All the Numbers

Closing costs and the cash to close

From the All the Numbers wiki · Housing

On closing day the buyer pays the down payment and several taxes and fees that the mortgage does not cover. The plan adds them up as the cash to close. Where that money comes from, such as savings, an RRSP under the Home Buyers' Plan or an FHSA, is decided by the plan's funding and is covered in down payment sourcing.

What the total is made of

  • The down payment, the amount you enter. Below 20% down, the buyer must buy mortgage default insurance.[1] The premium is added to the loan, not paid in cash (see mortgage default insurance).
  • The land transfer tax, less any first-time buyer refund. The taxes themselves are set out in land transfer tax. The refund is up to $4,000 from Ontario and $4,475 from Toronto.[2][3]
  • Toronto's administration fee, $102.56 plus HST, on a price of $14,399 or more. The fee is not refunded.[4][5][6]
  • Land Titles fees in Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, which charge for registering the transfer and, again, for the mortgage. The plan includes both.[7][8][9][10]
  • The tax on the mortgage insurance premium, paid in cash. Ontario charges 8%, Quebec 9% (rising to 9.975% for premiums paid after 2026) and Saskatchewan 6%.[11][12][13] Every other province and territory charges none on it.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]
  • Legal, inspection and other costs, as one amount. It starts at $3,000, the figure CMHC gives for a home inspection, an appraisal, legal fees and a survey, until you enter your own.[24] The plan does not split it into those items.

Where the figures come from

  • A home with no municipality given is priced in Toronto, and the plan says so.[25] A Quebec home is priced in Montréal, and a Nova Scotia home in Halifax, until told otherwise.[26][27]
  • A closing after 2026 is quoted under the 2026 Ontario rules, unchanged, because no later tables are published.[28]

What it does not include

  • Adjustments with the seller, such as property tax or utilities they have paid ahead. They are not worked out. They count only if you add them to the legal and other amount.
  • New homes. GST or HST on a new build, and the rebates on it, are not in the total.
  • Taxes on foreign buyers. The one tax on buyers from outside the province that the plan applies is Nova Scotia's, and only to a cottage in another province than the household's own.
  • Lender approval. The mortgage check is a screen on income and debts, not an approval. See mortgage qualification.

See also

  • Defaults for blank fields · A field left blank is filled with a cited default, such as 6.35% a year on investments or 2.5% inflation, and the run lists each default it used. A default is a starting figure, so enter your own where you know it.
  • Land transfer tax · Ontario charges a tax on the price of a home, rising from 0.5% to 2.5% in brackets, and Toronto adds a second one of its own. A first-time buyer gets a refund of up to $4,000 from Ontario and $4,475 from Toronto.
  • Mortgage default insurance · A buyer putting down less than 20% must buy mortgage default insurance from CMHC or a competitor. The premium is 2.80%, 3.10% or 4.00% of the loan depending on the down payment, is added to the mortgage, and carries 8% Ontario sales tax paid in cash at closing.
  • The First Home Savings Account · $8,000 a year with one year of carryforward and $40,000 for life, deducted from income and withdrawn tax-free for a first home. The refund is credited the following April, and the account winds up into an RRSP if it is never used.
  • The Home Buyers' Plan · Up to $60,000 out of an RRSP, untaxed, for a first home — but it is a loan to yourself, repaid over fifteen years, and a missed repayment is taxed as income that year.
  • Where the down payment comes from · The cash to close is assembled from the plan's projected balances in a fixed order — FHSA, TFSA, unregistered, HBP, then taxed RRSP — and each dollar is priced for what taking it costs.
  • Would a lender write the mortgage? · Lenders test a mortgage against two ratios, GDS at 39% and TDS at 44% of gross income, using a stress-test rate of the contract rate plus 2 points or 5.25%, whichever is higher. All the Numbers runs this screen on the income entered for today.

