Buying your first home in Quebec? Take a breath — the math is simpler than it looks once someone walks you through it. This calculator estimates your monthly mortgage payment using the rules that actually apply in Quebec, including the part most online calculators miss: a special 9% tax on your CMHC insurance premium that you pay in cash on closing day. Keep reading and we’ll walk through every number, from your monthly payment all the way to closing day.
Estimates only. Rates shown are examples as of July 2026. Always confirm the actual numbers with your lender or mortgage broker before you commit.
Quick facts for Quebec buyers
- Quebec charges a 9% tax on your CMHC insurance premium — you pay this in cash at the notary’s office; it cannot be added to your mortgage. This rate rises to 9.975% on January 1, 2027.
- The welcome tax (taxe de bienvenue / droits de mutation) is most buyers’ largest closing cost. On a $500,000 Montréal home it’s about $5,611.
- A new first-time buyer rebate (2026) reimburses up to $5,875 of the welcome tax — on our example, that’s about $5,153 back, leaving a net welcome tax of roughly $458.
- Federal programs — the FHSA ($40,000 lifetime) and the RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan ($60,000 per person) — can make a real dent in your down payment.
- The City of Montréal’s Home Purchase Assistance Program ended on July 7, 2026 and no longer accepts new applications — a refundable provincial tax credit for home ownership (see below) has taken its place.
How CMHC insurance works in Quebec
If your down payment is under 20%, Canadian rules require mortgage default insurance, most often through CMHC (called SCHL in French). It protects your lender, not you — if you ever stopped paying, the bank gets reimbursed, not your own finances. The premium is financed into your mortgage rather than paid in cash, and it shrinks the more you put down. Quebec also charges its own 9% tax on top of the premium — more on that below. See the exact tiers on our CMHC insurance calculator.
Minimum down payment rules in Quebec
Quebec follows the same federal minimum down payment tiers as every province: 5% up to $500,000, then a blended rate up to 20% on homes priced at $1.5 million or more — the insured-mortgage ceiling, raised from $1 million in December 2024. Above that price, insurance isn’t available and the full 20% is required. Our CMHC insurance calculator walks through the exact blended math for any price.
Quebec’s 9% tax on the CMHC premium — what you pay at closing
This is the Quebec-specific twist, and it’s the cost first-time buyers are most often surprised by.
While the CMHC premium gets rolled into your mortgage, Quebec charges a 9% tax on that premium — and this tax cannot be financed. You pay it in cash, at closing, at the notary’s office (chez le notaire). Its formal name is the taxe sur les primes d’assurance, but you can just think of it as the 9% Quebec tax on your CMHC premium.
A quick reassurance: this is not the QST (the 9.975% Quebec Sales Tax you see on everyday purchases). It’s a separate, smaller levy collected by Revenu Québec that applies specifically to insurance premiums.
The math is straightforward. Take your CMHC premium, multiply by 9%, and that’s your one-time tax. On a $13,950 premium, for example, that’s about $1,256 — money you’ll want set aside in your closing budget, on top of your down payment.
One date to keep in mind: as of July 2026 the rate is 9%, but under Quebec’s 2025 budget it rises to 9.975% on January 1, 2027. If you close after that date, expect this cost to be a little higher. We’ll update the calculator when the change takes effect.
Quebec closing costs (2026)
After your down payment, the biggest number on a Quebec buyer’s closing statement is usually the welcome tax — formally the droits de mutation immobilière (property transfer duties). Every property sale in Quebec triggers this tax, and you pay it in cash through your notary; it cannot be rolled into your mortgage.
The welcome tax is calculated on marginal brackets, much like income tax. According to the Gouvernement du Québec and the Ville de Montréal, the standard provincial brackets are 0.5% on the first $62,900, 1% on the next slice up to $315,000, and 1.5% on the remainder. In Montréal, higher municipal brackets kick in above approximately $552,300, climbing to 2.5%, 3.5%, and 4% — so Montréal welcome taxes rise steeply on higher-priced properties.
