CostQuebec's land transfer duty, commonly called the welcome tax, is billed by the municipality separately from closing, typically arriving a few months after you take possession — unlike most other provinces, where the notary or lawyer collects it as part of closing.
How it's calculated
Quebec's welcome tax uses marginal brackets applied to the greater of the purchase price or the municipal assessed value, broadly comparable in structure to Ontario's brackets, though the specific rates and thresholds differ and can also vary somewhat by municipality within Quebec.
Why it's billed separately from closing
Unlike Ontario, BC, or most other provinces where your lawyer or notary collects land transfer tax as part of the closing funds, Quebec's municipality bills the welcome tax directly to the new owner, typically arriving a few months after the closing date. This is a genuine structural difference, not just a naming quirk — it means the tax isn't part of your closing-day cash requirement the way it is almost everywhere else in Canada.
How to budget for it correctly
Because the bill arrives later, it's easy for a buyer focused only on closing-day costs to forget about it entirely and be caught off guard months into ownership. Set the estimated amount aside at the time of purchase, rather than treating your closing-day cash requirement as your full transaction cost — see our province comparison for how Quebec's total compares to what you'd pay elsewhere on a similar-priced home.
Get an estimate of your welcome tax alongside your other Quebec closing costs on the closing cost calculator.