References

  1. ↑FCAC: down payments · Default insurance required below this down-payment fraction · 20% · effective 2016-02-15
  2. ↑Land Transfer Tax Refunds for First-Time Homebuyers — ontario.ca · Ontario first-time homebuyer land transfer tax refund maximum · $4,000 · effective 2017-01-01
  3. ↑Municipal Land Transfer Tax & Municipal Non-Resident Speculation Tax Rebate Opportunities — City of Toronto · Toronto MLTT first-time purchaser rebate maximum · $4,475 · effective 2008-02-01
  4. ↑City of Toronto — MLTT rates and fees · Toronto MLTT administration fee per conveyance, before HST; not reduced by the first-time rebate · $102.56 · effective 2026-01-01
  5. ↑City of Toronto — MLTT rates and fees · Consideration at or above which the Toronto MLTT administration fee is charged; conveyances below it (nominal value) and full s.760(14) exemptions pay no fee · $14,399 · effective 2026-01-01
  6. ↑CRA — GST/HST rates by province · Ontario HST rate, applied to the MLTT administration fee · 13% · effective 2010-07-01
  7. ↑Land Titles Act s.64.1(2): "$50 plus $5 for each $5000 or portion thereof of the value of the land"; s.102.1(2): "$50 plus $5 for each $5000 or portion thereof of … the principal amount secured by the mortgage" · Alberta Land Titles levies: a base fee plus a fee for each $5,000 or portion of the value transferred, and the same on the mortgage principal · See the source · effective 2024-10-20
  8. ↑Registration of Deeds Prescribed Fees s.2(1)(a): "when the actual value … exceeds five hundred dollars … $100.00 plus forty cents for each additional one hundred dollars or part of one hundred dollars"; (b) the same for a mortgage on the amount secured; s.2(2): "not liable to pay for the registration of a mortgage … a fee of more than five thousand dollars" · Newfoundland and Labrador Registry of Deeds fees: a base fee covering the first $500, plus an amount for each further $100 or part, on the deed and on the mortgage; the mortgage fee is capped · See the source · effective 2007-05-01
  9. ↑Land Titles Act (NT) s.156(2): "(a) where the value of the land is less than or equal to $1,000,000, $2 for each $1,000 of value or part thereof, subject to a prescribed minimum fee; or (b) where the value of the land is greater than $1,000,000, $2,000 plus $1.50 for each $1,000 of value or part thereof in excess of $1,000,000"; s.156(3): a mortgage "is $1.50 for each $1,000 or part thereof of the amount secured … subject to a prescribed minimum fee"; Tariff of Fees Regulations items 1–2: minimums "$100" and "$80" · Northwest Territories Land Titles fees: $2 for each $1,000 of value or part on a transfer (a lower rate above $1,000,000), $1.50 for each $1,000 or part of a mortgage, each with a minimum · See the source · effective 2015-01-01
  10. ↑Land Titles Tariff of Fees Regulations R-062-93 (Nunavut, consolidated to 2015-01-31), Schedule item 1: "(a) where the value of the land is less than or equal to $1,000,000 - $1.50 for each $1000 of value with a minimum fee of $60; (b) where the value of the land is greater than $1,000,000 - $1.50 for each $1000 of value up to $1,000,000 of value and $1 for each $1000 of value after that"; item 2: mortgages "- $1 for each $1000 of the principal amount secured with a minimum fee of $40" · Nunavut Land Titles fees: an amount for each $1,000 of value on a transfer (less above $1,000,000) and of a mortgage, each with a minimum · See the source · effective 2015-01-31
  11. ↑Ontario Ministry of Finance — Retail Sales Tax: Insurance and Benefits Plans · Ontario RST on mortgage default insurance premium (due at closing, not financeable) · 8% · effective 1997-07-01
  12. ↑Act respecting the Québec sales tax s.512: "a tax equal to 9% of the premium … The tax rate will be 9.975% for any premium paid after 31 December 2026" · Quebec tax on insurance premiums, on the mortgage default-insurance premium (paid at closing, not financeable) · 9%, then 9.98% from 2027-01-01 · effective 2015-01-01
  13. ↑The Provincial Sales Tax Act (SK) s.5.9(2): "a consumer who enters into, renews or amends a contract of insurance … shall pay … a tax at the rate of 6% of the premium" · Saskatchewan PST on insurance premiums, including mortgage default insurance (paid at closing, not financeable) · 6% · effective 2017-08-01
  14. ↑alberta.ca — Insurance premiums tax: "Insurers must file an insurance premiums tax return and remit an amount related to all premiums written" (Alberta Corporate Tax Act); Alberta has no provincial sales tax · Alberta charges no tax to the buyer on the mortgage default-insurance premium · 0% · effective 2026-01-01
  15. ↑Insurance Premium Tax Act s.3: "Every taxable insurer must pay to the government a tax" on its net taxable premiums — the insurer, not the insured · British Columbia charges no tax to the buyer on the mortgage default-insurance premium · 0% · effective 2026-01-01
