How Does the Land Transfer Tax Work When Buying a House in Burlington Ontario and How Much Will I Owe

The Ontario land transfer tax is a provincial tax that every buyer must pay when they purchase a property and the title is transferred into their name. It applies to all residential real estate purchases in Burlington, including detached homes, semi-detached homes, townhouses, and condominiums. There is no way to avoid it unless you qualify for a specific rebate program.

How the Tax Is Triggered

The tax is triggered the moment a deed or transfer of land is registered in Ontario's land registry system. That registration happens on your closing date, which is the same day your lawyer receives the funds and hands over the keys. The tax is calculated on the purchase price of the property, or in some cases the fair market value if the two differ.

It is worth knowing that the tax applies to the total value of the transaction, including any chattels or items included in the purchase price. If you are buying a Burlington home with appliances, window coverings, or a ride-on mower included in the deal, those values are factored in.

Who Collects It and When You Pay

Your real estate lawyer handles the payment on your behalf. When your lawyer prepares the closing statement, the land transfer tax amount appears as a line item. You bring the full amount to closing, and your lawyer remits it to the provincial government electronically at the time of registration. You do not write a separate cheque to the province yourself.

Because Burlington home prices currently sit well above the provincial average, the land transfer tax bill here tends to be substantial. If you want to understand what Burlington homes are actually selling for right now, the article on average home prices in Burlington in September 2026 gives you a detailed breakdown by property type.

2. How the Ontario Land Transfer Tax Is Calculated

Ontario uses a progressive, bracket-based system to calculate the land transfer tax, similar in concept to how income tax brackets work. You do not pay one flat rate on the entire purchase price. Instead, different portions of the price are taxed at different rates, and the amounts from each bracket are added together to produce your total tax bill.

The Progressive Rate Brackets Explained

The Ontario land transfer tax rates, as set out by the provincial government, work as follows. On the first $55,000 of the purchase price, the rate is 0.5 percent. From $55,000 up to $250,000, the rate is 1.0 percent. From $250,000 up to $400,000, the rate is 1.5 percent. From $400,000 up to $2,000,000, the rate is 2.0 percent. Any amount above $2,000,000 is taxed at 2.5 percent.

There is also a special rule for single-family residences. If the property qualifies as a single-family residence and the purchase price exceeds $400,000, an additional 0.5 percent applies to the portion above $400,000, bringing the effective rate on that portion to 2.0 percent. For most Burlington detached homes, this threshold is crossed easily.

You can verify the official bracket structure directly on the Government of Ontario's land transfer tax calculation page, which is the authoritative source for current rates.

A Real Burlington Example Using Current Prices

To make this concrete, here is how the math works on a $900,000 Burlington home, which is a realistic price point for a detached house in areas like Alton Village, Millcroft, or Tyandaga right now. You apply each bracket to the corresponding slice of the purchase price and then add the results.

• First $55,000 at 0.5%: $275
• $55,000 to $250,000 at 1.0%: $1,950
• $250,000 to $400,000 at 1.5%: $2,250
• $400,000 to $900,000 at 2.0%: $10,000
• Total Ontario LTT on a $900,000 purchase: approximately $14,475

That is a meaningful sum. For a $1,100,000 home, which is not unusual for a four-bedroom detached property in Burlington's established west-end neighbourhoods, the Ontario land transfer tax climbs to roughly $18,475. At $1,400,000, which covers many homes along the Lakeshore corridor or in the Shoreacres area, you are looking at approximately $24,475.

To run your own numbers quickly, the Ratehub land transfer tax calculator for Burlington lets you enter any purchase price and instantly see your Ontario LTT amount, including any applicable first-time buyer rebate.

3. Does Burlington Have a Municipal Land Transfer Tax

Burlington does not have its own municipal land transfer tax. You pay only the single Ontario provincial land transfer tax when you buy a home here. This is one of the clearest practical differences between purchasing in Burlington versus purchasing in the City of Toronto.

Burlington vs. Toronto: A Key Difference

Toronto buyers pay two land transfer taxes simultaneously: the Ontario provincial LTT and the City of Toronto's own municipal LTT, which uses a nearly identical bracket structure. On a $900,000 Toronto purchase, a buyer would owe approximately $14,475 in provincial LTT plus another $14,475 in municipal LTT, for a combined bill near $28,950. A Burlington buyer on the same $900,000 purchase pays only the $14,475 provincial tax.

Other cities in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, including Oakville, Hamilton, and Mississauga, also impose only the provincial tax, as Burlington does. The double land transfer tax is specific to Toronto's municipal boundaries. This is worth knowing if you are weighing a Burlington purchase against a Toronto condo, for example.

