25.7% of the tax. For more on why Toronto charges twice, see our land transfer tax comparison for Ontario, Toronto and BC.
BC: generous, with a cliff
BC's First Time Home Buyers' program is far more generous at lower prices. A first home at C$500,000 pays C$0. Between C$500,000 and C$835,000, the exemption is a flat C$8,000, which is exactly the tax on the first C$500,000. A C$700,000 first home pays C$4,000, and one at C$835,000 pays C$6,700.
Then comes the cliff. Over the next C$25,000 of price, the exemption shrinks to nothing. A C$850,000 home keeps only C$3,200 of relief and pays C$11,800. At C$860,000 the exemption is gone and the tax is C$15,200. That's C$8,500 more tax than at C$835,000 for a price only C$25,000 higher.
Inside that band, every extra dollar you pay costs about 34.0% in extra transfer tax once the lost exemption is counted. If you're a first-time buyer in BC negotiating on a home near C$835,000, it's worth knowing exactly where the price sits.
The federal credit on top
Wherever you buy, a first-time buyer can also claim the federal first-time home buyers' tax credit. It's worth C$1,400 off your federal income tax for the year you buy, as long as you owe at least that much. It's one credit per home, so a couple buying together split it rather than getting one each.
That's separate from the bigger federal programs, the FHSA and the Home Buyers' Plan, which help with the down payment rather than the closing costs. Our 2026 TFSA, RRSP and FHSA limits page has those figures, and the first-time home buyer calculator puts them together for your own purchase.
Who qualifies
Each program sets its own tests, and they don't match. Broadly, Ontario and Toronto require that you've never owned a home anywhere in the world and that you move in within nine months. BC requires Canadian citizenship or permanent residence, a year living in BC or two BC tax returns, and no previous home ownership anywhere. A spouse's past ownership can disqualify you in some cases. Check the program pages listed under Sources before you count on the relief.
What to take from this
- In Ontario and Toronto, the relief is a fixed sum, so it shrinks in importance as the price rises.
- In BC, the relief is worth the most on a home at or below C$500,000, stays at C$8,000 up to C$835,000, and disappears fast after that.
- Everyone who qualifies should also claim the federal C$1,400 credit.
Run your own price through the Toronto calculator or the BC exemption calculator to see your exact figure.
