PEI property transfer tax.

One percent, on whichever is higher

Section 3(1) is short and there are no brackets: a tax “computed at the rate of one percent of the greater of (a) the consideration for the transfer; and (b) the assessed value of the real property.” Assessed value means the value on the current assessment roll maintained under the Real Property Assessment Act, not an appraisal.

Where only part of an interest is transferred, s. 3(2) pro-rates the assessed value by the percentage of the estate being transferred. And s. 3(4) makes the point that a deed registrable in more than one county is taxed only once.

The first-time buyer exemption, and how much it is actually worth

Prince Edward Island is unusual: its first-time buyer relief is a full exemption with no property value ceiling. Ontario caps its rebate at $4,000, British Columbia phases its exemption out entirely above a threshold, and Manitoba, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia offer nothing at all. On a $600,000 Island purchase the PEI exemption is worth $6,000.

Section 5(1) defines a first-time home buyer as an individual who, at the date the deed is registered:

• is a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident;
• has either maintained a principal residence in the province continuously for at least six months immediately before registration, or has been subject to PEI income tax and filed a return in at least two of the six preceding taxation years;
• has never previously held a registered interest in real property that was their principal residence; and
• has not previously obtained a first-time home buyer’s exemption under the section.

Three practical points that catch people out:

• It is all or nothing. The exemption applies to the transfer, not to a share of it, so if any co-purchaser on the deed does not qualify the whole transfer is taxable.
• You must intend to occupy it, and then actually do so. Section 5(3) makes the tax payable after the fact if you do not use the property as your principal residence for at least 183 consecutive days following registration.
• The declaration is filed at registration. It is sworn before a notary or commissioner and filed with the Registrar when the deed is registered, not claimed later on a return.

There is a partial escape hatch. If you fail only the residency-or-tax-filing test in subclause 5(1)(a)(ii) but meet everything else, s. 5(4) lets the Minister refund the tax on application once you have occupied the property as your principal residence for 183 consecutive days.

The $30,000 floor, and the $1 family transfer

Section 4(2) exempts a transfer outright where the greater of the consideration and the assessed value does not exceed $30,000. It is a cliff, not a deduction: at $30,000 the tax is nothing and at $30,001 it is $300.10.

Section 4(1)(j) exempts a transfer to a member of the family made “without any consideration, in excess of $1”. “Member of the family” is defined broadly, taking in parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, siblings, in-laws and step-relations. Section 4(1)(j.1) separately exempts a transfer to a spouse or former spouse made under a written separation agreement or a Family Law Act order.

Transfers to a wholly owned corporation are exempt under s. 4(1)(k), but watch s. 4.1: if the transferor stops wholly owning that corporation within twelve months, the corporation becomes liable for the tax that would otherwise have been paid.

A note on the 2% rate you may have read about

Several national accounting and advisory firms reported that PEI’s April 2025 budget raised the rate to 2% on value above $1,000,000 and withdrew the first-time buyer exemption at that threshold. That measure does not appear in the law.

The Legislative Counsel Office consolidation of the Act, current to 29 May 2026, contains no second rate and no dollar threshold of any kind: searching the whole statute for “1,000,000”, “million” or a two per cent rate returns nothing. Section 3’s amendment credit line still reads 2005,c.49,s.3, meaning the charging section has never been amended since original enactment, and the same consolidation has already absorbed a 2026 amendment elsewhere in the Act — so it is not simply lagging.

This calculator therefore applies 1% flat, which is what the statute says. If you are buying above $1 million on the Island, it is worth a confirming call to Taxation and Property Records before you close, because a great deal of secondary reporting says otherwise.

The registry fees

Registration is charged separately under s. 50.1(3) of the Registry Act, on banded fees that have not changed since 2014. The same bands apply to a deed of conveyance (by value of the property) and to a deed of mortgage (by principal sum):

• under $10,000 — $77.25
• $10,000 to under $20,000 — $103.00
• $20,000 to under $50,000 — $154.55
• $50,000 to under $100,000 — $231.80
• $100,000 to under $150,000 — $309.10
• $150,000 to under $200,000 — $386.40
• $200,000 or greater — $463.65

A collateral mortgage is a flat $103.00 and a satisfaction of mortgage is $77.25. The registry fee is payable even where the tax is exempt, so a first-time buyer still pays $463.65 to register the deed and the same again for the mortgage.

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.
• NB Real Property Transfer Tax — A flat 1% charged on the greater of the consideration and the assessed value.
• 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.P.E.I. 1988, Cap. R-5.1 (consolidation) — ss. 3, 4 and 5; current to 29 May 2026
• Real Property Transfer Tax Act General Regulations — s. 3, the prescribed maximum dollar amount, revoked by EC428/16
• Registry Act, R.S.P.E.I. 1988, Cap. R-10 (consolidation) — s. 50.1(3), the registration fee bands
• Real Property Transfer Tax Exemptions — Government of Prince Edward Island

Last verified 2 September 2026