Land Transfer Tax in Hamilton vs Toronto: The $12,475 Difference

Land Transfer Tax in Hamilton vs Toronto: The $12,475 Difference

Written by Daniel Zareh, REALTOR® — licensed since 2006, serving Hamilton, Stoney Creek, Grimsby, Binbrook, Beamsville, Burlington, Oakville and Mississauga.
Written November 4, 2026. Rates and rebate amounts verified against the Ontario Ministry of Finance and TRREB's published land transfer tax schedules. I'm a REALTOR®, not a lawyer or an accountant — your lawyer calculates the actual number on your deal.

A post went around this week about a buyer in Toronto paying roughly $25,000 in land transfer tax on an $800,000 home. The numbers in it are right. I checked them.

What nobody said is the part that matters if you're buying here: on that exact same $800,000 purchase in Hamilton, Stoney Creek, Grimsby, Burlington, Oakville or Mississauga, you'd pay $12,475. Not because the house is cheaper. Because there's only one government collecting.

That's $12,475 you keep, on the same price, for the same house. Most buyers I talk to have no idea it's that big.

What land transfer tax actually is

It's a tax on the transfer of the property, not on the house and not on your profit. You pay it once, on closing, and it's due in cash through your lawyer.

That last part is the one that catches people. You can't roll it into the mortgage. It isn't amortized over 25 years. It comes out of the same pile of money as your down payment, on the same day, and if you've budgeted your savings down to the dollar for the down payment, this is where the deal gets tight.

So it belongs in your plan from the start, not in the week before closing.

The Ontario rates, and what they come to

Ontario charges it on a sliding scale. Every buyer in the province pays this, wherever the property is:

• 0.5% on the first $55,000
• 1% on the portion from $55,000 to $250,000
• 1.5% on the portion from $250,000 to $400,000
• 2% on the portion from $400,000 to $2 million
• 2.5% above $2 million, on land with one or two single-family residences

It's tiered, so you're not paying one rate on the whole price. On an $800,000 purchase the math runs $275, then $1,950, then $2,250, then $8,000 — which adds up to $12,475.

That's the number anywhere in my markets. Hamilton, Stoney Creek, Ancaster, Dundas, Waterdown, Binbrook, Grimsby, Beamsville, Burlington, Oakville, Mississauga. Same tax, same rate, one bill.

Toronto charges it twice

Toronto is the only municipality in Ontario with its own land transfer tax on top of the provincial one. Its rates mirror the province's up to $2 million, so a Toronto buyer pays the provincial amount, and then pays it again to the city.

On $800,000 that's $12,475 to Ontario and another $12,475 to Toronto. Total $24,950.

Source · Ontario Ministry of Finance and TRREB land transfer tax schedules, 2026.

Same house, same price, same closing date. One buyer writes a cheque for $12,475 and the other writes one for $24,950. That's the whole difference, and it has nothing to do with the property.

What it's worth at the prices people actually buy at

The gap isn't fixed. Because the second tax is a copy of the first, it grows with the price:

Source · Ontario Ministry of Finance and TRREB land transfer tax schedules, 2026.

At $500,000 the second bill is $6,475. At $800,000 it's $12,475. At a million it's $16,475. Put differently: in Toronto, land transfer tax on a million-dollar home runs $32,950, which is more than the entire down payment some buyers here are working with.

The first-time buyer rebate, and who gets nothing

Ontario refunds first-time buyers up to $4,000 of the provincial tax. That wipes it out entirely on the first $368,000 of the price, and above that you get the full $4,000 back and pay the rest.

The rules are tighter than people expect. You have to be 18 or older, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and you can't have owned a home anywhere in the world at any point. Your spouse's history counts too — if they owned a home while you were together, neither of you gets the refund. The home has to become your principal residence within nine months, and you've got 18 months from registration to claim it.

Toronto has its own rebate on its own tax, up to $4,475.

Here's what that does to the comparison. A first-time buyer at $800,000 pays $8,475 here and $16,475 in Toronto — a difference of exactly $8,000.

And then there's everyone else. If you've owned before, there's no rebate at all. That's the group nobody writes about: the family selling a townhouse to buy a detached, the couple downsizing, the investor buying a second property. On an $800,000 move-up purchase in Hamilton that's the full $12,475, in cash, on closing day. I've had more than one client find that out late, and it's an uncomfortable conversation.

