A mortgage in Ontario costs more to close than the same mortgage almost anywhere else in Canada — and Toronto costs the most of all. Three Ontario-specific charges explain most of the gap: a provincial land transfer tax, a second municipal tax in Toronto, and 8% provincial sales tax on your mortgage insurance premium, due in cash on closing day. This hub collects the Ontario tools and explains each charge before it surprises you.
Every Ontario buyer pays the provincial land transfer tax, calculated in brackets: 0.5% on the first $55,000, 1% from $55,000 to $250,000, 1.5% from $250,000 to $400,000, and 2% above $400,000. Buy inside Toronto and you pay the same tax a second time to the city — the Toronto municipal land transfer tax mirrors the provincial brackets at these price levels. On a $650,000 home, the Ontario tax is $9,475 and the Toronto tax is another $9,475: $18,950 of tax before rebates, on top of your down payment, in cash, on closing day. No other major Canadian city stacks a second full land transfer tax this way, which is why a GTA budget built on a national calculator comes up short.
First-time buyers get meaningful relief in both layers: Ontario refunds up to $4,000 of the provincial tax and Toronto refunds up to $4,475 of the municipal tax — a combined $8,475 back for a qualifying Toronto first-time buyer, and enough to zero out both taxes on homes up to roughly $369,000 in Toronto. The land transfer tax calculator applies both taxes and both rebates, shows your minimum down payment, and adds the CMHC premium picture in the same estimate. First-time buyers still saving toward the purchase should also run the FHSA calculator — these rebates are separate from, and on top of, the FHSA's tax-free down payment growth.
Ontario + Toronto land transfer tax, first-time buyer rebates, minimum down payment and CMHC premium in one estimate.
Open calculator →Every cash cost at closing in Ontario: land transfer tax, legal, appraisal, inspection, and the total cash you need.
Open calculator →Put less than 20% down anywhere in Canada and your mortgage needs default insurance, with the premium (0.60% to 4.00% of the loan) normally added to your mortgage balance. Ontario then charges 8% provincial sales tax on that premium — and unlike the premium itself, the tax cannot be rolled into the mortgage. It is payable in cash at closing. On a $600,000 mortgage carrying a $24,000 premium, that is $1,920 of extra cash most buyers never budgeted for. Quebec and Saskatchewan charge their own tax on premiums; Ontario's 8% is simply the version that matters here, and both the land transfer tax and closing costs calculators on this site include it automatically so the number you plan around is the number you will actually need.
Beyond the transfer taxes, a typical Ontario closing includes legal fees and disbursements, a lender appraisal, a home inspection, title insurance, status certificate review for condos, development levies on new builds, and utility and tax adjustments with the seller. A common planning range is 1.5% to 4% of the purchase price in total cash costs, with Toronto first-time purchases landing at the higher end before rebates. The closing costs calculator itemizes the Ontario defaults — and because its land transfer tax component uses the exact same brackets as the dedicated LTT calculator, the two tools always agree with each other.
Ontario property taxes and heating costs are built into the GDS/TDS defaults — how much home your salary actually supports.
Open calculator →Your exact payment with Canadian semi-annual compounding, CMHC insurance, and a full amortization schedule.
Open calculator →Rent or buy in the GTA? The true net cost of each — both land transfer taxes and CMHC included — over your time horizon.
Open calculator →Nowhere in Canada is the rent-vs-buy question sharper than the GTA, where prices are high enough that the double land transfer tax alone can equal a year of rent. That tax, the CMHC premium, and the PST on it are all sunk costs of buying that a simple “rent vs mortgage payment” comparison hides — and they are why buying only pulls ahead over longer horizons in the GTA math. The rent vs buy calculator includes both transfer taxes, insurance, property tax, maintenance, and selling costs, and compares the true net cost of each path year by year, so a 3-year answer and a 10-year answer can honestly be different.
The federal rules are the same in Ontario as everywhere else — stress test at the higher of 5.25% or your rate + 2%, GDS capped at 39%, TDS at 44% — but Ontario numbers push against them harder. GTA property taxes and condo fees eat more of the GDS budget, which is why the salary ceilings here ($465,410 on a $100,000 salary, with the standard defaults) feel low next to GTA listing prices: the math is not broken, the market is just priced past what the federal ratios allow a single income to carry. Dual incomes, a larger down payment, or a 30-year amortization for first-time buyers are the three levers that move the Ontario number most.
Everything on this page is educational — estimates from published Ontario and Toronto rules, not tax or legal advice. Your lawyer confirms the exact transfer tax, rebates, and adjustments for your specific purchase at closing.
The double tax: Ontario + Toronto MLTT, both rebates, and the tax at Toronto prices.
See the tax →Ontario tax only — Ottawa has no city land transfer tax. Worked example at $700,000.
See the tax →Ontario tax only in Peel — and what the Toronto boundary is worth at $950,000.
See the tax →Ontario tax only, with the first-time buyer rebate math front and centre.
See the tax →Ontario tax only — there is no "GTA tax". Worked example at $750,000.
See the tax →Ontario tax only in York Region, at Vaughan prices where the 2% bracket dominates.
See the tax →Every calculator in one place, organized by the job you are trying to do — buying, paying down, renewing, or closing.
Read the guide →The full journey in order: save with the FHSA and RRSP Home Buyers' Plan, qualify under the stress test, then buy with Ontario rebates.
Read the guide →Renewal payment shock, refinance break-even math, and the difference between a 3-months-interest penalty and an IRD penalty.
Read the guide →