Welcome tax · Montreal · 2026 grid verified at the source
Seven brackets, up to 4%: Montreal has the most progressive grid in Quebec. Here is what it costs on a house, a condo and a plex in 2026, and what a first-time buyer gets back.
In Montreal, the 2026 welcome tax is calculated in seven brackets: 0.5% up to $62,900, 1% up to $315,000, 1.5% up to $552,300, 2% up to $1,104,700, 2.5% up to $2,136,500, 3.5% up to $3,113,000 and 4% above. It is the only city in Quebec allowed to go past 3%. On a single-family house at $834,250 (median for the island, QPAREB Q2 2026), it comes to $12,034; an eligible first-time buyer gets $3,895.12 back from Revenu Québec and pays $8,138.88 net. On a $483,000 condo (island median), it is $5,355.50, refunded at $5,088.88 to a first-time buyer. The tax base is the higher of the price paid and the adjusted roll value; the bill arrives by mail after registration in the Land Register and is payable in one instalment within 30 days.
Montreal is the only municipality in Quebec that the law allows to set rates above 3%, and it uses that latitude with a seven-bracket grid. Below $552,300 it is identical to the provincial grid: a condo at the island median pays no more in Montreal than in Sherbrooke. Above it, on houses, plexes and prestige properties, the gap opens.
| Bracket of the tax base (2026) | Rate in Montreal |
|---|---|
| $0 to $62,900 | 0.5% |
| $62,900 to $315,000 | 1% |
| $315,000 to $552,300 | 1.5% |
| $552,300 to $1,104,700 | 2% |
| $1,104,700 to $2,136,500 | 2.5% |
| $2,136,500 to $3,113,000 | 3.5% |
| Above $3,113,000 | 4% |
The thresholds are indexed every January 1 (the indexation is published in the Gazette officielle before July 1); the amounts above are the 2026 figures. Source: montreal.ca, how transfer duties are calculated (2026 brackets).
The examples cover an entry-level condo, the condo at the island median ($483,000), the house at the median ($834,250) and two prices for plexes and prestige homes. The first-time buyer credit is calculated when the base is under $1,000,000.
| Price paid (or adjusted roll value) | Welcome tax | First-time buyer credit | Net cost, first-time buyer |
|---|---|---|---|
| $350,000 | $3,360.50 | $3,360.50 | $0 |
| $483,000 | $5,355.50 | $5,088.88 | $266.62 |
| $650,000 | $8,349 | $5,837.25 | $2,511.75 |
| $834,250 | $12,034 | $3,895.12 | $8,138.88 |
| $1,200,000 | $19,825.50 | $0 | $19,825.50 |
| $2,000,000 | $39,825.50 | $0 | $39,825.50 |
How to read it: on a single-family house at $834,250 (median for the Island of Montreal, QPAREB Q2 2026), the welcome tax is $12,034; an eligible first-time buyer gets $3,895.12 back and pays $8,138.88 net. Montreal's municipal increase accounts for $1,409.75 of that amount, compared with a municipality that applies the basic grid. Our French welcome tax calculator runs the same calculation for any price.
The tax base is the highest of three amounts: the price paid, the consideration stated in the deed, and the value on the assessment roll multiplied by the year's comparative factor. In a rising market the price paid almost always exceeds the adjusted roll value, so the price is the base; in a sale between relatives or on a property bought below assessment, the adjusted roll value takes over and the bill can surprise. The notary records the tax base in the deed of sale and the municipality bills from the registration in the Land Register.
In Montreal, the duties are payable in one instalment within 30 days of the bill being sent, through the same channels as the tax bill (financial institution, online, by mail). The City does not issue a new property tax bill when ownership changes: the current year's instalments remain due on their dates, and the notary adjusts them between seller and buyer. The bill is never handed over at the notary's office: it arrives by mail, or in the online tax account, generally a few weeks to two months after signing. Budget for it before the offer to purchase, alongside notary fees and the inspection, because no lender finances it inside the mortgage.
Since January 1, 2026, Quebec's refundable tax credit for home ownership reimburses first-time buyers 100% of the first $5,000 of transfer duties paid and 25% of the next $3,500, up to $5,875, on a first principal residence. The credit is reduced by 2.35% of the portion of the tax base above $750,000 and reaches zero at $1,000,000 (Finances Québec, Information Bulletin 2026-2). A first-time buyer is someone who did not live in a home owned by themselves or their spouse in the year of purchase or the four previous years. The buyer first pays Montreal's bill, then claims the credit on their income tax return, or as an advance payment from October 2026 when the amount exceeds $1,000. On a $483,000 condo, the tax of $5,355.50 is refunded at $5,088.88: the first-time buyer pays $266.62 net. On a house at $834,250, the credit is reduced by 2.35% of the amount above $750,000: it falls to $3,895.12 and $8,138.88 remains. From $1,000,000, no refund. The details, including couples where only one spouse has owned before, are in our guide to the welcome tax refund.
