Does Nunavut have a land transfer tax? Land Titles fees in 2026

Nunavut has no land transfer tax. The cost of registering a change of ownership is a fee set in the Schedule to the Land Titles Tariff of Fees Regulations, R-062-93, made under the Land Titles Act.

Transfer fee (Schedule item 1): for transfers, transmissions, vesting orders and Crown grants of land for which a certificate of title has been issued, the fee is "$1.50 for each $1000 of value with a minimum fee of $60" where the value of the land is $1,000,000 or less. Where the value is greater than $1,000,000, it is "$1.50 for each $1000 of value up to $1,000,000 of value and $1 for each $1000 of value after that".

Mortgage fee (item 2): "$1 for each $1000 of the principal amount secured with a minimum fee of $40".

Leases (item 4): leases and transfers of leases cost $20 for each year or part of a year of the unexpired term, with a minimum fee of $60 and a maximum of $400. This item, not item 1, covers a transfer of a lease.

Worked example: a $450,000 home with a certificate of title is 450 blocks of $1,000, so the transfer fee is 450 x $1.50 = $675. A $360,000 mortgage adds 360 x $1 = $360. A $1,200,000 property pays $1,500 on the first $1,000,000 plus $200 on the remaining $200,000, or $1,700.

The fees are paid to the Registrar of Land Titles. Section 1 of the Tariff of Fees Regulations describes them as the prescribed fees "for the performance by the Registrar of a duty or for the filing or registration of instruments and caveats" under subsection 156(1) of the Land Titles Act. A transfer and a mortgage are separate registrations, each with its own fee. The Regulations set only the amounts; they do not say whether the buyer or the seller pays.

The transfer fee in Schedule item 1 is based on "the value of the land" being transferred. Values up to $1,000,000 are charged at $1.50 per $1,000, and any value above $1,000,000 at $1 per $1,000. The mortgage fee in item 2 is based on the principal amount secured by the mortgage, not on the value of the land. A lease or transfer of a lease is charged by the number of years left on the lease, not by value.

Nunavut has no land transfer tax, so there is no territorial first-time buyer refund of the kind offered in Ontario or British Columbia. The Land Titles Tariff of Fees Regulations contain no first-time buyer reduction: first-time buyers pay the same transfer and mortgage fees as other buyers. For programs elsewhere, see first-time buyer land transfer tax relief across Canada.

Nunavut does not charge an extra fee or tax on non-resident or foreign buyers; the Tariff of Fees Regulations apply the same amounts to every registration.

The federal Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act, in force since January 1, 2023, applies across Canada, 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 sets no fee ("Nil") for Crown grants for land for which no title has ever been issued, for applications to issue title to Her Majesty or the Commissioner under section 58 of the Land Titles Act, for plans prepared and filed under the Canada Lands Surveys Act or another Act of Parliament, and for a duplicate certificate of title.

Section 3 of the Regulations reduces the fee to 10% of the normal amount for a notification submitted to the Registrar by the Government of Nunavut in fulfilment of its obligations under the Nunavut Agreement, and for documents submitted with it for the same land. That reduction applies to those government filings, not to private purchases.

September 26, 2022: R-033-2022 replaced Schedule items 13 to 21, the document and copy services (for example, a certified copy of a certificate of title, delivered by email or on paper, is now $7). It did not change the transfer or mortgage fees.

June 29, 2021: R-031-2021, the Legislation Act Consequential Amendments Regulations, amended the wording of paragraph 3(1)(a) of the Tariff of Fees Regulations. No fee amount changed.

The official listing for the Regulations notes that the 2015 consolidation is not up to date and points to these two amendments, R-031-2021, s.3(6) and R-033-2022.