Ontario Mortgage Affordability Calculator (2026): Income Needed to Buy

Two Ontario charges change how much cash a buyer needs on top of the down payment. Every buyer pays the provincial land transfer tax, and buyers inside the City of Toronto pay a second, municipal one. With less than 20% down, Ontario also charges its 8% retail sales tax on the mortgage insurance premium, and that tax can’t go into the mortgage. The province’s MLS HPI benchmark home was $745,400 in August 2026, 13% above the national figure, and needs about $166,900 of household income at the minimum down payment: 1.8 times the $90,200 median for Ontario families and people living alone in 2024 (Statistics Canada).

Income needed for a typical home

Prices: provincial REALTOR association figures on CREA Stats (August 2026); Toronto (GTA): Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (August 2026); City of Toronto: Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (August 2026); Ottawa: Ottawa Real Estate Board (August 2026); Hamilton-Burlington: Cornerstone Association of REALTORS (Hamilton-Burlington) (August 2026). Incomes: this site's calculation, with the assumptions on the calculator page.

Each of these benchmarks is past $500,000, so the minimum down payment is a blend of the two lower bands; on the provincial benchmark it is $49,540, or 6.6% of the price.

Provincial land transfer tax and the first-time refund

Ontario’s tax rises in five brackets, reaching 2% on the part of the price between $400,000 and $2,000,000, which is where all of the benchmarks below fall.

Ontario refunds up to $4,000 of provincial land transfer tax to a first-time buyer who is at least 18, has never owned a home or an interest in one anywhere in the world (and whose spouse hasn't owned one anywhere in the world while they were the buyer's spouse), moves in as a principal residence within 9 months, and is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident (or becomes one within 18 months); with a co-buyer who doesn't qualify, the refund is limited to the qualifying buyers' share. The refund is a fixed ceiling, so it covers 35% of the tax on the provincial benchmark and 27% of the provincial tax on the Toronto one. The Ontario land transfer tax calculator handles any price.

Toronto: the second land transfer tax

TRREB’s benchmark for the whole GTA was $925,900 in August 2026, and for the City of Toronto alone $918,400. The city’s benchmark home needs about $203,300 with the minimum $66,840 down, 2.2 times the Toronto area’s median income for families and people living alone ($94,300), or $179,500 with 20% down.

The City of Toronto charges its own municipal land transfer tax on purchases in the city, in addition to the provincial tax; a buyer elsewhere in the GTA pays only the provincial one. For homes with one or two single-family residences, the municipal brackets up to $2,000,000 have the same thresholds and rates as Ontario’s, so below that the tax is doubled.

Toronto's municipal land transfer tax has its own first-time buyer rebate of up to $4,475 on a new or resale home, for a buyer who is at least 18, moves in as their principal residence within nine months, has never owned a home or an interest in one anywhere in the world (and whose spouse hasn't owned one anywhere in the world while they were the buyer's spouse), and is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident (or becomes one within 18 months). The city also charges an administration fee of $102.56 plus HST on each municipal land transfer tax transaction, and foreign buyers of certain residential properties pay its 10% non-resident speculation tax on top. The Toronto land transfer tax page has the higher brackets above $2,000,000, and the Toronto housing market page has prices by home type.

Retail sales tax on the insurance premium

Ontario’s 8% tax on insurance premiums is separate from the HST and applies to mortgage default insurance. It is due in cash at closing even though the premium is financed.

For a first-time buyer of the Toronto benchmark at the minimum down, the two land transfer taxes after rebates and this tax add $23,936 to the $66,840 down payment, before legal fees. The other provinces that tax the premium are on PST on mortgage default insurance, and the full closing bill is on closing costs in Ontario.

Ottawa

The Ottawa Real Estate Board’s composite benchmark was $637,700 in August 2026, while the average sale ran higher at $688,253. The benchmark needs about $144,200 with the minimum down and $126,000 with 20%. Against the Ottawa-Gatineau median of $99,100 for families and people living alone, that is a multiple of 1.5, lower than Toronto’s. Ottawa is outside Toronto, so only the provincial land transfer tax applies. The Ottawa housing market page breaks prices down by type.

Hamilton-Burlington

The Cornerstone Association of REALTORS’ benchmark for its Hamilton-Burlington-Haldimand-Niagara North area was $728,400 in August 2026, 14% above Ottawa’s and 21% below the City of Toronto’s. That takes about $163,300 of income at the minimum $47,840 down. Sales that month fell 14.5% from a year earlier, leaving 4.4 months of supply. See the Hamilton housing market page.

Property tax against the calculator's assumption

The calculator assumes 1% of the price a year in property tax. Toronto’s rate applies to the MPAC assessed value rather than the price paid, so the bill on a purchase depends on the assessment. Treating each benchmark as the assessed value:

• Toronto: the 2026 residential rate is 0.767%, about $7,050 a year on the city benchmark against the $9,184 assumed, which would lower the income needed by about $5,500.
• Hamilton: by a third-party estimate of the urban rate, roughly 1.5%, or about $10,900 a year on the benchmark, which would raise the income needed by roughly $9,300.
• Ottawa: third-party estimates put the urban rate between about 1.23% and 1.27%, also above the assumption.

The Toronto, Ottawa and Hamilton property tax pages cover each city’s bill; your own figure can go in the calculator’s property tax box.

Related pages

• How much house can I afford? Calculator and results by income
• Mortgage affordability in Quebec
• Mortgage affordability in Manitoba
• First-time buyer guide for Ontario
• Ontario mortgage rates