When do I pay Quebec's welcome tax?

After closing. The municipality issues the bill once the transfer is registered — often two to six months after you take possession — and payment is due on the invoice's schedule. It is not collected by the notary at closing, so you need to reserve the money yourself.

Does Quebec have a first-time-buyer exemption?

Not provincially — every buyer pays the welcome tax. Montreal's Home Ownership Program is the main exception, offering partial or full refunds to eligible purchasers of qualifying properties, and a few other municipalities run their own smaller programs.

Homeowner guide · Quebec

Land transfer tax in Quebec

Quebec's land transfer tax is the "welcome tax" (droits de mutation immobilière) — a municipal tax billed to you after closing rather than collected at the notary's table. The base scale is 0.5%, 1%, and 1.5% across three brackets that are indexed every year (for 2026: 0.5% to $62,900, 1% to $315,000, 1.5% above), which works out to about $5,610 on a $500,000 home. Montreal adds higher tiers on expensive properties, topping out at 4% on value above roughly $3.1 million. Quebec has no provincial first-time-buyer exemption, though Montreal's Home Ownership Program offers partial refunds to eligible buyers.

Welcome tax on a $500,000 home at 2026 brackets: ~$5,610
Montreal's top tier, on value above roughly $3.1 million: 4%
The municipality mails the bill weeks or months later: After closing

How the welcome tax works — and when the bill arrives

The tax is calculated on the highest of the purchase price and the standardized municipal assessment, through brackets indexed annually — so the exact dollar figure shifts a little each year. On a $500,000 home at the 2026 base scale: 0.5% of the first $62,900 ($315), 1% up to $315,000 ($2,521), and 1.5% on the remaining $185,000 ($2,775), for roughly $5,610. Every Quebec municipality charges it; only the top tiers vary.

Nobody collects this at closing

Unlike everywhere else in Canada, the welcome tax isn't part of your notary's closing statement. The municipality mails an invoice after the deed is registered — commonly a few months after you move in, with a short payment deadline. Set the money aside at purchase time so the bill is an errand, not an emergency.

Montreal's higher tiers and partial refunds

Montreal keeps the base brackets for modest prices but layers additional tiers above them — rising through 2%, 2.5%, and 3.5% before reaching 4% on the portion above roughly $3.1 million (thresholds indexed annually). At the same time, Montreal is the one place in Quebec with meaningful relief: its Home Ownership Program refunds part or all of the welcome tax for eligible buyers — typically first-time buyers and families with children purchasing qualifying homes under program price caps. Check the current program conditions before you buy; the caps and amounts are adjusted periodically.

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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
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Land transfer tax in Quebec — FAQ

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Land transfer tax in other provinces

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