New Brunswick real property transfer tax in 2026

The tax is set by the provincial Real Property Transfer Tax Act. Section 2(1.03) states that on or after April 1, 2016, every person who tenders a deed for registration "shall pay, before the deed is registered, a tax computed at the rate of 1% of the greater of (a) the consideration for the transfer, or (b) the assessed value of the real property."

There are no brackets and no municipal add-on: one flat 1% applies everywhere in the province, including Moncton, Saint John and Fredericton. The tax "shall be computed to the nearest dollar; fifty cents shall be considered to be one dollar" (s. 2(3)).

Worked example: a $300,000 home with an assessed value of $280,000 is taxed on the higher figure, the price: 1% x $300,000 = $3,000. If the same home sold for $300,000 but was assessed at $320,000, the tax would be $3,200.

Registration is a separate charge. For land under the Land Titles Act, Regulation 83-130 sets an $84 fee per parcel for a Transfer and for a Mortgage, plus an assurance fee of $1 per parcel for each, so registering a transfer and a mortgage on one parcel costs $170.

The Act charges the tax to "every person who tenders a deed for registration in the Province", and it must be paid "before the deed is registered". It does not name the buyer or the seller. The registrar of deeds or land titles collects it, and electronic registrations are paid "by electronic means at the time and in the manner approved by the Minister" (s. 2(1.1)).

If the Minister finds a false statement about the price or assessed value, or there was no assessed value at registration, the Minister may reassess the tax within one year and sends the notice to the grantee (s. 4). Unpaid tax bears interest from the day the deed was registered at "1.5% per month compounded monthly, or 19.56% per year" (Regulation 83-106, s. 2).

The tax is charged on the greater of the consideration for the transfer and the assessed value. The Act defines "assessed value" as the value of the property at the time the deed is registered "as taken or extrapolated from the current real property assessment list by the Executive Director of Assessment under the Assessment Act". Where only part of an interest is transferred, the assessed value is pro-rated by the percentage transferred (s. 2(2)).

If the property was damaged or destroyed so that its assessed value at registration is affected, the person who registered the deed may apply in writing to the Minister for a partial refund (s. 5(3)). See assessment in New Brunswick.

New Brunswick has no first-time buyer exemption or refund. The exemptions in section 6 of the Real Property Transfer Tax Act and section 3 of Regulation 83-106 cover transfers such as those to charities, to the Crown, from estates and between spouses, but none refers to first-time buyers. A first-time buyer therefore pays the same 1% of the greater of the price and the assessed value as any other buyer. Programs in other provinces are compared on first-time buyer relief across Canada.

New Brunswick does not charge an extra transfer tax on buyers who live outside the province or outside Canada; the Act applies the same 1% to everyone. The federal Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act, in force since January 1, 2023, applies with the exceptions in the Act and its regulations. Under section 237 of the Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1, it is repealed on the fourth anniversary of its coming into force, that is January 1, 2027. See non-resident taxes.

Section 6 of the Act lists instruments on which no tax is payable, including:

- an agreement for sale or purchase, or a lease for less than twenty-five years; - a deed of confirmation, rectification or modification, or a transfer to oneself to consolidate; - a transfer from an executor or administrator to beneficiaries under a will or heirs under intestacy; - a change between joint tenancy and tenancy in common; - a transfer to a registered charity, or to the Crown, a Crown agency or a Crown corporation; - a deed given only to secure a debt or loan, or to reconvey that security.

Regulation 83-106 adds transfers to a local government and certain commissions, transfers of marital property between spouses as defined in the Marital Property Act, transfers between an individual and a corporation in which the individual owns at least 95% of the shares, and transfers between a parent body and its wholly owned subsidiaries.

April 1, 2016: the rate rose from 0.5% to 1%. The 0.5% rate still applies where the agreement for sale or purchase was executed before February 3, 2016 (s. 2(1.04)).

2026: Bill 49, An Act Respecting Property Tax Reform, passed third reading on June 10, 2026 and received Royal Assent on June 12, 2026. It is a property tax bill; the Real Property Transfer Tax Act consolidation still sets the 1% rate. Neither the 2nd session (2025-2026) nor the 3rd session (opened October 2026) lists a bill amending the Real Property Transfer Tax Act.

January 1, 2027 (scheduled): repeal of the federal ban on purchases of residential property by non-Canadians.