On a $500,000 Montréal home, the welcome tax is about $5,611 (verified against our calculator). To see your exact number, use our Quebec welcome tax calculator.
What does a complete closing budget look like for a Quebec first-time buyer on a $500,000 home?
- Welcome tax: approx. $5,611 — less the first-time rebate (see below)
- Quebec 9% premium tax (on $13,950 premium): $1,256
- Notary fees: roughly $1,500–$2,000
- Title insurance: roughly $300
- Home inspection: roughly $500
- Approximate net welcome tax after first-time rebate: ~$458
- Approximate total closing costs beyond the down payment: ~$4,014
Your notary will provide an exact closing-cost statement before you sign.
Your options as a Quebec buyer
Several programs — federal and provincial — can significantly reduce your upfront costs.
First Home Savings Account (FHSA) The FHSA is a registered account designed 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 combine the FHSA with the Home Buyers’ Plan below. According to Canada.ca, the FHSA opened for contributions in April 2023.
RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) With the HBP, you can withdraw up to $60,000 per person from your RRSP — $120,000 for a couple buying together — tax-free, toward a down payment. You repay it back into your RRSP over 15 years. It’s an interest-free loan from yourself, which is hard to beat.
First-Time Home Buyers’ GST/HST Rebate (introduced March 2025) For agreements of purchase and sale signed on or after March 20, 2025, eligible first-time buyers of a newly built home can recover the GST (or the federal part of the HST) paid to the builder — up to $50,000. The full rebate applies to homes valued up to $1 million; a partial rebate applies from $1 million to $1.5 million. Eligibility uses a 5-year lookback rule, not a “never owned” standard. Confirm at canada.ca, as this program is recent and details may be updated.
NEW — Quebec welcome-tax rebate for first-time buyers — up to $5,875 This is the big one for Quebec first-time buyers. Announced by Revenu Québec and retroactive to January 1, 2026, the rebate reimburses 100% of the first $5,000 of welcome tax paid, plus 25% of the next $3,500 — for a maximum rebate of $5,875.
On a $500,000 Montréal purchase (welcome tax $5,611), the rebate works out to roughly $5,153, leaving a net welcome tax of only about $458 — a dramatic difference.
A few important details:
- “First-time buyer” here means you did not own a principal residence in Quebec in the year of purchase or the four preceding years (a 5-year lookback, not “never owned”).
- The rebate phases out starting at a base home price of $750,000 and disappears entirely at $1,000,000.
- The advance-payment system (where you receive the rebate before or at closing) is expected to launch in fall 2026. If you close before then, you claim the rebate on your Quebec income tax return and receive it later. Confirm the current timing with Revenu Québec.
Quebec provincial first-home tax credit — up to $1,400 Quebec’s provincial tax credit for first-time homebuyers can reduce your income tax by up to $1,400. Note that it’s a non-refundable credit — it only helps if you owe Quebec income tax that year. It stacks with the federal First-Time Home Buyers’ Amount.
City of Montréal — Home Purchase Assistance Program (ended July 7, 2026) According to the Ville de Montréal, this municipal grant program stopped accepting new applications on July 7, 2026, without exception. It has been replaced by a refundable provincial tax credit for home ownership, in place since April 2026 — this is the same Quebec welcome-tax rebate described above, not a separate program. If you’re buying in Montréal, don’t budget for the old municipal grant; the current first-time-buyer help flows through the province.
How to use this calculator
It takes about thirty seconds:
- Enter the home price — the purchase price you’re considering.
- Enter your down payment in dollars. The tool checks it against the Quebec 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 9% Quebec 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 like in the United States. Many American-built calculators get this wrong and slightly overstate your payment. Ours follows the Canadian convention, so the estimate is realistic.
Example — a $500,000 Quebec home with 10% down
Let’s walk through a real scenario so you can see how the pieces fit together.
You’re buying a $500,000 home and putting 10% down ($50,000), with a 4.79% rate over a 25-year amortization.
