Tax de Bienvenue in Quebec: Brackets, Exemptions, and Penalties

The taxe de bienvenue in Quebec is the land transfer duty every buyer pays when a property changes hands, billed by the municipality a few months after closing. It applies province-wide, funds local services, and usually ranks among the largest closing costs on a purchase. On a $500,000 home outside Montreal, plan for roughly $5,500 to $6,000.

How the Amount Is Calculated

The municipality does not automatically tax the purchase price. Under the Act respecting duties on transfers of immovables, the tax base is the highest of three figures: the price you actually paid, the price stated in the notarized deed of sale, and the property’s current value on the municipal assessment roll.¹ The first two are almost always identical. The third is where surprises happen.

Assessment rolls run on a three-year cycle, so the listed value can lag the market. Municipalities apply a comparative factor to close the gap. If the 2026 factor is 1.08, a property assessed at $400,000 is treated as worth $432,000 for transfer-duty purposes. That adjusted figure is compared to the sale price, and the higher one becomes the tax base. In a rising market, the adjusted roll value can exceed what you paid.

The 2026 Brackets

Duties are progressive, like income tax. Each slice of the tax base is taxed at its own rate. For 2026, the standard provincial brackets are:²

First $62,900: 0.5%
$62,900 to $315,000: 1.0%
Above $315,000: 1.5%

The thresholds are indexed and shift slightly each year. A $450,000 home outside Montreal produces about $314.50 on the first slice, $2,521 on the second, and $2,025 on the third, for a total near $4,860.

Montreal Adds Higher Brackets

Montreal keeps the same three base brackets but stacks additional rates on top for pricier properties. For transfers registered on or after January 1, 2026:²

First $62,900: 0.5%
$62,900 to $315,000: 1.0%
$315,000 to $552,300: 1.5%
$552,300 to $1,104,700: 2.0%
$1,104,700 to $2,136,500: 2.5%
$2,136,500 to $3,113,000: 3.5%
Above $3,113,000: 4.0%

The difference is significant at the top. A $1,500,000 condo in Montreal owes roughly $25,700, versus about $20,600 for the same value in a smaller municipality. Do the calculation bracket by bracket rather than applying a flat percentage.

Who Qualifies for an Exemption

Several transfers are exempt from the duty, but the conditions are narrow and easy to miss.

Transfers between parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, or between spouses are exempt. “Spouses” here covers married couples, civil union partners, and de facto partners who have lived together in a conjugal relationship for at least 12 consecutive months before the transfer, or who are parents of a child together.¹ Certain in-law and step-family transfers also qualify.

Former de facto spouses can qualify only inside tight windows. The transfer generally must occur within 12 months of the date they began living apart because of the breakdown, or within 30 days of a mediation agreement or court judgment dealing with the property.¹

One trap: the family exemption does not apply if you received the property from a descendant (or from a trust that acquired it from one) and have held it for less than two years before transferring it again. The rule blocks quick back-and-forth transfers used to sidestep the tax.

Transfers with a tax base under $5,000 are also exempt, though the threshold is too low to reach in a real property sale today.³

Corporate Transfers

Transfers between closely related corporations can be exempt when one holds at least 90% of the voting rights in the other, directly or through qualifying subsidiaries. The same 90% test applies when an individual transfers property to or from a corporation they control. For partnerships, the test looks at the person’s share of the partnership’s income or losses.³

There is a 24-month holding requirement. The qualifying ownership must be maintained throughout the 24 months after the transfer. Drop below 90% inside that period by selling shares, issuing new ones, or restructuring, and the exemption is revoked retroactively. The full duty becomes payable, with penalties on top.³

The $200 Supplementary Duty

Even when an exemption applies, the buyer owes a supplementary duty of $200 to cover the municipality’s administrative processing.¹ If the duties that would otherwise have been owed come to less than $200 (a tax base under roughly $40,000), the supplementary duty matches that smaller amount instead of the $200 flat.

Get the Exemption Into the Deed

The notary handling the sale must state the legal basis for any exemption directly in the deed before it is registered at the Land Registry. This is mandatory. If the notary leaves out the declaration, the municipality bills the full duty regardless of your relationship or corporate structure, and fixing it later is far harder than getting it right the first time. Raise the exemption with your notary early.

When the Bill Arrives and What Happens if You Are Late

After the deed is registered, the municipality reviews the transaction and mails the invoice. Timelines vary, and most buyers receive it within a few months of closing. Payment is due in full within 30 days of the billing date, and there is no installment option.⁴

Miss the 30-day deadline and interest starts immediately. Most Quebec municipalities charge annual interest between 8% and 15% on the overdue balance, often with an additional flat penalty around 5%. Exact rates are set by each municipality’s bylaws. The most common mistake is simply not having the money aside when the invoice appears, so budget for the duty at the time of purchase, not when the bill arrives.

Registration and Disclosure Penalties

Quebec penalizes transfers that are not properly registered. If the deed is not registered at the Land Registry within 90 days of the transfer, the buyer must file a notice of disclosure with the municipality where the property sits. This applies whether or not you qualify for an exemption.⁵

Failing to register or disclose within 90 days triggers special duties equal to 150% of the transfer duties that would otherwise have applied. If you were exempt from the underlying duty, the special duties drop to 50%, still a heavy surcharge for a paperwork miss. Interest runs from the date the disclosure should have been filed.⁵

The same 150% special duties apply when a corporate exemption is claimed and the qualifying conditions stop being met inside the 24-month window. The buyer then has 90 days from the date the condition was lost to file a notice of disclosure.

A Note on New Construction

The transfer duty is separate from GST and QST. Resale properties carry no GST or QST, but a newly built or substantially renovated home bought from a builder attracts 5% federal GST and 9.975% Quebec QST on the purchase price, with rebates available for primary residences and additional relief for first-time buyers.⁶ 7⁸ Those taxes are billed at closing, not months later like the transfer duty, so treat them as a separate line in your budget.

1
Les Publications du Québec. Act Respecting Duties on Transfers of Immovables D-15.1
2
Ville de Montréal. How Property Transfer Duties Are Calculated
3
CanLII. Act Respecting Duties on Transfers of Immovables CQLR c D-15.1
4
Ville de Montréal. Taxes for New Homeowners
5
Revenu Québec. Transfer of an Immovable (Special Duties)
6
Canada.ca. GST/HST New Housing Rebate
7
Revenu Québec. GST and QST Rebate for Owners of New or Substantially Renovated Housing
8
Canada.ca. First-Time Home Buyers’ (FTHB) GST/HST Rebate