The exemptions come from provincial law and are the same in every city: a transfer in the direct ascending or descending line (parent to child, grandparent to grandchild, never between siblings), a transfer between spouses who are married, in a civil union or de facto after twelve months of living together (or parents of the same child), a tax base under $5,000, and a transfer to a corporation in which the seller holds at least 90% of the shares. The notary cites the exemption section in the deed. Montreal then collects a supplementary duty of at most $200, except when the transfer follows a death. Our French article on welcome tax exemptions goes into detail.
Below $552,300, Montreal, Laval, Longueuil and Brossard bill the same amount. Between $552,300 and $630,100, Montreal (2%) costs less than Laval and Brossard (3% from $500,000) but more than Longueuil (1.5% up to $630,100). Above $1,104,700, Montreal's 2.5% then 3.5% brackets catch up with its neighbours' 3%.
| City (2026 grid) | On $600,000 | On $834,250 | On $1,500,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal | $7,349 | $12,034 | $27,325.50 |
| Laval | $8,610.50 | $15,638 | $35,610.50 |
| Longueuil | $7,110.50 | $13,686.50 | $33,659 |
| Brossard | $8,610.50 | $15,638 | $35,610.50 |
| Basic provincial grid (no municipal increase) | $7,110.50 | $10,624.25 | $20,610.50 |
The Montreal grid applies to the 19 boroughs of the Ville de Montréal, from Rivière-des-Prairies to Lachine, but not to the reconstituted cities of the agglomeration: Westmount, Mount Royal, Côte-Saint-Luc, Hampstead, Montreal West, Dorval, Pointe-Claire, Kirkland, Beaconsfield, Baie-D'Urfé, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Senneville, Dollard-des-Ormeaux and Montréal-Est each have their own by-law. The 2026-2028 roll, in force since January 1, 2026 with a reference value at July 1, 2024, serves as the base when it exceeds the price paid. Montreal also runs a home-ownership assistance program for certain households and new or family properties, cumulative with the provincial credit; its conditions change with the City's budgets.
The Loaa & Manseur team, led by Lotfi Manseur and Loaa Al Daow, is the number 1 team at RE/MAX Platine in 2024 and 2025, 6th RE/MAX team in Quebec, 15th in Canada and in the global top 50 of large residential teams according to the official RE/MAX ranking, computed on actual transactions. Its Google profile counts 221 reviews with a 4.9 rating. Its offices are at 55 avenue de l'Équinoxe in Brossard, one bridge from the island, and every broker's licence can be checked in the OACIQ public register. Three things to verify yourself before calling us, and to demand of any other broker.
For the budget, buying a condo in Montreal; for prices by borough, house prices by borough; for Westmount, the welcome tax in Westmount; for the general rules, our guide to the welcome tax in Quebec.
$12,034 with Montreal's 2026 grid, if the price paid is the tax base. An eligible first-time buyer gets $3,895.12 back from Revenu Québec and pays $8,138.88 net.
A few weeks to two months after signing at the notary, once the deed is registered in the Land Register. Montreal bills after registration of the deed and allows 30 days to pay in one instalment.
Below $552,300, no: the grid is the same as everywhere else. Above it, yes, with rates of 2% to 4% that the law only allows in Montreal; on a house at the $834,250 median, the gap with a basic-grid municipality is $1,409.75, still smaller than in Laval or Brossard, which bill 3% from $500,000.
Yes, the grid is the same for a house, a condo, a plex or a lot, and the price used as the base includes sales taxes on a new build. Since 2026 the GST is eliminated up to $1,000,000 on a new home for a first-time buyer, which lowers the price paid and therefore the welcome tax base.
Also available in French: version française de ce guide.
Published September 7, 2026 by the Loaa & Manseur team, the number 1 team at RE/MAX Platine in 2024 and 2025, 6th RE/MAX team in Quebec, 15th in Canada and in the global top 50 according to the official RE/MAX ranking. Tell us about your project.
Équipe no 1 de RE/MAX Platine en 2024 et en 2025, 6e au Québec, 15e au Canada et dans le top 50 mondial au classement officiel RE/MAX. Réponse en moins de 24 heures, sept jours sur sept.