Key Takeaways
- Ontario's provincial Land Transfer Tax uses marginal brackets, rising from 0.5% to 2.5% depending on the purchase price.
- First-time buyers can receive a rebate of up to $4,000 against the provincial LTT.
- Mississauga does not charge an additional municipal land transfer tax — unlike the City of Toronto, which does.
- LTT is due on closing and is paid through your real estate lawyer, separate from your down payment.
How Ontario's provincial LTT is calculated
Ontario's Land Transfer Tax (LTT) is calculated on marginal brackets of the purchase price, similar to income tax brackets — meaning each portion of the price is taxed at its own rate rather than the whole price being taxed at the top rate. Rates generally range from 0.5% on the lowest portion of value up to 2.5% on amounts above $2 million.
First-time home buyer rebate
Ontario offers a rebate of up to $4,000 off the provincial LTT for eligible first-time home buyers, which can eliminate the tax entirely on lower-priced purchases. Your lawyer typically applies this rebate directly at closing rather than requiring a separate claim.
Why Mississauga buyers pay less than Toronto buyers
The City of Toronto levies its own municipal land transfer tax on top of the provincial tax, roughly doubling the total LTT bill for comparable purchases. Mississauga, part of the Region of Peel, does not impose a municipal LTT — so Mississauga buyers pay only the provincial rate, a meaningful closing-cost saving compared to an equivalent Toronto purchase.