Permits & Economics | Land Transfer Tax
Land Transfer Tax on a Toronto Multiplex: Two Taxes, Two Rate Tables
Toronto is the only municipality in Ontario that charges its own land transfer tax. Buy a lot here and you pay the provincial tax and the Municipal Land Transfer Tax, both on closing. The part almost nobody reads carefully is that the City runs two different rate tables, and which one applies turns on what is standing on the land the day you buy it.
Key Takeaways
- ✓A Toronto purchase pays two land transfer taxes: the provincial one and the City's.
- ✓The City's high-value rates, 4.40% to 8.60%, apply only to properties holding one or two single family residences.
- ✓All other properties sit on a second City table that stops at 2.0%.
- ✓Those graduated rates took effect April 1, 2026; rates at or below $3M were unchanged.
- ✓Land transfer tax is a land cost, never part of a permit's declared construction value.
Acquisition tax is decided by the purchase price, and what you can build on the lot decides whether that price makes sense. See the unit ceiling at an address before you write an offer.
The Two City Tables, and Why the Difference Is Large
On April 1, 2026 the City introduced graduated Municipal Land Transfer Tax rates for high-value residential property. Council passed the amendment on December 17, 2025. The new bands only reach properties the City describes as "high value residential properties containing at least one, and not more than two, single family residences". Everything else stays on the table the City labels "all other non-single family residences", which has not gained a band above 2.0 per cent.
The gap only opens above $3,000,000, and below that the two tables are identical. But above it the gap widens fast, and on an expensive lot the difference between the two tables is a six-figure number.
One or two single family residences
City of Toronto MLTT, effective April 1, 2026
| Up to $55,000 | 0.5% |
| $55,000.01 to $250,000 | 1.0% |
| $250,000.01 to $400,000 | 1.5% |
| $400,000.01 to $2,000,000 | 2.0% |
| $2,000,000.01 to $3,000,000 | 2.5% |
| Over $3,000,000 to $4,000,000 | 4.40% |
| Over $4,000,000 to $5,000,000 | 5.45% |
| Over $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 | 6.50% |
| Over $10,000,000 to $20,000,000 | 7.55% |
| Over $20,000,000 | 8.60% |
Shaded rows are the bands added April 1, 2026.
All other non-single family residences
City of Toronto MLTT, continuing table
| Up to $55,000 | 0.5% |
| $55,000.01 to $250,000 | 1.0% |
| $250,000.01 to $400,000 | 1.5% |
| Over $400,000 | 2.0% |
No band above 2.0 per cent, at any price.
The Trap: It Is What Stands There on Closing Day
The natural reading of that second table is that a multiplex buyer escapes the high rates. Read carefully, it usually works the other way round on the purchase that matters.
Almost every Toronto multiplex starts with buying a house. At the moment of that conveyance the land holds a single family residence, so the transaction is assessed on the first table. Your plan to demolish it and build four units is not part of the property being conveyed. The second table describes what you would be buying if you purchased a building that is already a multiplex, or land that already holds something other than one or two houses.
The provincial definition points the same way and goes further: a "single family residence" includes one "that is to be constructed as part of the arrangement relating to a conveyance". A deal structured so a house is built as part of the purchase does not sidestep the definition. This is a question for the lawyer closing your file, on your facts, before the deal is firm. The amounts are large enough that a guess is expensive.
The Provincial Tax, on Top
Ontario's own Land Transfer Tax applies to the same purchase, at these rates. The province also charges a higher top rate on one or two single family residences, at a lower threshold than the City's.
Ontario Land Transfer Tax
| Up to $55,000 | 0.5% |
| $55,000.01 to $250,000 | 1.0% |
| $250,000.01 to $400,000 | 1.5% |
| Over $400,000 | 2.0% |
| Over $2,000,000, one or two single family residences | 2.5% |
Both taxes are payable on closing, and both are land costs. Neither appears in the declared construction value on a building permit, which is why the figures in the permit tracker cannot be read as the cost of a project. They exclude the land, and therefore exclude all of this.
