At some point in our lives almost all of us will make a move. Be it to purchase our first home, upgrade to a larger home to accommodate a growing family, or to downsize and prepare for retirement years.
Whichever move you plan to make, we as a collective group in Ottawa need to rally against our city imposing an additional land transfer tax to the already existing tax imposed by the province. Jokingly known as the “Welcome Tax”, home buyers are required to pay a land transfer tax on the purchase price of the home.
Current Land Transfer Tax Rates
- 0.5% of the value of consideration for the transfer up to and including $55,000,
- 1% of the value of the consideration which exceeds $55,000 up to and including $250,000, and
- 1.5% of the value of the consideration which exceeds $250,000, and
- 2% of the amount by which the value of the consideration exceeds $400,000 for land that contains at least one and not more than two single family residences
You can find more details at the Ontario Ministry of Finance website: http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/tax/ltt/
So what this means to the consumer is that if you were to purchase a home for $350,000, the land transfer tax would be $5250. Add another municipal tax of say 1%, $3250. then your total tax would now be $8500. That’s a lot of money to be able to say “Welcome Home”.
And bear in mind this additional tax, if implemented, will affect condos, and even parking spaces in Ottawa.
I urge you to email your MPP and your Ottawa City Councillor to let them know we are paying enough tax to secure our part of the Canadian Dream.
I welcome your comments and opinions. Please feel free to chat at anytime.