What This Means for Your Closing Budget

For buyers relocating from Toronto, the single-tax structure in Burlington is a real financial advantage at closing. Someone selling a Toronto home and buying in Burlington at a similar price point will save tens of thousands of dollars in land transfer tax on the Burlington purchase alone. That savings can go toward moving costs, renovations, or simply staying liquid after the transaction closes.

If you are thinking through the full financial picture of a Burlington purchase, including property taxes on top of the land transfer tax, the article on property taxes on a $900,000 Burlington home in 2026 covers the ongoing annual cost side of the equation.

4. First-Time Home Buyer Rebates on Land Transfer Tax in Ontario

Ontario offers a land transfer tax rebate for eligible first-time home buyers, which can reduce or eliminate a portion of what you owe. The maximum rebate is $4,000, which fully offsets the Ontario LTT on any purchase price up to approximately $368,000. For Burlington buyers, where most properties are priced well above that threshold, the rebate reduces your bill by $4,000 rather than eliminating it entirely.

How Much You Can Get Back

On a $900,000 Burlington purchase where the Ontario LTT is approximately $14,475, a qualifying first-time buyer would receive the full $4,000 rebate and owe a net amount of roughly $10,475. On a $1,100,000 purchase with an LTT of approximately $18,475, the same buyer would owe a net $14,475 after the rebate. The rebate is applied at the time of registration, so your lawyer factors it in automatically on your closing statement.

Eligibility Rules You Must Meet

The eligibility criteria for the Ontario first-time buyer rebate are specific and worth reviewing carefully before you assume you qualify. The key requirements are as follows.

• Canadian citizenship or permanent residency: You must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada at the time of closing.
• No prior home ownership: You must never have owned a home anywhere in the world. If you owned property in another country before immigrating to Canada, you do not qualify.
• Age requirement: You must be at least 18 years old.
• Principal residence: You must occupy the home as your principal residence within nine months of the closing date.
• Spouse eligibility: If you are purchasing with a spouse or partner, and they have previously owned a home, you will not qualify for the rebate even if this is your first purchase.

The spouse rule catches many buyers off guard. If your partner owned a condo in their twenties and you are now buying together for the first time, neither of you will receive the rebate. Your lawyer will ask about prior ownership history during the closing process, so it is important to be upfront about this from the start.

5. Land Transfer Tax in the Context of Your Full Burlington Closing Costs

The land transfer tax is the single largest closing cost for most Burlington buyers, but it is not the only one. Budgeting for closing day means accounting for several costs that arrive at the same time. Underestimating them is one of the most common financial mistakes first-time buyers make.

Other Costs to Budget Alongside LTT

• Legal fees and disbursements: Expect to pay between $1,500 and $2,500 for a Burlington real estate lawyer, depending on complexity. Disbursements such as title search fees, registration fees, and courier costs are added on top.
• Title insurance: Most Burlington buyers purchase a title insurance policy through their lawyer. This typically costs between $250 and $400 for a residential property and protects against issues like survey errors or undisclosed liens.
• Home inspection: A standard home inspection in Burlington runs between $450 and $650 for a detached home. Inspections are paid before closing, usually within a few days of the accepted offer.
• Mortgage default insurance: If your down payment is less than 20 percent of the purchase price, CMHC or a private insurer will charge a premium. On a $900,000 home with a 10 percent down payment, the CMHC premium is 3.10 percent of the insured amount, which is approximately $24,955. This is usually added to your mortgage rather than paid at closing.
• Adjustments: At closing, you reimburse the seller for any prepaid property taxes or utilities that cover the period after your closing date. These adjustments vary but commonly range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.
• Moving costs: A local Burlington move typically costs between $1,000 and $2,500 depending on the size of your home and distance. A long-distance move from Toronto or further adds to that.

How to Avoid Closing Day Surprises

A practical rule of thumb is to budget 1.5 to 2.5 percent of the purchase price for total closing costs, not including your down payment. On a $900,000 Burlington home, that means setting aside between $13,500 and $22,500 in addition to your down payment. The land transfer tax alone accounts for the majority of that range, which is why it deserves its own line in your budget from day one.

Ask your mortgage broker to walk through a full closing cost estimate early in the process, not just after you have an accepted offer. By the time you are negotiating on a Millcroft townhouse or a Headon Forest detached home, your closing cost budget should already be confirmed, not estimated.

If you are still building your understanding of the Burlington market before making an offer, the Burlington home buyers guide covers the full process from search to closing in one place.