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Buying a Home in Nova Scotia: First-Time Buyer Rebate, Deed Transfer Tax and Steps

Updated

Nova Scotia’s land transfer tax is a municipal deed transfer tax, set by each municipality, and there is no first-time buyer exemption from it; the province’s first-time buyer help is a rebate on new homes. This page covers what is specific to Nova Scotia. The national programs (the FHSA, the Home Buyers’ Plan and the federal tax credit) are the same in every province and are covered in the first-time home buyer guide.

The deed transfer tax

Each Nova Scotia municipality sets its own deed transfer tax rate, and first-time buyers pay it in full. The Nova Scotia land transfer tax calculator has the rate for each municipality.

First-time buyer rebate on new homes

Nova Scotia's First-Time Home Buyers Rebate returns part of the provincial portion of the HST on a newly built home, up to $3,000, to buyers who haven't owned and lived in a home in Canada in the last five years and will use the new home as their primary residence. The rebate is 18.75% of the provincial part of the HST, and you must be the first to live in the home. The program’s conditions:

  • The home is newly built; renovations and rental-to-condo conversions don't qualify.
  • You, and any co-owner or relation who will live in the home, haven't owned and lived in a home in Canada in the last five years.
  • The new home will be your primary residence (or a qualifying relation's).
  • Only the person who paid the tax can apply; the rebate can't be assigned to the builder.

A buyer whose previous home was destroyed in the last five years can still qualify. It can be combined with the federal first-time buyer GST/HST rebate; see the GST/HST new housing rebate guide.

Checks that matter in Nova Scotia

  • Coastal and older homes: check for flood and erosion risk near the coast, and ask about the heating system and a year of bills. See climate risk when buying a home.
  • Wells and septic systems outside Halifax need their own tests before your conditions expire.

Other closing costs

Legal fees, title insurance and property tax adjustments make up most of the rest of the closing bill; the Nova Scotia closing cost calculator totals them.

Where to look in Nova Scotia

Down payment and mortgage

The minimum down payment and the mortgage stress test are federal rules and the same in every province: see the down payment calculator and Nova Scotia mortgage rates. The Home Buyers’ Plan, the FHSA and the first-time home buyers’ tax credit can all go toward a purchase in Nova Scotia.

Sources

The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them between September 24, 2026 and September 29, 2026. How we check facts.