Does Newfoundland and Labrador have a land transfer tax? Deed registration fees in 2026

There is no percentage-based land transfer tax in Newfoundland and Labrador. When a property is sold, the deed (conveyance) is registered at the provincial Registry of Deeds, and a registration fee is charged under The Registration of Deeds Prescribed Fees, the Schedule of Fees prescribed by the Minister of Government Services and dated May 1, 2007.

Deed or conveyance: "$100.00" when the actual value of the property does not exceed five hundred dollars, and otherwise "$100.00 plus forty cents for each additional one hundred dollars or part of one hundred dollars".

Mortgage: the same scale applies to the amount secured. If the amount secured exceeds the value of the property, the fee is charged on the property value instead. No one pays more than $5,000 to register a mortgage or charge.

Worked example: on a $400,000 home, the value above $500 is $399,500, or 3,995 blocks of $100. The deed fee is $100 + (3,995 x $0.40) = $1,698. A $320,000 mortgage on the same home is 3,195 blocks above $500, so its fee is $100 + $1,278 = $1,378. The province's online fee calculator returned $1,698.00 for $400,000 and $3,698.00 for $900,000 when run on October 28, 2026.

The fee is paid by whoever submits the document for registration; the Schedule does not divide it between buyer and seller. It must be paid up front: the Schedule states that "The Registrar shall not register an instrument unless the proper fee is first paid." Documents can be mailed or delivered to the Registry of Deeds in St. John's, and paper submissions must include a registration application form. The province's calculator page asks for cheques to be made payable to Newfoundland Exchequer.

The deed fee is based on "the actual value of the property passing or affected by the document". The Registry of Deeds page lists an Affidavit of Value among the forms used with registration; in it, the person swearing states that they are familiar with "the land and buildings" described in the deed and gives their value. The mortgage fee is based on the amount secured, or on the property value if the amount secured is higher than that value. Any part of $100 counts as a full $100 block.

Newfoundland and Labrador has no land transfer tax, so there is no provincial first-time buyer refund of the kind offered in Ontario or British Columbia. The Registry of Deeds Schedule of Fees also contains no first-time buyer reduction: first-time buyers pay the same deed and mortgage registration fees as other buyers. For programs elsewhere, see first-time buyer land transfer tax relief across Canada.

Newfoundland and Labrador does not charge an extra fee or tax on non-resident or foreign buyers; the Schedule of Fees applies one scale to every registrant.

The federal Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act, in force since January 1, 2023, applies in the province, with the exceptions set out in the Act and its regulations. The regulations exclude property located outside a census agglomeration or census metropolitan area, as defined in Statistics Canada's Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) 2021. Under the law as consolidated to September 30, 2026, the Act is repealed on January 1, 2027. See non-resident taxes.

The Schedule of Fees has two exemptions: "A fee is not payable on the registration of an instrument registered by or on behalf of the Crown", and no fee is payable for an instrument registered by or on behalf of a non-profit airport authority for property transferred to it under the National Airport Policy.

Other items carry flat fees rather than the value-based scale. A release or transfer of a mortgage is $100.00, a power of attorney is $100.00 and a judgment is $100.00. Filing an affidavit or statutory declaration that accompanies a registered document carries no fee.

The fee schedule linked from the Registry of Deeds page on October 28, 2026 is the one dated May 1, 2007, and the official online calculator gave results matching it on that date.