Mistakes, Disputes and Official Sources
Official sources for home buying and selling costs in Canada: where to check every rate
A province-by-province list of the government, tax and regulator websites where you can verify land transfer tax, welcome tax, GST/HST rebates, commission rules and non-resident taxes.
Every rate and rule on this site comes from a public source you can check yourself. For land transfer tax, use the provincial finance ministry (and the City of Toronto for MLTT); for Quebec's welcome tax, your municipality; for GST/HST and rebates, the Canada Revenue Agency; for commission and agent conduct, your provincial real estate regulator; and for the federal ban on non-Canadian buyers, the Justice Laws website and the Department of Finance. Rates and programs change, often at budget time, so check the source in the month you sign, not when you first start looking.
This list is part of Mistakes, Disputes and Official Sources.
Federal sources
| Source | What to check there |
|---|---|
| Canada Revenue Agency | GST/HST rates; First-Time Home Buyers' GST Rebate and new housing rebate forms; principal residence designation; residential property flipping rule; section 116 certificates; Underused Housing Tax returns for 2022 to 2024 |
| Department of Finance Canada | Budget measures; announcements on the foreign buyer ban and housing taxes |
| Justice Laws Website | Text of the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act, the Excise Tax Act, the Income Tax Act and the Underused Housing Tax Act, with in-force and amendment dates |
| Competition Bureau Canada | Investigations into real estate rules, including CREA policies |
| Financial Consumer Agency of Canada | Mortgage costs, prepayment charges, consumer rights with lenders |
| CMHC | Mortgage loan insurance and home buying guides |
Provincial and municipal tax sources
| Province or city | Source | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario | Ontario Ministry of Finance | Land transfer tax brackets, first-time buyer refund, NRST, Ontario new housing rebate, any new first-time buyer HST relief |
| Toronto | City of Toronto | MLTT rates (new upper brackets from 1 April 2026), first-time buyer rebate, MNRST, Vacant Home Tax |
| British Columbia | Government of British Columbia | Property transfer tax, first-time buyer and newly built home exemptions, additional tax for foreign entities, home flipping tax, speculation and vacancy tax |
| Quebec | Government of Quebec and your municipality | Transfer duties brackets indexed each year; municipal rates above the basic brackets |
| Quebec | Revenu Québec | QST on services; QST new housing rebate |
| Alberta | Government of Alberta | Land titles registration fees |
| Saskatchewan | Information Services Corporation | Land titles transfer fees |
| Other provinces | Provincial finance or service departments | Land transfer tax, deed transfer tax (set by municipalities in Nova Scotia), first-time buyer programs |
Real estate regulators
| Province | Regulator |
|---|---|
| Ontario | RECO |
| British Columbia | BCFSA |
| Quebec | OACIQ |
| Alberta | RECA |
| Saskatchewan | SREC |
| Other provinces | See complaints and regulators by province |
Industry bodies such as CREA publish the REALTOR Code and MLS rules that apply to their members. They are not government regulators.
Legal professionals
- Law Society of Ontario and the law societies of other provinces: find and check a lawyer.
- Chambre des notaires du Québec: find a Quebec notary.
- Society of Notaries Public of BC: find a BC notary public.
How to use official sources well
- Find the effective date. Tax pages usually say "for agreements entered into after" or "for registrations on or after". Your agreement date and closing date both matter.
- Check the "last updated" date on the page. If it predates a budget, look for a newer announcement.
- Separate proposals from law. A budget measure may be "proposed" for months before it is enacted. The first-time buyer GST rebate, for example, was announced in 2025 and enacted in March 2026; the UHT elimination was proposed in Budget 2025 and enacted in March 2026.
- Read the conditions, not only the headline amount: residency, ownership history, occupancy and deadlines.
- Keep a copy of the page or rate table you relied on, with the date.
Where this site's key figures come from
| Figure | Source |
|---|---|
| Ontario LTT brackets and $4,000 refund | Ontario Ministry of Finance |
| Toronto MLTT brackets including 4.4% to 8.6% above $3M from 1 April 2026, $4,475 rebate | City of Toronto |
| BC PTT rates, $835,000/$860,000 first-time thresholds, $1,100,000 newly built threshold | Government of British Columbia |
| BC home flipping tax from 1 January 2025 | Government of British Columbia |
| First-Time Home Buyers' GST Rebate, up to $50,000 | Canada Revenue Agency; Bill C-4, Royal Assent 12 March 2026 |
| UHT eliminated from 2025 | Budget 2025; S.C. 2026, c. 3 |
| Foreign buyer ban to 1 January 2027 | Department of Finance; Justice Laws |
| Competition Bureau investigation of CREA, October 2024 | Competition Bureau |
Frequently asked questions
Are realtor association websites official sources?
They are reliable for their own rules and market data, but the law comes from statutes and regulators. Check tax rules with government sources.
Where do I check Quebec's welcome tax for my city?
On your municipality's website or the tax bill, and with your notary. The basic brackets are published by the Quebec government each year.
What if the official page and my lawyer disagree?
Ask the lawyer which provision applies. Official pages summarise; statutes and regulations govern.
How often do these figures change?
Land transfer tax brackets change rarely, but Quebec thresholds are indexed every year, municipal rates can change with budgets, and federal measures change with budgets and bills.
