Saskatchewan is quietly one of the best provinces in Canada to buy a home. Regina and Saskatoon offer real affordability, and the province comes with a structural advantage most buyers don’t hear about until closing day — no land transfer tax at all. That means thousands of dollars that buyers in Ontario or BC hand over at closing simply stay in your pocket. This calculator works through the numbers that actually apply in Saskatchewan: your monthly payment, your CMHC insurance, and the one provincial closing-day cost that does exist — a 6% tax on the CMHC premium. Let’s walk through it all.
Estimates only. Rates shown are examples as of June 2026. Always confirm the actual numbers with your lender or mortgage broker before you commit.
Quick facts for Saskatchewan buyers
- Saskatchewan has no land transfer tax — instead, you pay modest ISC (Information Services Corporation) land title registration fees.
- Saskatchewan does charge a 6% provincial sales tax (PST) on your CMHC insurance premium — cash at closing, not financeable. Only Quebec, Ontario, and Saskatchewan levy this surcharge.
- Federal programs — the FHSA, the RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan, and the GST/HST rebate on new builds — all apply in Saskatchewan.
- The Saskatchewan First-Time Homebuyers’ Tax Credit offers up to $1,575 off your provincial income tax (as of January 1, 2025).
- A PST Rebate for New Home Construction of up to 42% of the PST paid is available for newly built homes — not limited to first-time buyers, and made permanent in the 2025–26 budget.
- Closing costs in Saskatchewan are among the lowest in Canada — no land transfer tax makes a significant difference.
How CMHC insurance works in Saskatchewan
If your down payment — the cash you put toward the home up front — is less than 20% of the price, Canadian law requires you to carry mortgage default insurance. This most often comes from the CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation), the federal agency that backs these loans.
One thing worth being clear about up front: this insurance protects your lender, not you. If you stopped making payments, it reimburses the bank — it does nothing to shield your own finances. You pay the cost, but the bank is the beneficiary.
Why does it exist? Because it lets banks lend to buyers with smaller down payments. Without it, you’d need the full 20% saved before a lender would touch your application. The insurance is the trade-off that opens the door sooner.
The cost is the premium — a percentage of your loan amount that depends on how much you put down. According to CMHC, the standard rates are:
- 5% down → premium of 4.00% of the loan
- 10% down → premium of 3.10% of the loan
- 15% down → premium of 2.80% of the loan
The more you put down, the smaller the premium. And the premium itself is financed — added right onto your mortgage — so you don’t pay it in cash. You repay it gradually as part of your monthly payments. Saskatchewan’s 6% tax on that premium, however, is a different story — covered next.
Minimum down payment rules in Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan follows the same federal rules as every other province:
- 5% on the first $500,000 of the price
- 10% on the portion between $500,000 and $1,500,000
- 20% if the home costs $1,500,000 or more (these homes cannot be insured)
For a home priced between $500,000 and $1.5 million, you blend the two tiers. On a $700,000 home, for example: 5% of the first $500,000 is $25,000, plus 10% of the next $200,000 is $20,000 — a minimum down payment of $45,000.
The maximum insured mortgage is $1.5 million, a cap that was raised from $1 million in December 2024. Above $1.5 million, insurance is unavailable and 20% down is required.
Saskatchewan’s 6% tax on the CMHC premium
This is the Saskatchewan-specific cost that surprises first-time buyers most often, so let’s be very clear about it.
Only three provinces charge a tax on the CMHC insurance premium — Quebec, Ontario, and Saskatchewan. While the CMHC premium itself gets rolled into your mortgage, Saskatchewan levies its 6% provincial sales tax (PST) on that premium separately — and this tax cannot be financed. You pay it in cash, at closing. The reason is straightforward: in Saskatchewan, PST applies to insurance contracts, and your mortgage default insurance is one of them. The money goes to the Government of Saskatchewan, not to CMHC.
The math is simple. Take your CMHC premium, multiply by 6%, and that’s your one-time cash payment at closing. On a $9,765 premium (from the example below), that’s $586 — money to set aside in your closing budget on top of your down payment.
It’s worth knowing this 6% applies no matter which insurer backs your loan — whether that’s CMHC, Sagen, or Canada Guaranty. The rate is the same across all three.
Local regulations and closing costs in Saskatchewan
Here is the headline: Saskatchewan has no land transfer tax. In provinces like Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia, a land transfer tax is usually the single largest closing cost — a percentage of the purchase price that can run into the tens of thousands. Saskatchewan buyers skip that entirely, both provincially and municipally.
What you do pay instead is much more modest: a land title registration fee charged by ISC (Information Services Corporation), the provincial registry that records your ownership. The fee structure, as of April 2026, is: no charge on the first $500 of value, $25 on value up to $6,300, then 0.4% of the value above $6,300. On a $350,000 home, that works out to roughly $1,400. There is also a separate mortgage registration fee — approximately $200 for mortgages in a smaller range as of April 2026, though for larger mortgages the fee schedule should be confirmed directly with ISC. ⚠️ These fee amounts can change; always verify the current schedule at the ISC website before closing.
