Is it true there's no land transfer tax in Alberta?

Yes — Alberta charges no land transfer tax, only registration levies of $5 per $5,000 of value on the transfer and on the mortgage. A purchase that would carry $12,000+ of transfer tax in Toronto or Vancouver closes in Calgary for well under $1,000 in government fees.

What closing costs should Alberta buyers budget for?

Plan for roughly 1% to 1.5% of the purchase price: the land titles levies, legal fees, title insurance, and adjustments reimbursing the seller for prepaid property tax. The big-ticket transfer tax line simply doesn't exist here.

Homeowner guide · Alberta

Land transfer tax in Alberta

Alberta has no land transfer tax — one of only two provinces where buying a home triggers no transfer tax at all. What you pay instead are land titles registration levies: since October 20, 2024, $5 per $5,000 of property value (plus a $50 base) to register the transfer, and the same rate again on your mortgage amount to register the charge. On a $450,000 purchase with a $360,000 mortgage, that's about $910 all in — versus nearly $5,500 of land transfer tax on the same price in Ontario.

Land transfer tax — Alberta doesn't charge one: $0
Land titles registration levy since Oct 20, 2024: $5 per $5,000
Total registration levies on a $450,000 home with a $360,000 mortgage: ~$910

What Alberta buyers pay instead

Closing in Alberta still costs money — just not transfer tax. The Land Titles Office levy on a $450,000 home is $50 plus $450 ($5 for each $5,000 of value); registering a $360,000 mortgage adds $50 plus $360. Your remaining closing costs are the universal ones: legal fees (commonly $1,200–$2,000), title insurance, and adjustments for prepaid property taxes. Budget roughly 1% to 1.5% of the price for everything, where an Ontario or BC buyer budgets 2.5% to 4%.

The levy did rise sharply in October 2024 — from $2 to $5 per $5,000 of value — and it's worth using the current figure when your lawyer quotes disbursements. Even so, Alberta remains by far the cheapest large province in which to close a purchase, a real and often-overlooked part of its affordability advantage.

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Homeprint tracks the whole cost of your purchase

Land transfer tax is one line on a closing bill that also includes legal fees, title insurance, and adjustments — and the rebates only help if someone remembers to claim them. Homeprint estimates your full closing bill for your province and city while you're still house-hunting, flags the first-time-buyer relief you qualify for, and keeps every closing document in one permanent vault from the day you get the keys.

Your land transfer tax and full closing costs calculated for your province — and for Toronto's double tax — before you offer
First-time-buyer rebates and exemptions surfaced automatically, so the claim happens at registration instead of afterwards
Every closing document — agreement of purchase and sale, deed, trust ledger — stored in one vault you'll still have when you sell

Land transfer tax in Alberta — FAQ

Elsewhere in Canada

Land transfer tax in other provinces

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