Canadian closing costs calculator

Most Canadian buyers spend years saving for the down payment. Then, three weeks before closing, the lawyer sends a number that's somewhere between $5,000 and $50,000 on top of it. That money is closing costs: real, owed in cash, and almost always larger than first-time buyers expect.

This guide walks through every line on the breakdown above: the taxes the province sets and you can't negotiate, the insurance premium tax that catches most buyers in Ontario, Quebec, and Saskatchewan, and the four negotiable items where the actual numbers come from quotes you'll collect over the next month.

The taxes you can't negotiate

Land transfer tax is the single biggest closing cost in most provinces. Ontario, BC, Quebec, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and PEI charge a tiered percentage of the home price. The tiers stack: each slice is taxed at its own rate.

Five jurisdictions skip the tax entirely and charge a flat or near-flat land registration fee instead: Alberta, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland, Yukon, NWT, and Nunavut. The fee is a few hundred dollars rather than thousands, which is why "closing costs in Alberta" Google searches return wildly different numbers than "closing costs in Ontario" searches.

Toronto MLTT is its own line. If the property is anywhere within the City of Toronto boundary, Toronto adds a municipal land transfer tax that roughly mirrors the provincial schedule. The rebate also doubles for Toronto first-time buyers (up to $4,475 municipal on top of the $4,000 provincial). On a $1.2M Toronto purchase, the combined LTT clears $40,000.

Provincial first-time home buyer rebates exist in Ontario (up to $4,000), BC (full exemption under $500K, partial to $835K), Toronto (up to $4,475 municipal, in addition to provincial), and PEI (up to $2,000). Quebec has some municipal rebates but no province-wide one. Other provinces have none. The calculator above applies the rebate when the FTHB toggle is on; eligibility rules differ slightly across provinces (Ontario requires never owning a home anywhere, with a non-owning spouse), so verify on your provincial Ministry of Finance website before counting on it.

The PST-on-premium trap (Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan)

If your down payment is under 20%, you'll pay a CMHC default insurance premium. Most buyers know this. What surprises most buyers in Ontario, Quebec, and Saskatchewan is that PST on premium is a separate cash line at closing.

Three provinces tax the CMHC premium as an insurance product:

Ontario at 8%. Quebec at 9%. Saskatchewan at 6%. Manitoba previously charged 7% but suspended the tax in July 2020. The other provinces don't tax the premium at all.

The PST can't be rolled into the mortgage. An Ontario buyer with 5% down on a $650,000 home walks into closing owing the down payment plus roughly $2,500 in PST on top, before any other line item.

The negotiable items, and where ranges actually come from

Four line items aren't fixed by statute. The defaults in the calculator represent typical Canadian midpoints; the real numbers come from quotes.

Legal fees ($1,500 to $2,500). Real-estate lawyers charge a flat fee for a residential closing. The fee covers the title search, drafting documents, registering the transfer, holding the trust funds, and disbursements (couriers, certified copies, etc). Wealthsimple's closing-costs guide confirms the $1,500-$2,500 range. Push back if a quote comes in above $2,500 unless there's a complication (multiple titles, severance, estate sale).

Home inspection ($400 to $700 for a single-family home, more for larger or older properties). Optional but strongly recommended. The Canadian Association of Home and Property Inspectors maintains a directory; price varies by inspector experience and home size. Many buyers waive inspection in hot markets to make their offer competitive; that's a calculated risk, not a saving.

Title insurance ($250 to $400). A one-time premium that protects against title fraud, undisclosed liens or easements, encroachments, and survey errors. Title-insurance fraud (where a stranger uses forged documents to sell or mortgage your home without your knowledge) is a real Canadian phenomenon and has spiked since 2020. Almost every Canadian lender now requires title insurance for new mortgages. Sometimes bundled into the legal-fee quote.

Property tax adjustment ($300 to $1,000, but variable). Closes the gap between the seller's prepaid property tax and your closing date. If the seller paid the full year's tax in January and you close June 30, you owe them the second half of the year. If they haven't paid yet and you close November 30, they credit you the year-to-date. Your lawyer's statement of adjustments shows the exact figure.

What's NOT in the cash-to-close total

The calculator above gives you the lawyer-office number. Several costs land before or after that day and aren't included.

Mortgage payments themselves. Your first mortgage payment is typically due one month after closing. Use the mortgage payment calculator for that.

Moving costs. $500 to $5,000 depending on distance, volume, and whether you're paying movers or DIY-with-pizza-and-friends.

Condo status certificate fee. $100 to $250, payable to the condo corporation when buying a condo. Your lawyer or condo lawyer reviews the certificate before closing to flag special assessments or pending litigation.

Survey. $1,000 to $1,500 if the seller doesn't have a current survey and the lender requires one. Title insurance often satisfies the lender in lieu of a fresh survey, which is one of the reasons title insurance is now near-universal.

Home insurance first premium. $1,000 to $2,500 for the first year, paid before the lender will fund the mortgage. Required by every Canadian lender for any insured property.

