Closing Costs in Alberta: No Land Transfer Tax, Really

Closing Costs in Alberta: No Land Transfer Tax, Really

Short answer: Alberta charges no land transfer tax. What you pay instead is a Land Titles registration fee of $50 plus $5 for every $5,000 of the property's value for the transfer, and the same formula ($50 plus $5 per $5,000 of principal) to register the mortgage, rates in effect since October 20, 2024. On a $600,000 purchase with a $480,000 mortgage, both registrations together come to about $1,180. Add legal fees, title insurance or a Real Property Report, and adjustments, and an Alberta closing stack commonly runs near 1% of the price, far lighter than Ontario or BC.

Every province in this closing-cost series has a transfer-tax story except this one, and it is worth writing anyway, because the Alberta advantage is routinely misstated in both directions: out-of-province buyers who assume Alberta must hide an equivalent tax somewhere, and Alberta buyers moving east who cannot believe the Ontario or BC numbers are real. They are real. A $600,000 purchase outside Toronto faces $8,475 of Ontario land transfer tax before anything else (our Ontario guide); in BC the property transfer tax on the same price would be $10,000 (our BC guide). In Alberta it is about $650 for the transfer registration. This guide lists what Alberta buyers actually pay.

Line 1: The two registrations

Two documents get registered against title on a typical financed purchase, and each carries the same fee formula since the October 2024 fee update:

• Transfer of land: $50 base plus $5 per $5,000 of the property's value (or portion thereof).
• Mortgage registration: $50 base plus $5 per $5,000 of the mortgage principal.

Worked examples:

• $400,000 purchase, $320,000 mortgage: transfer $450, mortgage $370, total $820.
• $600,000 purchase, $480,000 mortgage: transfer $650, mortgage $530, total $1,180.
• $850,000 purchase, $680,000 mortgage: transfer $900, mortgage $730, total $1,630.

Older calculators still showing $50 plus $2 per $5,000 (transfer) and $1.50 per $5,000 (mortgage) are quoting the pre-October 2024 schedule; the province raised the variable portion to $5 per $5,000 for both. Even updated, the totals stay in the hundreds-to-low-thousands range. This is the entire government transfer charge. There is no rebate because there is nothing to rebate.

Line 2: Legal fees

Alberta uses lawyers (not notaries) for real estate closings. Many firms quote flat fees for a purchase with a mortgage; disbursements (title searches, tax certificates, registration submission, courier) come on top. Two practical notes. First, GST applies to legal fees and to any real estate commissions, which Alberta buyers should include when comparing quotes. Second, ask whether the quote includes the land titles registrations above and the disbursements; a low headline fee that excludes both can finish higher than an honest all-in quote.

Line 3: The Real Property Report (RPR)

The Alberta-specific line item outsiders miss is the Real Property Report: a legal survey of the property showing structures, fences, and compliance with municipal setback rules, stamped by the municipality. In Alberta practice the seller typically provides a current RPR with municipal compliance. If it does not exist or no longer reflects the property (a deck or garage built since), producing one is a real cost and a real timeline, and who pays is negotiated. The common substitute is title insurance, which many lenders accept or require; buyers often take both comforts where the file allows. Ontario buyers use title insurance as the default; Alberta buyers should ask about RPR status early, because a missing compliance stamp discovered late is one of the few things that can slow an Alberta closing.

Line 4: What Alberta does not charge

• No land transfer tax, provincial or municipal, anywhere in the province.
• No provincial sales tax on the CMHC premium. Only Ontario, Quebec, and Saskatchewan tax the premium (our premium guide). Alberta insured buyers add the premium to the mortgage with no extra cash tax line.
• No GST on legal alternatives aside: GST (5%) does apply to legal fees, appraisals, inspections, and real estate commissions, being federal; and newly built homes carry GST like everywhere else, with the federal new housing rebate and the first-time buyer GST rebate (our GST rebate guide) applying on the same terms as the rest of Canada.

Lines 5 to 7: Adjustments, condos, and the small print

• Tax and utility adjustments: property taxes and utilities are apportioned to the closing date. Alberta municipalities generally bill property tax annually with a mid-year due date; whether you reimburse the seller or receive a credit depends on where closing falls in that cycle.
• Condo documents: condominium purchases involve an estoppel certificate and document package from the condo corporation; the buyer pays for the package. Budget for it and for your lawyer's review of the corporation's financial health.
• Home inspection and appraisal: inspection is the buyer's pre-closing cost; appraisal if your lender orders one.
• Interim (bridge) financing if your purchase closes before your sale: an Alberta move-up staple, priced as a short-term facility; separate approval, separate paperwork (see our down payment sources guide).

The full stack at two price points

$600,000 purchase, 20% down: registrations about $1,080 (transfer $650, mortgage $430 on a $480,000... precisely $530 by the formula); legal fee plus disbursements and GST; RPR or title insurance; inspection; adjustments. Cash to close beyond the $120,000 down payment: roughly $3,500 to $5,500 depending on quotes and timing.

The same $600,000 at 5% down: registrations rise only slightly (mortgage registration on $570,000 is $620). No premium tax. The stack stays in the same modest band. Compare Ontario's version of this purchase, where the land transfer tax alone is nearly triple Alberta's entire stack.

Alberta closing discipline

1. Run the two registration formulas; they take thirty seconds and replace the transfer-tax line entirely.
2. Confirm RPR and municipal compliance status in the first week, not the last.
3. Get legal quotes all-in (fee, disbursements, GST, registrations stated).
4. Check the property tax calendar before predicting your adjustment.
5. If you are relocating east later, unlearn Alberta. The absence of a transfer tax is the exception in Canada, not the rule; our closing costs hub exists for that day.

Alberta's closing costs are not zero; they are simply honest, small, and itemized. In a country where closing day can carry five-figure tax bills, that is a genuine housing affordability advantage that never appears in the price statistics.

Citations: Government of Alberta, Land Titles and Surveys fee schedule (current: transfer and mortgage registration at $50 plus $5 per $5,000, effective October 20, 2024) (alberta.ca); CMHC premium schedule and provincial sales tax treatment (cmhc-schl.gc.ca). Legal fees and service quotes vary; Alberta Real Estate Association practice on Real Property Reports and municipal compliance.