By Travis Bannert, Realtor and Mortgage Broker
Buy a $500,000 home in Toronto and the tax bill at closing starts at $12,950 — before legal fees, before anything else. Buy a $500,000 home in Edmonton and the equivalent government charge is a $550 registration fee, because Alberta has no land transfer tax. Same country, same price of home, a five-figure difference in what it costs just to take ownership — and it is the most-watched video on my channel for a reason.
Toronto vs Edmonton on a $500,000 home (verified Nov 8, 2026)
Toronto land transfer taxes (Ontario + City of Toronto): $12,950
Edmonton Land Titles transfer fee: $550
Edmonton transfer + a $400,000 mortgage registration: about $1,000
Sources: City of Toronto, Municipal Land Transfer Tax rates page; Government of Ontario, land transfer tax; Government of Alberta, Land Titles and Surveys fee schedule (effective October 1, 2026).
The Toronto bill: the same tax, charged twice
Ontario charges a provincial land transfer tax on every purchase. The brackets (Government of Ontario; mirrored on the City of Toronto's Municipal Land Transfer Tax rates page) are 0.5% on the first $55,000, 1.0% on the portion to $250,000, 1.5% to $400,000, and 2.0% to $2,000,000. On a $500,000 home that is $275 + $1,950 + $2,250 + $2,000 = $6,475 provincially.
Inside the City of Toronto, a buyer then pays Toronto's own Municipal Land Transfer Tax on top — and its brackets match the province's up to $3,000,000, so at this price the second tax is another $6,475 (plus a $102.56 + HST administration fee). Total land transfer tax on a $500,000 Toronto purchase: $12,950, due in cash at closing. First-time buyers can reduce this — Ontario's rebate is up to $4,000 and Toronto's is up to $4,475 — but a repeat buyer pays it in full, and it is money that cannot be rolled into the mortgage the way a purchase price can.
The Edmonton bill: there is no land transfer tax
Alberta does not levy a land transfer tax at all. What an Edmonton buyer pays instead is a Land Titles registration fee set by the Government of Alberta's Land Titles and Surveys fee schedule (effective October 1, 2026): $50 plus $5 for every $5,000 of the property's value to register the transfer, and the same formula again to register a mortgage. On a $500,000 purchase that is a $550 transfer fee — and even adding a $400,000 mortgage registration ($450), the total government registration cost is about $1,000, against Toronto's $12,950 in tax alone.
Put plainly: the Toronto buyer's land transfer tax on a $500,000 home would cover the Alberta registration fees on roughly a dozen purchases. For a relocating buyer, that difference is a moving truck, a year of property tax, or part of the down payment on the next home — real money, decided entirely by which side of a provincial border the home sits on.
What this means if you are buying
1. Compare closing costs, not just prices. Two $500,000 homes are not the same purchase when one carries $12,950 more in closing tax. When Toronto buyers tell me Edmonton "feels cheaper than the sticker price," this gap — plus no provincial sales tax on many services in Alberta — is a big part of why.
2. Budget cash to close honestly in both directions. Land transfer tax (Ontario) and registration fees (Alberta) are cash at closing, confirmed by your lawyer on the statement of adjustments. If you are selling in Toronto and buying in Edmonton, your Toronto sale does not attract land transfer tax — your Ontario purchase did. The savings land on the Edmonton side of the move.
3. Spend the difference deliberately. $11,950–$12,400 kept at closing is a renovation budget, a rate buydown conversation with your broker, or simply a larger emergency fund in a new city. Buyers who plan for it keep it; buyers who discover closing costs late borrow for them.
★★★★★ "He would get back to me with an answer to my questions in no time. Very professional and kind." — Google review
Looking at Edmonton homes from out of province, or comparing what the same money buys here? Create a free account to see new Edmonton listings the day they hit the market, save searches and get new-listing alerts: https://bridgerealtygroup.ca/ — and if you want the Toronto-vs-Edmonton math run on your actual price range, call Travis Bannert at 780-720-8240. One call covers the home search and, if you need it, the mortgage pre-approval too — I am a licensed Mortgage Broker as well as a Realtor®. Explore the areas those listings sit in: https://bridgerealtygroup.ca/Communities
Frequently asked questions
Does Alberta have a land transfer tax?
No. Alberta charges Land Titles registration fees instead — $50 plus $5 per $5,000 of value on the transfer, and the same on a mortgage registration (Government of Alberta, Land Titles and Surveys fee schedule, effective October 1, 2026). On a $500,000 home the transfer fee is $550.
How much land transfer tax does a $500,000 home in Toronto attract?
$12,950 in total: $6,475 Ontario provincial land transfer tax plus $6,475 City of Toronto Municipal Land Transfer Tax, whose brackets match the province's up to $3,000,000 (City of Toronto, MLTT rates page), plus a $102.56 + HST administration fee.
Do first-time buyers pay less in Toronto?
Yes — Ontario's first-time buyer rebate is up to $4,000 and the City of Toronto's is up to $4,475, for a combined maximum of $8,475. Alberta has no rebate because it has no tax to rebate.
Is the Alberta fee the same everywhere in the province?
Yes — it is a provincial Land Titles fee, identical in Edmonton, Calgary, or anywhere else in Alberta on the same value.
Want me to walk you through it? Call 780-720-8240 or register on bridgerealtygroup.ca and I will call you.
By Travis Bannert, Realtor and Mortgage Broker — Travis Bannert, Realtor® | Bridge Realty Group, Maxwell Progressive Realty | 780-720-8240 | bridgerealtygroup.ca. Travis is also a licensed Mortgage Broker with Next Door Mortgages, BFL Dominion Lending Centres.
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Edmonton skyline — Wikimedia Commons