The mortgage side:
- Loan before insurance: $500,000 − $50,000 = $450,000
- CMHC premium at 10% down (3.10%): $450,000 × 3.10% = $13,950 (financed into your mortgage)
- Quebec’s 9% tax on the premium: $13,950 × 9% = $1,256 — paid in cash at closing
- Total mortgage: $450,000 + $13,950 = $463,950
- Estimated monthly payment at 4.79% over 25 years: $2,643
Another way to save: accelerated biweekly payments
Beyond the welcome tax and the premium tax above, there’s a completely separate way to save real money over time: accelerated biweekly payments. Instead of one payment a month, you pay exactly half of it every two weeks. A year has 52 weeks, so that’s 26 payments — the equivalent of 13 monthly payments instead of 12. On the $2,643 monthly payment from the example above, that adds up to roughly one extra $2,643 going toward your principal every year, at the same rate you locked in. Over the full amortization, that one extra payment a year can shorten your mortgage and meaningfully cut the total interest you pay. Ask your lender whether it’s available.
The closing-cost side (Montréal first-time buyer):
- Welcome tax on $500,000: approx. $5,611
- Less first-time buyer rebate: approx. −$5,153
- Net welcome tax: approx. $458
- Quebec 9% premium tax: $1,256
- Notary fees: roughly $1,800
- Title insurance: roughly $300
- Home inspection: roughly $500
- Approximate total closing costs beyond the $50,000 down payment: ~$4,314
The new rebate dramatically changes the picture for Quebec first-time buyers. Without it, the welcome tax alone would be $5,611 — with it, you pay only about $458.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the welcome tax in Montréal on a $500,000 home?
About $5,611 on a $500,000 purchase. Montréal uses higher marginal brackets than the rest of Quebec above approximately $552,300, so the welcome tax climbs steeply on pricier properties. Use our Quebec welcome tax calculator for your exact number.
Do first-time buyers get the welcome tax back in Quebec?
Yes — a new rebate (retroactive to January 1, 2026) reimburses up to $5,875. On a $500,000 purchase the rebate covers about $5,153 of the $5,611 welcome tax, leaving roughly $458 out of pocket. The advance-payment system launches in fall 2026; until then you claim it on your tax return.
What exactly is the 9% Quebec tax on CMHC insurance?
It’s an insurance-premium tax collected by Revenu Québec, charged at 9% on your CMHC premium. Unlike the premium itself, it can’t be financed — you pay it in cash at closing, at the notary’s office. It is not the QST. Note that it rises to 9.975% on January 1, 2027 under Quebec’s 2025 budget.
Can I use my RRSP or FHSA for a down payment?
Yes. The RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan lets you withdraw up to $60,000 tax-free (repaid over 15 years). The FHSA lets you save up to $40,000 lifetime with tax-deductible contributions and tax-free withdrawals for a qualifying home purchase. You can use both together.
What’s the maximum insured mortgage in Quebec?
$1.5 million. This cap was raised from $1 million in December 2024. If the home costs $1.5 million or more, mortgage insurance isn’t available and you’ll need a down payment of at least 20%.
Sources
- Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) — mortgage loan insurance, premium rates, and minimum down payment rules.
- Revenu Québec — Tax on insurance premiums — the 9% provincial tax on CMHC premiums and the 2027 rate increase.
- Revenu Québec — Welcome-tax rebate for first-time buyers — rebate calculation, phase-out thresholds, and timing of the advance-payment system.
- Ville de Montréal — Welcome tax brackets — municipal brackets above $552,300.
- Ville de Montréal — Home Purchase Assistance Program — program status: closed to new applications since July 7, 2026, replaced by the refundable provincial tax credit for home ownership.
- 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 criteria, home value thresholds, and how to apply.
This page is for general information, not financial advice. Figures are estimates as of July 2026 and change over time — confirm the current numbers with your lender, mortgage broker, or notary before you commit.