Ontario Closing Costs Calculator

What are closing costs in Ontario?#

Closing costs are the cash a buyer hands over on the day the house changes hands, on top of the down payment. They usually land between 1.5% and 4% of the purchase price. The calculator above works out where in that band a particular purchase falls.

Two purchases at the same price can still differ by thousands. The down payment decides whether mortgage insurance is involved, and the municipality decides whether there is a second land transfer tax.

How much are closing costs on a $1,000,000 home in Ontario?#

Outside Toronto, a repeat buyer with 20% down pays about $21,100, or 2.1% of the price. Roughly $16,500 of that is the provincial land transfer tax.

In Toronto the same purchase costs about $37,600, or 3.8%, because the City charges its own land transfer tax on top of the province's.

Drop the down payment to 10% and both figures rise by $2,232, the Ontario sales tax on the mortgage insurance premium.

Who pays closing costs, the buyer or the seller?#

The buyer pays everything on this page. A seller pays a different set, led by the real estate commission, and the two lists barely overlap.

What is the RST on mortgage insurance, and why do buyers miss it?#

If you put down less than 20%, your lender will need mortgage default insurance, and you pay the premium. Most buyers add the premium to their mortgage rather than pay it at closing, though they then pay interest on it. The 8% Ontario Retail Sales Tax on that premium cannot be added to the mortgage, so it is cash you bring to closing.

On an $800,000 purchase with 10% down and a 25-year amortization, the premium is $22,320 and the tax on it is $1,786. First-time buyers and new-build buyers who choose a 30-year amortization pay a 3.30% premium instead: $23,760, with $1,901 in tax.

Retail Sales Tax is the legal name of Ontario's provincial sales tax, which is why you will also see it called PST. Since July 2010 the HST has replaced it on almost everything, but Ontario kept the 8% RST on certain insurance premiums, including mortgage default insurance.

How much does a real estate lawyer cost in Ontario?#

Most Ontario firms advertise a flat fee between $1,000 and $2,500 for a residential purchase, before HST and before disbursements. Disbursements are the costs your lawyer pays on your behalf and bills back: title search, registration, software charges, couriers.

Ask for the all-in number. A low advertised fee with high disbursements can cost more than a high fee with low ones.

How much is title insurance in Ontario?#

A few hundred dollars for most homes and more for expensive ones, paid once and never renewed. At TitlePLUS, which publishes its Ontario rates, a policy for you and your lender comes to about $245 to $275 on a condo up to $500,000, and on a resale house $390 to $500 up to $500,000, $760 to $790 at $800,000 and $1,440 to $1,470 at $1,500,000, including the 8% Ontario sales tax on the premium.

The calculator above uses those published rates. For a resale home above $3,000,000 it shows a range, because TitlePLUS's calculator and rate sheet disagree there. Other insurers' rates may differ.

What are adjustments on closing?#

If the seller has already paid the property tax for a period you will own the home, you pay them back for your share. Utilities work the same way.

Ontario municipalities bill property tax in instalments across the year, so the size of the adjustment depends on where your closing date falls inside the instalment the seller already paid. Close just after a bill and you reimburse most of that period. Close at the end of one and you reimburse almost nothing.

The exact figure comes off the statement of adjustments your lawyer prepares, so it is the one line no calculator can pin down in advance.

What extra costs come with a new build?#

Your builder must list, in the Tarion addendum to your agreement, every cost they can add to the price, and cannot charge you for anything left off it. Three to check:

Tarion enrolment covers the home's warranty and protects your deposit, up to $100,000 on a freehold home and $20,000 on a condo. The builder pays the fee, set by a published schedule from $585 on a home up to $300,000 to $6,055 above $4,000,000, plus HST, and many builders pass it on to you. If you buy a freehold home, register your agreement with Tarion within 45 days of signing: from January 1, 2027, late registration limits your deposit coverage.

Development charges are what the municipality charges the builder for the roads, transit, water and parks that new growth needs. Connecting the home to utilities is a separate charge. Your agreement caps either one only if the builder agreed to a cap, so check the addendum and type in the figure.

HST may already be inside a new home's price, with your rebate credited by the builder. For agreements signed from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027, Ontario refunds up to $80,000 of the provincial part of the HST on a home you will live in, and pays up to $50,000 more toward the federal part, less any federal rebate you get. The builder can credit both on closing. If you are buying to rent it out, you generally pay the HST on closing and apply to the CRA for the rental property rebate afterwards, which can be smaller than the HST you paid.

Do first-time buyers pay less?#

Yes, but only on one line. The refunds cut up to $4,000 off the provincial land transfer tax and up to $4,475 off Toronto's. Everything else on this page costs a first-time buyer exactly what it costs anyone else.

Can closing costs be added to the mortgage?#

No. A lender sizes your mortgage against the purchase price, and what you spend getting to closing does not enter that calculation. Closing costs come out of your own funds, alongside the down payment, which is why they catch buyers who budgeted for the down payment alone.