CostToronto charges a Municipal Land Transfer Tax that mirrors Ontario's provincial brackets almost exactly, so buying inside Toronto's city limits roughly doubles your land transfer tax bill compared to the same home just outside it.
Why Toronto, specifically
Ontario's City of Toronto Act gives Toronto — and only Toronto — the legal authority to levy its own land transfer tax, separate from the provincial one every Ontario municipality is subject to. No other Canadian city, including Ottawa, Mississauga, or Hamilton, has this power. It was introduced in 2008 as a city revenue tool, and it has stayed in place since, adjusted periodically along with the provincial schedule.
The municipal brackets
Toronto's Municipal Land Transfer Tax (MLTT) uses brackets that closely track the provincial ones, including an extra top bracket for higher-value homes:
- 0.5% on the first $55,000
- 1.0% on the portion from $55,000 to $250,000
- 1.5% on the portion from $250,000 to $400,000
- 2.0% on the portion from $400,000 to $2,000,000
- 2.5% on the portion from $2,000,000 to $3,000,000
- 3.5% on the portion above $3,000,000 for detached, semi-detached, and townhomes
This is charged in addition to, not instead of, the provincial land transfer tax covered in our Ontario land transfer tax guide.
A worked example
$700,000 condo in Toronto
| Ontario provincial land transfer tax | $10,475 |
| Toronto municipal land transfer tax | $10,475 |
| Combined total | $20,950 |
That combined figure is on top of your down payment, legal fees, and any CMHC insurance premium — worth budgeting for well before your closing date arrives, since it's typically due in full with your lawyer's trust funds. Use the closing cost calculator to see this alongside every other line item for your specific price and situation.
Toronto's own first-time buyer rebate
Toronto offers a municipal rebate of up to $4,475 for eligible first-time buyers, on top of Ontario's separate $4,000 provincial rebate — the two stack, since they're refunds against two different taxes. Combined, an eligible first-time buyer can have up to $8,475 knocked off the total bill shown above. The eligibility rules mirror the provincial program: no prior home ownership anywhere, and the property becoming your principal residence within nine months.
Buying somewhere else in Ontario instead? Compare the total against other cities with our closing cost calculator, and check what your monthly payment would look like with the mortgage payment calculator.