Editorial and Accuracy Policy

CostToClose exists to give Canadian buyers and sellers correct numbers. This page explains how we try to keep them correct and what to do when we get one wrong.

Sources

Rules, rates and thresholds come from primary sources only: federal and provincial government pages and legislation, the Canada Revenue Agency, the Bank of Canada, CMHC and the other mortgage insurers, OSFI, municipal tax pages, and land registry fee schedules. We do not take rates from other calculator sites, news articles, or forums. Every rule in the engine and every source in a guide carries the date it was last checked.

One engine

All calculators and all worked examples in guides run on the same calculation engine. When a rule changes, it is changed in one place and every affected calculator and article changes with it. Before an article is published, its examples are recomputed by script against the engine and any difference is resolved before publication.

Rules versus estimates

Amounts set by law — land transfer tax, registration fees, mortgage insurance premiums and the sales tax on them, rebates, the stress test — are labelled as rules and are not editable in the basic view. Amounts that are market prices — legal fees, title insurance, inspections, property insurance, property tax defaults, maintenance — are labelled as estimates, show a typical range, and can be edited. We do not present an estimate as a rule.

Review schedule

• Government rule changes (budgets, tax schedule indexation, rate changes by insurers or regulators) are applied when announced and re-verified on a scheduled review each January and each July.
• Bank of Canada decisions are reflected on the rate-driven market pages within a week of each announcement.
• Every guide carries a "last reviewed" date that changes only when the content was actually re-checked, not when the page was regenerated.

What we do not publish

We do not reproduce real estate board statistics (average or benchmark prices, sales, inventory), which are licensed. Guides that need a price use an illustrative round number and say so. We do not forecast rates or prices.

Corrections

If you find an error — a rule that has changed, an example that does not add up, a link to a source that has moved — email hello@costtoclose.ca. We check against the primary source, correct the engine and every affected page, and update the "last reviewed" date. Material corrections are noted on the affected page.

Advertising

CostToClose is supported by display advertising through Google AdSense. Advertising is served by Google and is separated from editorial decisions: advertisers do not see content before publication, do not influence which topics are covered or how, and have no access to the calculation engine. We have no referral, affiliate, or lead-generation arrangements with lenders, brokers, brokerages, or real estate professionals.

Not advice

CostToClose provides general information and calculations from published rules. It is not legal, tax, mortgage, or financial advice, and it does not know your circumstances. Confirm figures with your lawyer or notary, your lender, and the government office that administers the tax before relying on them. See the Disclaimer.