When you acquire property in Canada (a house, condo or land) you must pay land transfer tax to the province and in some cases like Toronto, the Municipality you purchased in also. As a first‑time home buyer, you may be eligible for a refund for all or part of the land transfer tax you owe. As of Jan 1, 2017, first‑time purchasers of homes in Ontario (new construction or resale, greater than $368,000) can receive a maximum refund of $4,000 and in addition you may receive up to $4,475 if you are purchasing in the municipality of Toronto.
Note: Toronto boundaries are defined as south of Steeles Ave, east of Etobicoke, west of Scarborough and north of Lake Ontario.
A purchaser can apply for this refund electronically or on paper and may receive the refund immediately or a refund claim can be processed with the Ministry of Finance within 18 months of the purchase.
To qualify for a refund the purchaser: must be a minimum of 18 years old, must occupy the home as their principal residence within nine months of the purchase, cannot have ever owned a home anywhere in the world (at any time), if the purchaser has a spouse, the spouse cannot have owned a home anywhere in the world while he or she was the purchasers spouse, and lastly the purchaser much apply for the refund within 18 months of the purchase.
I was very much intentional when including a simple and user friendly Land Transfer Calculator on my website. This is so you can easily understand what you may be responsible for paying Provincially and Municipally. Check it out, I hope this helps!