Welcome tax (land transfer duties)

How it's calculated

The tax base is the greatest of three amounts: the price paid, the price stated in the deed, and the municipal assessment multiplied by that year's comparative factor. Québec's schedule applies in brackets, like income tax:

Above $500,000, a municipality may set a higher rate, up to 3%, with no cap for Montréal (up to 4%); most large cities have done so. Example: a $900,000 triplex in Montréal pays $13,349 in 2026. Run your own numbers with the welcome tax calculator.

Payment and exemptions

The city sends the bill a few weeks to a few months after the sale; the duties become due on the 31st day after the bill is sent, unless the city allows instalments. Transfers between spouses and in the direct line (parent and child) are exempt, but not between siblings; the city may then charge a substitute duty (droit supplétif) of up to $200. There's no exemption for first-time buyers, but a refundable tax credit announced in April 2026 returns up to $5,875 of duties on a first home the buyer lives in, duplexes and triplexes included, subject to the law being passed. For income tax, the duties are added to the building's cost: they are a capital expense.

Learn more

• Buying

  Buying a plex in Québec: welcome tax, returns and financing

  What the welcome tax costs from one city to the next, the new first-home tax credit, the ratios that tell you whether a plex pays for itself, and how Canadian mortgages differ.