What you need in cash on closing day, on top of your down payment. Includes the sales tax on your CMHC premium, which cannot be added to the loan and which most closing cost calculators leave out entirely. No email required.
If you are putting less than 20% down, your mortgage is insured and CMHC charges a premium for it. Almost everyone knows the premium can be added to your mortgage, so it does not need to be paid in cash.
The sales tax on that premium is different. Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan charge provincial sales tax on the mortgage insurance premium, and in CMHC's own words, that sales tax cannot be added to the loan amount. It comes out of your pocket on closing day like any other closing cost.
On an $800,000 home in Ontario with $55,000 down, that is about $2,384 that has to be sitting in your account, and it appears on none of the mortgage calculators that told you what you could afford. This calculator shows it as its own line.
| Cost | Typical | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Land transfer tax | Calculated exactly | A provincial tax on the transfer of title. Zero in Alberta and Saskatchewan, roughly doubled in Toronto because the city charges its own on top. |
| Sales tax on the CMHC premium | Calculated exactly | Ontario 8%, Quebec 9%, Saskatchewan 6%, charged on the insurance premium. Cash only, cannot be financed. |
| Lawyer and disbursements | $1,500 to $2,500 | The legal work plus registration fees, title search and courier costs. Ask for the disbursements to be quoted separately, because that is where quotes diverge. |
| Title insurance | $250 to $600 | A one-time premium covering title fraud and defects. Usually arranged by your lawyer, and your lender will often require it. |
| Home inspection | $400 to $700 | Paid before closing, and the only one on this list you can choose to skip. Skipping it is the single most expensive decision on the page. |
| Appraisal | $300 to $500 | Your lender's estimate of value. Some lenders cover it, so ask before you pay it. |
| Status certificate (condo) | $100 in Ontario | Ontario's Condominium Act caps it at $100 including HST. Alberta's estoppel certificate is not capped. Read it, or have your lawyer read it, for a coming special assessment. |
| Adjustments | Varies | You reimburse the seller for property tax, and sometimes utilities or fuel, that they have already paid past your closing date. |
Every rate calculated exactly on this page comes from the government that sets it. Rates change, so the date each source was last checked is shown. The typical ranges are market observations, not government figures, and are labelled as such above.
This tool does not include the City of Toronto's MLTT administration fee, the Non-Resident Speculation Tax, GST or HST on a newly built home, mortgage default insurance itself where it is added to the loan, or moving costs. It is education, not a legal or tax opinion.
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