For the full story on why Saskatchewan has no land transfer tax — and what that means for your budget versus other provinces — see our Saskatchewan land transfer tax page.
What does a complete closing budget look like for a $350,000 home in Saskatoon or Regina?
- ISC land title registration fee: approximately $1,400
- ISC mortgage registration fee: approximately $200 (⚠️ verify with ISC for your mortgage amount)
- Legal fees: approximately $1,200
- Title insurance: approximately $300
- Home inspection: approximately $500
- Saskatchewan 6% PST on CMHC premium (at 10% down on $350K): $586 — cash at closing
- Approximate total closing costs beyond the down payment: about $4,200
That total is genuinely low by Canadian standards. On a comparable purchase in Ontario, the land transfer tax alone would be over $4,000 before any rebate. In Saskatchewan, that entire category simply doesn’t exist.
Your options as a Saskatchewan buyer
Federal and provincial programs can make a real difference. Here are the active ones in 2026.
First Home Savings Account (FHSA) The FHSA is a registered account built specifically for first-time buyers. You can contribute up to $8,000 per year and up to $40,000 lifetime. Contributions are tax-deductible (like an RRSP), and qualifying withdrawals toward a home purchase are completely tax-free (like a TFSA). You can also combine the FHSA with the Home Buyers’ Plan. According to Canada.ca, the FHSA opened for contributions in April 2023.
RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) Through the HBP, you can withdraw up to $60,000 per person from your RRSP — $120,000 for a couple buying together — tax-free, to put toward a down payment. You repay the amount into your RRSP over 15 years. It’s not free money, but it is an interest-free loan from yourself, which is hard to beat.
First-Time Home Buyers’ GST/HST Rebate (introduced March 2025) For agreements signed on or after March 20, 2025, eligible first-time buyers of a newly built home can recover the GST paid to the builder — up to $50,000. Full rebate up to $1 million, partial rebate from $1 million to $1.5 million. The definition of “first-time buyer” here uses a 5-year lookback: you qualify if neither you nor your spouse or common-law partner has lived in a home you owned in the current year or the four preceding calendar years. Confirm your eligibility at canada.ca before counting on this rebate.
Saskatchewan First-Time Homebuyers’ Tax Credit — up to $1,575 This is Saskatchewan’s own provincial credit, and it was enhanced as of January 1, 2025. First-time buyers can claim a non-refundable provincial tax credit based on $15,000 of eligible home purchase costs (raised from the previous $10,000 amount). At Saskatchewan’s lowest non-zero tax rate of 10.5%, that works out to a maximum credit of $1,575 off your provincial income tax owed. One plain-language caveat: because it is non-refundable, this credit only reduces provincial tax you actually owe — if your SK tax bill is zero, the credit won’t put money in your pocket. It does stack with the federal First-Time Home Buyers’ Amount. According to the Government of Saskatchewan, the $15,000 eligible amount replaced the former $10,000 limit effective January 1, 2025.
PST Rebate for New Home Construction — up to 42% of PST paid This rebate is available to any buyer of a newly built, previously unoccupied home — it is not limited to first-time buyers. The 2025–26 provincial budget made it permanent (the previous deadline-based structure is gone). The rebate is:
- Full rebate (up to 42%) for new homes priced under $450,000
- Partial rebate for homes priced $450,000–$550,000
- No rebate for homes priced $550,000 or more
Saskatchewan’s PST rate on new home construction is 6%, so on an eligible home the saving can be meaningful. Confirm the current rebate calculation with the Government of Saskatchewan before purchase.
Programs no longer available — clearing up old information You may come across references to the Saskatchewan Graduate Retention Program First Home Plan and the Saskatoon Mortgage Flexibilities Support Program — both of these have been discontinued. There is currently no Saskatchewan provincial down-payment grant program. If something you’ve read suggests otherwise, it’s out of date.
How to use this calculator
It takes about thirty seconds:
- Enter the home price you’re considering.
- Enter your down payment in dollars. The tool checks it against the federal minimum and warns you if it falls short.
- Enter the interest rate your lender quoted (or a rate you want to test).
- Choose your amortization — the number of years to pay the mortgage off, usually 25.
You’ll see your estimated monthly payment, your CMHC premium, the 6% provincial tax you’ll owe in cash at closing, and your total mortgage with the premium included.
One detail worth knowing: this calculator uses the correct Canadian method. Canadian fixed-rate mortgages compound semi-annually (twice a year), not monthly as in the United States. Many calculators built on American assumptions get this wrong and slightly overstate your payment. Ours follows the Canadian convention, so the estimate is realistic.
Example — a $350,000 home in Regina or Saskatoon with 10% down
Let’s walk through a real scenario so you can see every number.
