Skip to main content

Buying a Home in Saskatchewan: First-Time Buyer Costs, Title Fees and Steps

Updated

Saskatchewan charges land titles fees rather than a land transfer tax, so closing costs are modest, but it has no first-time buyer exemption from those fees. What it does have is its own First-time Homebuyers’ Tax Credit, claimed on the provincial tax return, and a PST rebate on newly built homes. Saskatchewan is also one of three provinces whose sales tax applies to mortgage default insurance. The federal FHSA, Home Buyers’ Plan and home buyers’ amount apply here as anywhere in Canada; the first-time home buyer guide covers them.

Saskatchewan’s First-time Homebuyers’ Tax Credit

Saskatchewan's First-time Homebuyers' Tax Credit is a non-refundable provincial income tax credit of 10.5% on the first $15,000 of a qualifying home bought from January 1, 2025, up to $1,575, claimed on Form SK428 with the Saskatchewan return for the year of purchase. It follows the federal first-time buyer rules, and can be shared with a spouse or common-law partner. Who can claim it:

  • Neither you nor a spouse or partner buying with you lived in a home you owned in the year of purchase or in any of the previous four years.
  • You or your spouse or partner live in the home within one year of buying it.
  • The home is a new or existing home in Saskatchewan that qualifies for the federal Home Buyers' Plan, such as a house, townhouse, condominium unit or mobile home.
  • You can't claim it if you received a loan through the Graduate Retention Program First Home Plan.
  • It is non-refundable, so it only reduces Saskatchewan income tax you owe; a spouse or common-law partner can share it.

The arithmetic is 10.5% of $15,000, or $1,575, up from $1,050 on the old $10,000 base. Because it is non-refundable, a buyer with little Saskatchewan tax owing for the year gets less than its full value unless a spouse or partner who owes more claims part of it. The province’s credit page has the details.

Title fees and PST at Saskatoon and Regina prices

Information Services Corporation (ISC), which runs the land registry, charges 0.4% of the value to transfer a title above $6,300, and a separate flat fee to register the mortgage that steps up with its size: $200 under $250,000, $275 up to $500,000 and $525 up to $750,000 (fees effective April 15, 2026). There is no first-time buyer exemption. With less than 20% down, the insurance premium can be added to the mortgage, but Saskatchewan’s PST on it can’t and is paid in cash at closing.

Typical home (MLS® HPI benchmark)PriceTitle transfer feePST on the insurance premiumMinimum down paymentHousehold income needed
Saskatoon, all home types$439,600$1,758$1,002$21,980$101,800
Saskatoon apartment$265,200$1,061$605$13,260$63,200
Regina, all home types$343,900$1,376$784$17,195$80,600
Regina apartment$234,500$938$535$11,725$56,500

Benchmarks: Saskatchewan REALTORS Association, September 2026. PST at 6% on the default insurance premium for the minimum down payment; income needed for an insured mortgage over 25 years (method).

On a typical Saskatoon home bought with the minimum down payment, the PST on the premium is smaller than the title transfer fee, and the two together come to $2,761 payable at closing, before legal fees and the mortgage registration fee. With 20% or more down, mortgage loan insurance usually isn’t needed, so the premium and its tax usually fall away, though a lender can still require insurance. The Saskatchewan land transfer tax calculator works out ISC’s fees for any price, and the Saskatoon and Regina market pages follow prices each month.

PST rebate on a newly built home

A buyer of a new home can also get part of its PST back:

  • The rebate is up to 42% of the PST paid on the home.
  • The home is newly built and previously unoccupied: bought from a builder, built by you or for you, or a unit in a new housing co-op.
  • It will be your primary place of residence.
  • Its total price is under $550,000 before taxes, not counting the land, furniture, furnishings and appliances, with some exceptions; the rebate is reduced between $450,000 and $550,000.
  • For a builder-built home, the contract was signed and possession taken on or after April 1, 2023 (or the housing start was completed and possession taken on or after that date).
  • The builder can pay the rebate to you or credit it against the price, if you assign the rebate to the builder.
  • Applications must be received within 4 years of the possession date.

The province’s rebate page has the application forms. When the buyer assigns the rebate to the builder, the builder submits the application, which the buyer also signs.

Radon, wells and septic systems

  • Radon: Saskatchewan has some of the highest indoor radon levels in Canada. A radon test before or soon after buying is inexpensive, and a home inspection doesn’t include one unless you ask.
  • Rural properties: wells and septic systems need their own inspections.

Where to look in Saskatchewan

Sources

The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them between September 24, 2026 and October 26, 2026. How we check facts.