Quebec Land Transfer Tax Calculator

Quebec Welcome Tax (Droits de mutation): 2026 Overview

In Quebec, the property transfer tax is officially known as droits de mutation immobilière but is universally called the “welcome tax” (taxe de bienvenue), named after Jean Bienvenue, the minister who introduced the legislation in 1976. The welcome tax is administered municipally — every Quebec municipality collects its own welcome tax under provincial enabling legislation, and rates vary across cities. Buyers in Montreal, Quebec City, Laval, Gatineau, Longueuil and elsewhere in the province should review the specific bylaw for their municipality.

The tax is calculated on the highest of (1) the purchase price, (2) the amount listed in the deed, or (3) the municipal valuation roll multiplied by a comparative factor set annually by the municipality. This often means buyers in Montreal and Quebec City pay slightly more welcome tax than a simple purchase-price calculation would suggest, particularly in markets where assessed values are catching up to actual sale prices. Buyers typically receive an invoice from their municipality 3 to 6 months after closing; the tax is not collected at the time of the notarial deed.

Montreal Welcome Tax Rates (2026)

Rest of Quebec: the Provincial Baseline (2026)

Outside Montreal, the schedule set by provincial legislation has just three bands — 0.5% on the first $62,900, 1.0% from $62,900 to $315,000, and 1.5% on everything above $315,000. The bracket amounts are indexed each year to Quebec’s consumer price index. A municipality may impose a higher rate on the portion of the price above $500,000, but that rate is capped at 3%; only Montreal is permitted to go beyond the cap, which is why its schedule climbs to 4.0%. On an $800,000 home the difference is real: $10,110.50 under the baseline versus $11,349.00 in Montreal.

First-Time Buyers: the Home-Access Credit

Quebec has no province-wide welcome-tax exemption, but since 2026 there is a refundable tax credit for access to property that gives most of the duty back. It covers 100% of the first $5,000 of transfer duties plus 25% of the next $3,500, for a maximum of $5,875, and applies to eligible homes acquired after December 31, 2025. To qualify, neither you nor your spouse may have lived in a home either of you owned during the year of purchase or the four years before it; buyers acquiring more accessible housing because of a severe disability also qualify. The credit is reduced by 2.35% of the transfer-duty basis above $750,000 and reaches zero at $1,000,000. Because it is a tax credit rather than a rebate at closing, you still pay the municipality in full and recover the amount when you file.

The provincial credit replaced the City of Montreal’s Home Purchase Assistance Program (Programme d’aide à l’acquisition d’une propriété), which the city wound down in April 2026 and closed to new applications on July 7, 2026; applications filed before that date are still being processed. Exemptions to the welcome tax itself include transfers between spouses, transfers within a corporate group where ownership exceeds 90%, transfers where the basis of imposition is under $5,000, and transfers between direct family members (parent-child) when conditions are met. Buyers should expect the welcome-tax invoice from their municipality several months after closing — budgeting for it upfront is essential.