Foreign buyer tax (NRST / FBT)
What a foreign national pays to buy a home in Ontario (the 25% Non-Resident Speculation Tax, province-wide) or in BC's specified areas (the 20% additional property transfer tax) — on top of the regular transfer tax, which this adds in too.
Your scenario
Result
Separately, the federal prohibition stops most non-Canadians from buying residential property in cities until January 1, 2027. Check that first.
Rules checked: September 2026. Sources: Ontario NRST · BC additional PTT · CMHC: federal prohibition
First question: can you buy at all?
The federal Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act bars most people who are not Canadian citizens, permanent residents or registered under the Indian Act from buying residential property, until January 1, 2027 (CMHC). The exceptions are narrow: work-permit holders with at least 183 days of validity left, certain long-standing international students buying under $500,000, refugees and protected persons, diplomats — and any property outside a census metropolitan area or census agglomeration. As of September 2026 the government has not announced whether the ban will be extended, replaced or left to expire; check before you plan a purchase for 2027.
Ontario: Non-Resident Speculation Tax — 25%, province-wide
Since October 25, 2022, the NRST is 25% of the purchase price anywhere in Ontario, charged on top of the regular land transfer tax and, in Toronto, the municipal tax (ontario.ca). It applies to land with one to six single-family residences — houses, condos, and duplexes up to sixplexes — bought by a foreign national, a foreign corporation or a taxable trustee. If even one buyer on title is a foreign entity, the 25% applies to the whole price, not their share.
Exemptions cover provincial nominees, protected persons, and the spouse of a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, nominee or protected person buying together. A rebate is available if the buyer becomes a permanent resident within four years of registration.
British Columbia: additional property transfer tax — 20% in specified areas
BC charges foreign entities an extra 20% of the fair market value of their share of residential property in five specified areas: Metro Vancouver, the Capital Regional District, the Fraser Valley, the Central Okanagan and the Regional District of Nanaimo (gov.bc.ca). Outside those areas a foreign buyer pays the regular property transfer tax only. Confirmed BC Provincial Nominees can be exempt on a home that becomes their principal residence.
Worked example
A foreign national buying an $850,000 condo in Toronto pays the NRST of $212,500, plus Ontario land transfer tax and Toronto's municipal tax of about $13,475 each — close to $239,000 in transfer taxes, all due in cash on closing. The same buyer in Burnaby would pay the 20% BC tax of $170,000 plus $15,000 of regular property transfer tax.
What keeps costing after closing
BC's Speculation and Vacancy Tax charges foreign owners 3% a year for 2026 (4% from 2027) on a home that is not exempt, and Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver tax homes left empty. The federal Underused Housing Tax no longer applies from 2025. See the SVT calculator and the vacant home tax calculator.
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