Quebec Welcome Tax 2026: How It's Calculated and the Refund

Quebec’s welcome tax is the transfer duty your municipality charges the buyer of a property. In 2026, it’s charged in brackets: 0.5% on the first $62,900, 1% up to $315,000, then 1.5% on the rest. Several large cities add higher rates on more expensive properties.

The bill arrives after you sign at the notary, at a point when many first-time buyers have put a large share of their savings, if not all of it, into their down payment, as Quebec’s Ministère des Finances (opens in a new tab) notes. In April, Quebec announced a tax credit for them that refunds up to $5,875 of the tax, retroactive to January 1, 2026.

How is the welcome tax calculated in 2026?

Each slice of the value is taxed at its own rate, the same way income tax works. On a $400,000 house, the city charges 0.5% on the first $62,900 ($314.50), 1% on the next $252,100 ($2,521) and 1.5% on the $85,000 above $315,000 ($1,275). That’s $4,110.50 in total.

The brackets come from the Act respecting duties on transfers of immovables (opens in a new tab) and are indexed every year. Up to $500,000, they apply in every municipality, Montreal included.

Lodavo’s calculations at 2026 rates, with the tax worked out on the price paid.

You can be taxed on more than you paid

The tax base is the highest of three amounts: the price you paid (not counting GST and QST), the amount written in the deed of sale, and the municipal assessment multiplied by the city’s comparative factor. The factor brings the assessment in line with market value, and every city has its own.

In Quebec City, the factor is 1.08 in 2026. For a house assessed at $400,000 and bought for $415,000, the city works out the tax on $432,000, which comes to $4,590.50 instead of $4,335.50. In 2026, the factor is 1.00 in Montreal, 1.03 in Laval, 1.02 in Gatineau and 1.06 in Longueuil.

How much is the welcome tax in Montreal, Laval, Quebec City or Gatineau?

The law lets each municipality set a rate above 1.5%, up to 3%, on the part of the tax base over $500,000. Only Montreal can go past 3%, and its top brackets reach 4%. So the same price can produce a bill that differs by several thousand dollars from one city to the next.

In 2026, Montreal (opens in a new tab) charges 1.5% up to $552,300, then 2% up to $1,104,700, and 2.5% to 4% on the brackets above that. Quebec City (in French) (opens in a new tab) charges 2.5% from $500,000 to $750,000, then 3%. Laval (in French) (opens in a new tab) and Gatineau (in French) (opens in a new tab) charge 3% on everything above $500,000, and Longueuil (in French) (opens in a new tab) on everything above $630,100.

Gatineau has charged this 3% rate since February 25, 2026. Before that, it charged 1.5% up to $750,000, 2.5% up to $1 million and 3% above that.

For any other municipality, the city’s website or your notary can tell you whether it has adopted a higher rate. If it hasn’t, it’s 1.5% on everything above $315,000, as in the last column.

When do you have to pay the welcome tax?

Within 30 days of the bill being sent. The law makes the amount payable from the 31st day, and interest starts that day. Montreal, Laval, Gatineau and Longueuil require a single payment. Quebec City lets you pay in three interest-free instalments, at 30, 90 and 150 days.

The bill doesn’t go through your notary. Once the sale is entered in the land register, the municipality is notified within 15 days, and the city then sends the bill to you directly. This year’s property taxes are a separate matter. Quebec City, Laval, Gatineau and Longueuil say they don’t reissue the property tax bill to a new owner, so it’s up to you to pay the next instalments on time.

Who gets the welcome tax refund?

First-time buyers of a home acquired since January 1, 2026. The tax credit for access to homeownership refunds 100% of the first $5,000 of welcome tax, plus 25% of the next $3,500, for a maximum of $5,875. Because the credit is refundable, you get it even if you don’t owe any income tax.

The conditions, according to Revenu Québec (opens in a new tab):

• The home is in Quebec: a detached, semi-detached or row house, a condo, a manufactured or mobile home, a duplex, a triplex or an apartment in a multi-unit residential building.
• You plan to make it your principal residence within one year of buying it.
• It’s your first home: for a 2026 purchase, you haven’t lived since January 1, 2022, in a home that you or your spouse owned.
• You live in Quebec on December 31 of the year you buy.
• The welcome tax has been paid in full.

The credit also covers buying a more accessible home for a person with a disability, whether that’s you or a relative, even if it isn’t your first purchase. It adds to the other help for first-time buyers, such as Quebec’s $1,400 non-refundable credit and the FHSA, which helps you build the down payment.

How much you’ll get

For a tax base of $750,000 or less.

Since the tax reaches $5,000 at a price of $459,300, the tax on a property at or below that price is refunded in full, in any city. Quebec’s Ministère des Finances (in French) (opens in a new tab) gives three examples based on 2025 median prices:

• Rimouski, $292,000 house: $2,606 of tax, refunded in full.
• Lévis, $427,000 house: $4,516 of tax, refunded in full.
• Laval, $616,000 house: $9,091 of tax, of which $5,875 is refunded.

Above $750,000, the refund shrinks

The credit drops by $2.35 for every $100 of tax base above $750,000, according to Information Bulletin 2026-2 (opens in a new tab). It falls to $4,700 for an $800,000 property and $2,350 at $900,000, and it reaches zero at $1 million.

Buying with someone else

The $5,875 maximum applies to the home, not to each buyer. If two people qualify for the same house, they split it according to their share of ownership, and each claims it on their own return, Revenu Québec (opens in a new tab) explains.

How do you get the refund before you file your taxes?

Apply to Revenu Québec for an advance payment by December 1, 2026, in My Account for individuals or with form TPZ-1029.AP-V. You qualify if the tax is paid in full, your credit is more than $1,000 and the tax base is no more than $1 million.

The steps, according to Revenu Québec (opens in a new tab):

1. Pay the city’s bill in full. If your city lets you pay in instalments, wait until you’ve made the last one.
2. Apply online in My Account, or mail form TPZ-1029.AP-V with a copy of your transfer duties bill. Only one person can apply for a given home.
3. Sign up for direct deposit if you haven’t already. Revenu Québec works out the amount, sends you a notice and pays the credit in a single payment.
4. In spring 2027, attach form TP-752.HA-V to your 2026 income tax return and enter the advance on line 441. If you received more than you were entitled to, you’ll pay back the difference.

You also have to live in Quebec when you apply. If you miss December 1, or your credit is $1,000 or less, you simply claim it on your tax return.

A refund that can become your home repair fund

The credit arrives all at once. Keeping it aside rather than spending it could be worth it, since unexpected repairs are part of owning a home. Our guide to the emergency fund helps you pick an amount to aim for.

Lodavo is a free app that rewards this kind of saving. The bigger your balance, the more tickets you get in the weekly cash draw, and at least $100 is given away every week. A $5,875 refund left in your account comes to 235 tickets a week, and the money never leaves your bank.

Lodavo is free on the Apple App Store (opens in a new tab) and the Google Play Store (opens in a new tab).

This article is general information, not tax advice. Your tax depends on your city and your tax base, so your bill is what counts, and your Revenu Québec account is where the credit is confirmed.

Terms and conditions apply. No purchase necessary (alternate method of entry available). Skill-testing question required. Open to legal residents of Canada who are the age of majority. Odds depend on the number of eligible entries received. Full rules and odds at our contest rules.