Skip to main content

Buying a Home in Quebec: First-Time Buyer Welcome Tax Credit, Costs and Steps

Updated

Quebec’s buying process differs from the rest of Canada: the deal is closed by a notary, the offer is a promise to purchase, and the land transfer tax (the welcome tax, or droits de mutation) is billed by the municipality after you buy. This page covers what is specific to Quebec. 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 welcome tax and the first-time buyer credit

Quebec municipalities charge the welcome tax on every purchase, in brackets set by the province (with higher brackets in Montreal and some other cities). The Quebec land transfer tax calculator works it out.

Since January 1, 2026, Quebec repays part of it through a refundable tax credit, according to the Quebec government’s announcement and the Quebec Finance bulletin. The credit’s conditions and amount:

  • The home is a housing unit in Quebec acquired on or after January 1, 2026.
  • The credit was announced in a Quebec Finance bulletin as being introduced starting in the 2026 taxation year.
  • Under the first-home test, you intend to live in the home as your principal residence within one year of acquiring it.
  • First-home test: it's your first housing unit and you intend to live in it as your principal residence within a year. You didn't own a home you lived in from the start of the fourth calendar year before the purchase, and your spouse didn't own one you lived in during your marriage in that period.
  • Disability test: you buy the home intending that a specified disabled person live in it as their principal residence within a year, so that they can live in a home that is more accessible or where they are more mobile or functional, or in an environment better suited to their needs and care. Under this test the home doesn't have to be your first, and you don't have to live in it yourself.
  • A specified disabled person is you or a person related to you who is eligible for the tax credit for a severe and prolonged impairment in mental or physical functions, or a person for whom the supplement for handicapped children is paid.
  • You or your spouse paid the transfer duties.
  • The credit is the first $5,000 of duties plus 25% of the rest, up to $5,875.
  • It's reduced by 2.35% of the home's value above $750,000 and is nil at $1,000,000 or more.

How buying works in Quebec

  • The offer: Quebec uses a promise to purchase, with conditions (financing, inspection) much like an offer elsewhere; see the offer to purchase guide.
  • The notary: the deed of sale is signed before a notary, who checks title, handles the mortgage deed and holds the funds; there is no separate real estate lawyer in a standard purchase.
  • Divided co-ownership (condos): review the declaration of co-ownership, the contingency fund and the syndicate’s minutes before your conditions expire. The condo buying guide explains what to look for.
  • Plexes: duplexes and triplexes are common in Montreal and Quebec City, and buying one with tenants means taking over their leases. See Quebec’s rules on rent increases.
  • QST on mortgage insurance: with less than 20% down, Quebec’s sales tax on the default insurance premium is paid at closing; see PST on mortgage insurance.

Other closing costs

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

Where to look in Quebec

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 Quebec mortgage rates. The Home Buyers’ Plan, the FHSA and the first-time home buyers’ tax credit can all go toward a purchase in Quebec.

Sources

The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them between September 25, 2026 and September 29, 2026. How we check facts.