  16. ↑Premium Tax Act (NB) s.2(1): "Every insurance company shall pay to the Minister … a tax equal to (a) two per cent of the gross premiums … [life, accident, sickness] and (b) three per cent of the gross premiums [of other insurance]" (a tax on the insurer); the HST does not apply to insurance (a financial service) · New Brunswick charges no tax to the buyer on the mortgage default-insurance premium · 0% · effective 2026-01-01
  17. ↑Insurance Premiums Tax Act (NS) s.3(1): "every insurance company shall pay to the Minister a tax equal to three per cent of the gross premiums … and four per cent of gross premiums on other than life insurance" (a tax on the insurer); the HST does not apply to insurance (a financial service) · Nova Scotia charges no tax to the buyer on the mortgage default-insurance premium · 0% · effective 2026-01-01
  18. ↑gov.nl.ca — Retail Sales Tax on Insurance Premiums, q.1: "A tax rate of 15% will be applied to the taxable premiums"; q.2: "The following types of insurance premiums will be exempted from the RST … Residential mortgage default insurance" · Newfoundland and Labrador exempts residential mortgage default insurance from its retail sales tax on insurance premiums · 0% · effective 2026-01-01
  19. ↑Premium Tax Act (PE) s.2(1): "Every insurance company shall pay to the Superintendent of Insurance for the use of the province a tax equal to (a) three point seven five per cent of the gross premiums on contracts of life insurance … and (b) four per cent of the gross premium on contracts of insurance other than life insurance … receivable by the company" · Prince Edward Island charges no tax on the buyer's mortgage default insurance premium: its premium tax falls on insurers · 0% · effective 2019-11-28
  20. ↑The Retail Sales Tax Act (Manitoba) s.4.1(7): "no tax is payable under this section in respect of … (a.2) mortgage insurance, as prescribed in the regulations under The Insurance Act" · Manitoba charges no retail sales tax on mortgage insurance premiums · 0% · effective 2020-07-01
  21. ↑Insurance Act (NT) s.245(2): "Every insurance company shall pay to the Government of the Northwest Territories a tax equal to 3% of the gross premiums receivable by it during the taxation year in respect of business transacted in the Northwest Territories" · The Northwest Territories charges no tax on the buyer's mortgage default insurance premium: its premium tax falls on insurers · 0% · effective 1988-01-01
  22. ↑Insurance Act, C.S.Nu. c.I-40 (consolidation current to 2026-06-11), s.245(2): "Every insurance company shall pay to the Government of Nunavut a tax equal to 3% of the gross premiums receivable by it" · Nunavut charges no tax on the buyer's mortgage default insurance premium: its premium tax falls on insurers · 0% · effective 1999-04-01
  23. ↑Insurance Premium Tax Act, RSY 2002 c.120, s.2(1): "Every insurance company shall pay to the Minister a tax equal to two per cent of the gross premiums receivable by the company" · Yukon charges no tax on the buyer's mortgage default insurance premium: its premium tax falls on insurers · 0% · effective 2002-12-31
  24. ↑CMHC — How much will my home really cost?: "A home inspection, which costs around $500"; appraisal "can range between $250 and $350"; legal fees "costs a minimum of $500"; a land survey "can range in price from $1,000 to $2,000" · A purchase's closing costs besides land transfer tax and mortgage insurance (home inspection, appraisal, legal fees, survey), the planner's starting figure until changed · $3,000 · effective 2026-11-01
  25. ↑City of Toronto — Municipal Land Transfer Tax; our convention · A home whose municipality is not given is priced in Toronto — the provincial land transfer tax plus the municipal one — until told otherwise; reported on the run · effective 2026-09-20
  26. ↑Ville de Montréal — transfer duty tiers to 4%; our convention, the Quebec counterpart of the Toronto default · A Quebec home whose municipality is not given is priced in Montréal, whose transfer duties are the highest, until told otherwise; reported on the run · effective 2026-10-03
  27. ↑Our convention: Halifax is the province's largest municipality and charges the highest rate on the Service Nova Scotia list (1.5%) · A Nova Scotia home is taken to be in the Halifax Regional Municipality until its municipality is given · effective 2026-10-03
  28. ↑Planning-software practice: project under "the current Canadian tax system" (Snap Projections help, read 2026-09-19); our convention · A home purchase closing after 2026 is quoted under the 2026 Ontario rule set — land transfer tax brackets and rebates (unindexed in law), CMHC premiums and price caps, OSFI qualification, the Toronto April-2026 luxury tiers — with no indexation and no guess at future law; the result is marked and the plan's assumptions list names the closing year · effective 2026-09-19