Hamilton came closer to adding one than you'd think

This is the part I'd want to know if I were you, and it's why I wouldn't treat the saving as permanent.

In May 2024, Hamilton council voted 10–4 to ask staff to report on new revenue options, a municipal land transfer tax among them. The report came back on January 15, 2025. It set out how the city could pursue one — it would need provincial approval, since the authority Toronto has doesn't extend automatically to other municipalities — and it floated a Toronto-style structure at 2% between $400,000 and $2 million.

Using Hamilton's December 2024 average price of $772,705, the report put the municipal tax at $11,929, and the combined bill at $23,858.

It didn't go ahead. The Cornerstone Association of REALTORS ran a campaign against it, polling found 74% of Hamiltonians thought it would make housing less affordable, councillors reported a wave of resident emails, and the gallery was full on the day. Council chose not to pursue it at that time.

At that time. It wasn't rejected permanently, and a new council took office this month. So the honest version is that not paying a second land transfer tax in Hamilton is a political decision, not a law of nature.

So what do you actually do with this

Not much, if I'm honest, and I'd rather say that than oversell it.

Nobody should pick a city because of a closing cost. A $12,475 saving is real money, but it's one-time, and it's small next to the difference in what $800,000 buys you in one market versus another. If you're choosing between Hamilton and Toronto, choose on the commute, the house, the street and the schools. The tax is a footnote on that decision.

Where it does matter is budgeting. It's the single largest closing cost on most purchases around here, it's bigger than your legal fees and title insurance combined, and it has to be liquid on closing day. Knowing the number in advance is the difference between a smooth close and scrambling.

And if you're moving up, know now that there's no rebate coming. Plan for the whole amount.

Common Questions

How much is land transfer tax on an $800,000 home in Hamilton?
$12,475. The same purchase in Toronto costs $24,950, because Toronto adds a municipal land transfer tax on top of the provincial one.

Does Hamilton have a municipal land transfer tax?
No. Neither do Stoney Creek, Grimsby, Beamsville, Binbrook, Burlington, Oakville or Mississauga. Toronto is the only municipality in Ontario that charges its own. Hamilton council had staff study one in 2024 and 2025 and chose not to pursue it.

Can I add land transfer tax to my mortgage?
No. It's due in cash on closing, through your lawyer, alongside your down payment and the rest of your closing costs.

What's the first-time buyer rebate in Ontario?
Up to $4,000 off the provincial tax. It covers the tax completely up to about $368,000 and gives you the full $4,000 above that. You have 18 months from registration to claim it, and your spouse's past ownership can disqualify you both.

Do I pay land transfer tax if I've owned a home before?
You pay the tax and you get no rebate. The refund is only for first-time buyers, so move-up buyers, downsizers and investors pay the full amount.

Does the seller pay any of it?
No. Land transfer tax is the buyer's, every time. Sellers have their own costs, but this isn't one of them.

What else should I budget for on closing?
Legal fees, title insurance, adjustments for property tax and utilities the seller has prepaid, and your moving costs. Land transfer tax is usually the biggest single line, but it isn't the only one.

What I'd do before you write an offer

Send me the price range you're looking at and whether you've owned before, and I'll come back with your actual land transfer tax, the rebate if you qualify, and a realistic total for what you need liquid on closing day. It takes me a few minutes and it's specific to you, not a calculator estimate.

I'll also tell you if the number changes what you should be shopping for. Sometimes it does, and it's better to know that before you've fallen for a house than after.

Call or text 416-276-0052   Email: daniel@zarehhomes.com

Or send me your details below and I'll run the numbers.

Keep reading

• The first-time buyer guide for Hamilton, start to finish
• The money side of buying: credit, mortgages and what to watch for
• What it actually costs to sell a house in Ontario
• The winter maintenance checklist, before the first cold snap

Daniel Zareh is a licensed REALTOR® with over 20 years of experience serving Hamilton, Stoney Creek, Grimsby, Binbrook, Beamsville, Burlington, Oakville and Mississauga. Land transfer tax rates, rebate amounts and eligibility rules were current at the time of writing and are the Province's and the City of Toronto's to change — confirm the figures that apply to your purchase with your own real estate lawyer. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice.