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It is the common name for the property transfer duties that the buyer pays to the municipality where the property is located when it changes hands (sale, gift, exchange, etc.). They are calculated on the tax base, which is the highest of three amounts: the price paid, the price stated in the deed, or the market value (assessment roll value multiplied by the year’s comparative factor).

Québec’s base schedule for 2026 is 0.5% on the bracket up to $62,900, 1% from $62,900 to $315,000, and 1.5% above $315,000. A municipality may, by by-law, apply a higher rate (up to 3%) on the portion above $500,000; Montréal may go higher and charges up to 4% above $3,113,000 in 2026. The bracket thresholds are indexed every January 1.

After the deed of sale is signed and registered by the notary, the municipality sends the bill to the buyer. It must be paid within the set period (about 30 days after the bill is sent), or interest applies. Some municipalities allow payment in instalments by by-law: for example, Québec City offers three interest-free instalments, while Montréal requires a single payment.

Yes. The Act respecting duties on transfers of immovables provides exemptions for, among others, transfers in the direct line (parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren), between spouses (married, in a civil union, or de facto spouses, under conditions), certain transfers between an individual and a corporation in which they hold at least 90%, and transfers whose tax base is under $5,000. A transfer between siblings is not exempt. The notary must state the exemption in the deed, and the municipality may charge a compensatory duty of up to $200.

It is a Québec refundable tax credit, in force for homes acquired after December 31, 2025, that refunds 100% of the first $5,000 of welcome tax paid and 25% of the next $3,500, up to $5,875. It is reduced by 2.35% of the tax base above $750,000 and is zero at $1,000,000 or more. Conditions include residing in Québec at the end of the year, having paid the welcome tax in full, intending to make the home your principal residence within one year of the purchase, and not having owned a home you lived in since the start of the fourth calendar year before the purchase (since January 1, 2022, for a 2026 purchase).

You claim it in your Québec income tax return, with form TP-752.HA. You can also request an advance payment in Revenu Québec’s My Account for individuals if the estimated credit exceeds $1,000, the tax base is $1,000,000 or less, and payment is made by direct deposit; for 2026, the deadline is December 1, 2026. If several buyers qualify for the same home, the total cannot exceed the amount one person would receive.

In Québec, the non-refundable tax credit for the purchase of a home can reach $1,400 per home, in addition to the credit for access to home ownership. Federally, the home buyers’ amount (line 31270) is calculated on $10,000, and the First Home Savings Account (FHSA) allows contributions of $8,000 per year, up to $40,000 over a lifetime. The conditions of each measure should be checked with Revenu Québec and the Canada Revenue Agency.