Foreign Buyers: A Third Tax
Since January 1, 2025 the City has also levied a Municipal Non-Resident Speculation Tax of 10 per cent on purchases of certain residential property in Toronto by foreign buyers, charged on the full purchase price rather than on a band of it. It sits on top of both land transfer taxes and is separate from the province's own Non-Resident Speculation Tax. If a corporation, a trust, or a partner in the deal has any non-resident element, get that answered by a lawyer before the deal is firm.
Best For
- ✓ Budgeting the true acquisition cost of a Toronto lot, where two land transfer taxes apply to the same purchase.
- ✓ Understanding why a Toronto purchase costs more to close than the same price anywhere else in Ontario.
- ✓ Deciding between an expensive detached lot and a cheaper one once the tax on each is priced in.
Usually Fails When
- ✕ Someone assumes the multiplex table applies because a multiplex is the plan. The tax follows what stands on the land at closing.
- ✕ A proforma starts from a permit's declared construction value, which excludes land and therefore excludes both taxes.
- ✕ A first-time buyer refund is assumed on a purchase made to build rental units.
What To Verify Before Spending Money
- → The current rate tables on the City of Toronto MLTT rates page, since rates are set by by-law and change.
- → Which of the two City tables applies to your specific purchase, with the lawyer closing the file.
- → Whether any party to the purchase triggers the Municipal Non-Resident Speculation Tax.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Toronto charge land transfer tax twice? +
Effectively, yes. Every property purchase in Ontario pays the provincial Land Transfer Tax. A purchase inside the City of Toronto also pays the Municipal Land Transfer Tax, which the City has applied to all properties in Toronto since February 1, 2008. They are two separate taxes on the same conveyance, each with its own rate table, and both are payable on closing. No other municipality in Ontario levies its own land transfer tax, so a Toronto lot carries an acquisition cost that the same purchase price outside the city does not.
Do the high Toronto land transfer tax rates apply to a multiplex? +
Not on the City's high-value table. The graduated Municipal Land Transfer Tax rates that run from 4.40 percent to 8.60 percent apply, in the City's own words, to "high value residential properties containing at least one, and not more than two, single family residences". The City publishes a second table for "all other non-single family residences", and that one stops at 2.0 percent above $400,000. What matters is what stands on the land at the moment of the conveyance, not what you intend to build afterwards. Buying an expensive detached house to replace with a fourplex is a purchase of a single family residence, and it is taxed on the first table.
When did Toronto's higher land transfer tax rates take effect? +
Council passed the amendment introducing graduated Municipal Land Transfer Tax rates for high-value residential properties on December 17, 2025, and the new rates took effect April 1, 2026. The rates at or below $3,000,000 were not changed. Rates are set by by-law and can be amended again, so confirm the current table on the City's own rates page before you rely on a figure in a proforma.
What is the Municipal Non-Resident Speculation Tax in Toronto? +
A 10 per cent tax that applies to purchases of certain residential properties in Toronto by foreign buyers, effective January 1, 2025. It is charged on the full purchase price rather than on a portion of it, and it is separate from both land transfer taxes. It is also separate from the provincial Non-Resident Speculation Tax. Anyone buying through a corporation, a trust, or with a non-resident partner should get the residency question answered by a lawyer before firm, because the amounts involved are large and the test is not intuitive.
Is land transfer tax part of the construction budget or the land cost? +
The land cost. Land transfer tax is paid on closing the purchase, long before a shovel moves, and it is not part of the declared construction value on a building permit. That matters when reading permit data: the declared values published in the City's permit register exclude the land entirely, and therefore exclude the land transfer tax as well. Any proforma that starts from a declared construction value has to add the acquisition costs separately.
Can a multiplex builder claim the first-time homebuyer refund? +
Almost never, and it should not be assumed. Both the provincial refund and the City rebate are aimed at first-time purchasers of a home to live in, with their own eligibility rules on prior ownership, residency and the use of the property. A purchase made to build rental units is a different transaction. Confirm eligibility with the Ministry of Finance and the City directly rather than budgeting a refund into a development proforma.
Official Sources Referenced
Rates on this page were read from the City of Toronto and Province of Ontario pages linked above on September 3, 2026. Land transfer tax rates are set by by-law and by statute and can be amended; confirm the current tables before relying on a figure. This page explains published rates and is not tax or legal advice. VanPlex is a British Columbia builder and does not operate in Toronto.
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