You’re buying a $350,000 home and putting 10% down ($35,000) — comfortably above the minimum for this price. Rate: 4.79%, amortization: 25 years.
The mortgage side:
- Down payment: $35,000
- Loan before insurance: $350,000 − $35,000 = $315,000
- CMHC premium at 10% down (3.10%): $315,000 × 3.10% = $9,765 (financed into the mortgage)
- Saskatchewan 6% PST on the premium: $9,765 × 6% = $586 — paid in cash at closing
- Total mortgage: $315,000 + $9,765 = $324,765
- Estimated monthly payment at 4.79% over 25 years: $1,850
The closing-cost side:
- ISC land title registration fee: approximately $1,400
- ISC mortgage registration fee: approximately $200 (⚠️ verify with ISC)
- Legal fees: approximately $1,200
- Title insurance: approximately $300
- Home inspection: approximately $500
- 6% PST on CMHC premium: $586
- Approximate total closing costs beyond the down payment: about $4,200
Beyond your $35,000 down payment, budget roughly $4,200 for closing costs. And if you qualify for the Saskatchewan First-Time Homebuyers’ Tax Credit, you may recover up to $1,575 on your next provincial tax return.
Frequently asked questions
Does Saskatchewan have a land transfer tax?
No — and that is a genuine advantage. Saskatchewan has no land transfer tax, provincial or municipal. Instead, you pay a much more modest land title registration fee through ISC, plus a separate mortgage registration fee. Together, these typically amount to around $1,600 on a $350,000 purchase — compared to thousands or tens of thousands in land transfer tax in other provinces.
What is the Saskatchewan First-Time Homebuyers’ Tax Credit?
It’s a non-refundable provincial income tax credit introduced by the Government of Saskatchewan. As of January 1, 2025, first-time buyers can claim 10.5% on $15,000 of eligible costs, for a maximum credit of $1,575 against their Saskatchewan provincial tax owing. It stacks with the federal First-Time Home Buyers’ Amount, and eligibility rules are similar — confirm with the Government of Saskatchewan that your purchase qualifies.
What is the 6% Saskatchewan tax on CMHC insurance?
It’s Saskatchewan’s provincial sales tax (PST), which applies to insurance contracts — and mortgage default insurance is one. The PST rate is 6%, applied to your CMHC premium, and collected by the Government of Saskatchewan. Unlike the premium, it cannot be financed — you pay it in cash at closing. The same 6% applies whether CMHC, Sagen, or Canada Guaranty insures your loan.
Can I use my RRSP or FHSA for a down payment?
Yes to both. Through the Home Buyers’ Plan, you can withdraw up to $60,000 from your RRSP tax-free toward a first home ($120,000 for a couple). Through the FHSA, you can accumulate up to $40,000 lifetime in contributions that are tax-deductible going in and tax-free when you use them to buy a home. You can combine both programs to maximize your down payment.
Can I avoid CMHC insurance in Saskatchewan?
Yes — put down 20% or more of the purchase price. At 20% down, mortgage default insurance is not required, which means no CMHC premium and no 6% Saskatchewan PST on a premium. That said, in a market as affordable as Regina or Saskatoon, many buyers choose to enter the market sooner with a smaller down payment rather than wait years to save a larger amount.
Is the PST rebate on new home construction available to everyone?
Yes. Unlike the First-Time Homebuyers’ Tax Credit, the PST Rebate for New Home Construction is available to any buyer of a newly built, previously unoccupied home — not just first-time buyers. It was made permanent in the 2025–26 provincial budget. The full rebate (up to 42% of the PST paid) applies to homes priced under $450,000; it phases out between $450,000 and $550,000; no rebate is available at $550,000 or above.
Sources
- Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) — mortgage loan insurance, premium rates, provinces that tax the premium, and minimum down payment rules.
- Government of Saskatchewan — Provincial Sales Tax — confirms PST is a 6% tax that applies to insurance contracts in Saskatchewan.
- Government of Saskatchewan — First-Time Homebuyers’ Tax Credit — the $15,000 eligible amount (effective January 1, 2025) and the 10.5% credit rate producing a maximum $1,575 credit.
- Government of Saskatchewan — PST Rebate for New Home Construction — full/partial/nil rebate thresholds and the permanent status confirmed in the 2025–26 budget.
- Information Services Corporation (ISC) — land title and mortgage registration fee schedules (Saskatchewan has no land transfer tax).
- Canada.ca — First Home Savings Account (FHSA) — contribution limits, tax treatment, and withdrawal rules.
- Canada.ca — Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) — withdrawal limits, eligibility, and repayment rules.
- Canada.ca — First-Time Home Buyers’ GST/HST Rebate — eligibility, home value thresholds, and how to apply.
This page is for general information, not financial advice. Figures are estimates as of June 2026 and change over time — confirm current numbers with your lender, mortgage broker, or lawyer before you commit.