Latest Updates
Dated, sourced notes every time a real estate tax rate, rebate or rule that feeds CostToClose's calculators changes, newest first, with what we changed.
Real estate taxes, rebates and lending rules change constantly, and a calculator running an old rate is worse than no calculator at all. This page is the dated, sourced record of every change we've caught and fixed, newest first. If a change affects a calculator, we link the fix; if it affects a guide, we link the guide.
Latest: Fees · Alberta, 14 October 2026
Alberta's Land Titles Office updates its document fee schedule — the transfer and mortgage fee you'll see on our calculators is unchanged
Effective 1 October 2026, Alberta updated several flat document fees at the Land Titles and Surveys office: document copies are $15, a plain caveat is $40, and "any other discharging document" is $35 (discharge fees vary by document type — a plain discharge or ownership/description change is $25, while a discharge by court order is $35). These are the smaller, itemized disbursement fees a lawyer bills separately, not the main registration charge.
The number our calculators actually use — $50 plus $5 per $5,000 of value, charged once on the land transfer and once on the mortgage — is unchanged by this update. We checked the new schedule line by line: both the "Transfer of Land" and "Mortgage" rows still read $50 + $5/$5,000, exactly as they have since the October 2024 fee levy.
What we changed: nothing — no calculator or guide on the site itemizes document copies, caveats, or discharge fees individually, so there was no stale figure to fix. Logging this here so it's on record that the new schedule was checked and the one Alberta number we do encode was confirmed current, not missed.
Source: Government of Alberta, Land Titles and Surveys Common Documents Fee Schedule, updated effective 1 October 2026.
Latest: Taxes · Nova Scotia, 5 October 2026
Nova Scotia extends the non-resident deed transfer tax's residency window from 6 months to 1 year
The 10% non-resident deed transfer tax rate is unchanged, but Nova Scotia made five administrative changes effective 6 August 2026, enacted by Order in Council 2026-259: the deadline to prove you've become a Nova Scotia resident (and so qualify for the exemption) extends from 6 months to 1 year after the property transfers; the circumstances for further extensions are clarified; property willed to a non-resident after a death is exempt outright; the window to apply for a refund doubles from 1 year to 2 years; and refunds can now be paid to legal representatives. None of this is retroactive — it applies to transfers on or after 6 August 2026.
What we changed: four pages still said buyers had only 6 months to move in to qualify, which was true until this regulation took effect and has now been wrong for two months. Updated the non-resident buyer rules situation page, the Atlantic Canada closing costs guide, the land transfer tax by province guide, and the provincial housing measures page to the correct 1-year/2-year figures.
Source: Government of Nova Scotia, Changes to Non-Resident Deed Transfer Tax; Non-resident Deed Transfer Tax Regulations, O.I.C. 2026-259 (effective 6 August 2026), N.S. Reg. 185/2026.
Latest: Rebates & Taxes · Ontario & Nova Scotia, 2 October 2026
Two previously-unconfirmed figures are now confirmed: Ontario's enhanced new-housing rebate, and Nova Scotia's 10% non-resident deed transfer tax
Two rules our calculators already used the correct figures for, but flagged as unconfirmed pending a primary-source check, are now confirmed. First: the CRA's own page for the Ontario enhanced new housing rebate (ENHR) confirms it is in force, not merely announced — up to $80,000 of the 8% provincial HST, for builder agreements signed and owner-built homes started between 1 April 2026 and 31 March 2027. Second: Nova Scotia's Non-resident Provincial Deed Transfer Tax doubled from 5% to 10% for agreements of purchase and sale signed after 31 March 2025, confirmed directly on novascotia.ca.
Neither figure was wrong — both calculators already computed with the correct numbers. Only the surrounding prose on three pages still carried a "can't confirm this is in force yet" hedge, which no longer matched reality.
What we changed: removed the unconfirmed-pending-verification language from the non-resident tax calculator (Nova Scotia), and from the HST on new builds and pre-construction reality calculators (Ontario's enhanced rebate).
Source: Canada Revenue Agency, Ontario enhanced new housing rebate (ENHR); Government of Nova Scotia, Non-resident Provincial Deed Transfer Tax.
Latest: Taxes · British Columbia, 16 September 2026
BC's speculation and vacancy tax rises to 4% for foreign owners, starting the 2027 tax year
British Columbia is raising the top rate of its Speculation and Vacancy Tax from 3% to 4% for the 2027 tax year onward, the second consecutive annual increase to that rate (it went from 2% to 3% for 2026). The 1% rate for qualifying Canadian citizens and permanent residents is unchanged. A property owner who doesn't file the required annual declaration is billed at that year's highest rate by default, so the 4% rate applies to non-filers from 2027 too. The increase does not apply early: 2026 declarations still use the current 3%/1% rates.
Enacted by the Budget Measures Implementation Act, 2026, which brings the new rate into force on 1 January 2027.
What we changed: the vacant home tax calculator now asks for the tax year (2026 or 2027 onward) as well as owner/residency status, instead of assuming one rate. We rewrote the BC speculation and vacancy tax guide to show both years side by side, and added a short mention to Buying a home in BC: cost breakdown, Provincial housing measures in 2026, and The federal underused housing tax is gone, all of which cited the old 3%-only figure.
Source: Government of British Columbia, Tax rates for the speculation and vacancy tax; Government of British Columbia, Updates to speculation and vacancy tax; Budget Measures Implementation Act, 2026 (British Columbia).
Older updates will appear here as they're checked and applied. Nothing has been removed.
This page tracks publicly announced tax, rebate and lending rule changes for general information. It is not legal, tax, or mortgage advice. Always confirm current figures with your lawyer or notary, your lender, or the government office that administers the rule before relying on them.