Mortgage · New Brunswick
New Brunswick transfer tax.
A flat 1%, with no brackets and no first-time buyer rebate — but charged on the greater of what you paid and what the province thinks the property is worth.
A New Brunswick real property transfer tax calculator. Section 2 of the Real Property Transfer Tax Act charges 1% of the greater of the consideration for the transfer or the assessed value, payable before the deed is registered. The 1% rate has applied since 1 April 2016.
The “greater of” rule is the part that catches people. If the assessment exceeds what you paid, the tax is charged on the assessment. Enter both figures and the tool shows which one drove the bill.
Inputs
Transfer tax owed
Fill the form and press Calculate.
One rate, no brackets
New Brunswick is refreshingly simple compared with its neighbours. There is a single rate and no marginal bands: “every person who tenders a deed for registration in the Province shall pay … a tax computed at the rate of 1% of the greater of (a) the consideration for the transfer, or (b) the assessed value.”
The tax is payable before the deed is registered, so it comes out of closing funds rather than arriving as a bill later. On a $325,000 purchase it is $3,250; on a $500,000 purchase, $5,000.
The rate has been 1% since 1 April 2016, doubled from the 0.5% that applied before. Pages quoting 0.5% are a decade out of date.
“The greater of” is doing real work
The Act defines assessed value as “the value of real property at the time of registering a deed respecting that real property as taken or extrapolated from the current real property assessment list.” That is the province’s own assessment roll, not an appraisal you commission.
Two consequences worth planning for:
- A bargain does not reduce the tax. Buy a property assessed at $400,000 for $340,000 and the tax is $4,000, not $3,400.
- A family transfer at a nominal price is taxed at full assessed value. New Brunswick has no general family exemption of the kind Prince Edward Island provides, so transferring a cottage to a child for $1 attracts tax on the assessment.
Look up the current assessment before you budget. If it exceeds your price, it is the number that matters.
The registration fees on top
Registration is separate from the tax. Schedule B of New Brunswick Regulation 83-130, made under the Land Titles Act and consolidated to 1 April 2025, sets a fee of $84 per parcel for each registered document. A Transfer (Form 13) is $84 per parcel and a Mortgage (Form 15) is $84 per parcel, so an ordinary single-parcel financed purchase pays $168 in registration fees.
The fee is per parcel, so a property made up of two PIDs costs twice as much to register. A discharge of mortgage is charged at the same $84 per parcel when you eventually pay the mortgage off.
No first-time buyer relief
New Brunswick has no first-time home buyer exemption, rebate or refund against real property transfer tax. Neither the Act nor the regulations provide one, so a first-time buyer pays exactly what anyone else pays.
That is the same position as Manitoba and Nova Scotia, and it contrasts with Prince Edward Island next door, which exempts qualifying first-time buyers from the tax entirely with no price cap. On a $325,000 purchase, that is a $3,250 difference between the two provinces.
What the other provinces charge
Transfer tax is the closing cost that varies most across Canada — from nothing at all in three provinces to five figures on a mid-priced house in Toronto. Each of these has its own calculator:
- Ontario Land Transfer Tax — Marginal brackets to 2.5%, doubled inside Toronto, with a first-time buyer rebate.
- BC Property Transfer Tax — Brackets to 3%, an extra 2% above $3 million, and a 20% additional tax on foreign buyers.
- Quebec Transfer Duties — The taxe de bienvenue, billed by the municipality weeks after you close.
- Alberta Land Transfer Fee — No land transfer tax at all: $50 plus $5 per $5,000 on the transfer and again on the mortgage.
- Manitoba Land Transfer Tax — Marginal brackets topping out at 2% above $200,000, with no first-time buyer relief.
- Saskatchewan Land Transfer Fee — No transfer tax: an ISC registration fee of 0.4% of title value, plus a flat mortgage fee.
- Nova Scotia Deed Transfer Tax — Set by each municipality rather than the province, with a 10% provincial tax on non-residents.
- PEI Property Transfer Tax — A flat 1% with a low-value exemption and a genuine first-time buyer exemption.
- Newfoundland Registration Fee — No transfer tax: a Registry of Deeds fee built from a base amount plus a rate per $100.
Sources, and when they were last checked
Every rate, threshold and rebate above was read off the official page listed here on 2 September 2026. Rates change with provincial budgets; if you are reading this long after that date, open the source and check the number before you rely on it.
- Real Property Transfer Tax Act, R.S.N.B. c. R-2.1 — New Brunswick acts and regulations — s. 2, the 1% rate on the greater of consideration or assessed value
- New Brunswick Regulation 83-130 under the Land Titles Act — Schedule B, $84 per parcel; consolidated to 1 April 2025
- Land registration services and fees — Service New Brunswick
Frequently asked questions
How much is land transfer tax in New Brunswick?
A flat 1% of the greater of the consideration for the transfer or the assessed value. There are no brackets and no minimum threshold, so the tax on a $325,000 purchase is $3,250.
It is officially called the Real Property Transfer Tax and it is charged under s. 2 of the Real Property Transfer Tax Act. The 1% rate has applied since 1 April 2016, doubled from 0.5%.
Is New Brunswick transfer tax based on the price or the assessment?
Whichever is greater. The Act charges 1% of the greater of the consideration for the transfer and the assessed value taken from the current real property assessment list.
So buying below the assessment does not reduce the tax, and a family transfer at a nominal price is taxed on the assessment. Check the current assessment before budgeting for closing.
Is there a first-time home buyer rebate in New Brunswick?
No. New Brunswick provides no first-time home buyer exemption, rebate or refund against real property transfer tax. A first-time buyer pays the same 1% as anyone else.
Prince Edward Island, immediately next door, exempts qualifying first-time buyers entirely and with no price cap, so the same purchase can cost thousands less across the strait.
What registration fees does New Brunswick charge?
$84 per parcel per registered document, under Schedule B of New Brunswick Regulation 83-130, consolidated to 1 April 2025. A Transfer is $84 per parcel and a Mortgage is $84 per parcel.
A single-parcel purchase with a mortgage therefore pays $168 in registration fees on top of the transfer tax. A property spanning two parcels pays twice that.
When is New Brunswick transfer tax paid?
Before the deed is registered. The Act requires payment by the person tendering the deed for registration, so in practice your lawyer pays it out of closing funds on the day.
This is different from Quebec, where the municipality invoices the buyer directly weeks or months after closing.
Disclaimer
Calculated under s. 2 of New Brunswick’s Real Property Transfer Tax Act at the 1% rate in force since 1 April 2016, with registration fees from Schedule B of Regulation 83-130 as consolidated to 1 April 2025. This is an estimate only. Confirm the amount with your lawyer, notary or lender before you close.