Federal new-home GST/HST rebate. When buying a newly-built home (not a resale), federal GST/HST applies to the purchase price, with a partial rebate available. The March 2026 reforms updated the eligibility thresholds; CalcNorth will add this to the calculator once the regulations stabilize. For now, Department of Finance Canada's announcement page is the authoritative reference.

How much should I actually budget?

A useful rule of thumb: budget 1.5% to 4% of the home price for closing costs. The variation is mostly about LTT.

Low end (1.5%): Conventional mortgage (no CMHC premium), property in Alberta or Saskatchewan (registration fee, not LTT), no Toronto MLTT.

Middle (2.5%): Standard Ontario or BC purchase outside Toronto, FTHB rebate applied, conventional mortgage.

High end (3.5% to 4%): Toronto purchase (provincial + municipal LTT), high-ratio mortgage (PST on premium), no FTHB rebate.

On a $650,000 Ontario home with 5% down (FTHB), our calculator's default scenario lands at roughly $42,000 cash to close: $32,500 down + $1,520 PST on premium + $5,475 net LTT + $3,100 in negotiable items. That's 6.5% of the purchase price, but $32,500 of it is the down payment. The closing-only portion (everything except the down) is $9,500, or 1.5% of the home price. The FTHB rebate is doing real work in that calculation.

On a $1,000,000 Toronto resale with 20% down (so no CMHC, no PST on premium, but Toronto MLTT applies), the closing-only number is closer to $40,000. The Toronto MLTT alone clears $16,000 on a million-dollar home.

Frequently asked questions

How much should I budget for closing costs as a rule of thumb?

1.5% to 4% of the home price, depending on three things: whether you're paying CMHC premium PST (Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan high-ratio buyers), whether you're in Toronto (which adds the municipal LTT), and whether you qualify for a first-time-buyer rebate. A conventional Alberta buyer might land at 1.5%; a high-ratio Toronto first-time buyer can clear 4% before the FTHB rebate is applied.

Can I roll closing costs into the mortgage?

Mostly no. The CMHC premium itself is rolled in (which is why your insured loan is larger than your base loan). But the PST on the premium, the land transfer tax, the legal fees, the inspection, the title insurance, and the property tax adjustment are all due in cash at closing. Some lenders offer a "cash-back at closing" mortgage that effectively prepays a few thousand dollars of closing costs for a slightly higher interest rate; the math rarely works out in the buyer's favour over the term, but it can solve a temporary cash-flow problem.

Do I have to pay PST on the CMHC premium?

Only if you're in Ontario, Quebec, or Saskatchewan, AND your down payment is under 20% (so CMHC insurance is required). Manitoba previously charged 7% but suspended the tax in July 2020. The other provinces don't tax the premium at all. The PST is computed on the premium amount itself (not on your home price or your loan), so even very large mortgages have manageable PST bills, typically $1,000 to $3,000.

Is the first-time home buyer LTT rebate automatic?

Your lawyer applies for it, but eligibility depends on you. Ontario's rule: you must never have owned a home (anywhere in the world), and your spouse must also not have owned a home during your relationship. BC has similar rules with an income cap. Bring documentation: ID, declarations from both spouses, sometimes a credit-bureau attestation. Don't assume; ask your lawyer in writing whether you qualify before counting the rebate in your budget.

Do I need title insurance if my lawyer does a title search?

Yes, almost certainly. The title search confirms the title is clean today. Title insurance protects you against fraud, undisclosed liens, and survey errors going forward. Canadian title fraud has risen sharply since 2020; nearly every Canadian lender now requires title insurance for new mortgages. The premium is one-time, around $250 to $400, and lasts for as long as you own the home. The cost-to-coverage ratio makes it close to a no-brainer.

What's the property tax adjustment, and how do I plan for it?

It's the line that reconciles property tax between you and the seller. Property tax is paid annually or semi-annually in Canada, and the bill belongs to whoever owned the property when it was issued. If the seller already paid the full year and you close in June, you reimburse them for July through December. If they haven't paid yet and you close in November, they credit you for January through November. Your lawyer's statement of adjustments shows the exact figure. Worst case (closing right before a tax bill), it can run over $1,000; best case (closing right after the seller paid for the rest of the year), it's a few hundred.

Why do Alberta and Saskatchewan charge a fee instead of a tax?

Historical and political. Alberta and Saskatchewan replaced provincial LTT with a small registration fee (typically a couple hundred dollars) decades ago. The provincial revenue is recovered through other channels. Buyers in those provinces save thousands compared to Ontario or BC equivalents at the same home price; this is usually framed as a tax-policy win for those provinces, though the corresponding hit on provincial revenue is real.

What about HST/GST on a brand-new home?

Federal GST/HST applies to newly-built homes (not resale homes). The buyer pays it. A federal new-home rebate offsets some of it; provincial new-home rebates layer on top in HST provinces. The March 2026 reforms updated the thresholds and CalcNorth's V2 release will incorporate them. For now, expect 5% to 13% of the new-home purchase price as a closing-day cost on top of everything in this calculator. If you're buying a new build, your builder's contract should spell out the gross price, the rebate amount, and the net you owe.