Welcome Tax Calculator Châteauguay 2026
The exact amount of your transfer duties based on your city's official rate grid, first-time buyer credit included, and city-to-city comparison.
Calculator 2026
Estimate your real estate transfer taxes
2026 First-Time Buyer Tax Credit
Since April 2026, Quebec offers a refundable tax credit covering up to $5,875 of the welcome tax for eligible first-time buyers. The credit reimburses 100% of the tax on the first $5,000, then 25% of the slice up to $8,500. Three conditions apply: you must not have lived in a dwelling owned by you or your spouse during the year of acquisition or the 4 preceding calendar years, the property must be your principal residence, and the dwelling must be eligible. Retroactive to January 1, 2026; advance payment available from October 2026 for credits exceeding $1,000.
→ Read the full welcome tax credit guideThirty days to settle the notice on Châteauguay's South Shore
Ville de Châteauguay requires the welcome tax to be paid in a single instalment within 30 days of the bill being issued — a tight window worth budgeting before signing at the notary's office. Layered on top of that timeline are two local factors: the Châteauguay River that splits the city in two, and the 2025-2026-2027 triennial assessment roll that has just taken effect across the territory. The City's real-estate transfer duty page walks through the mechanics; the calculator above gives the working estimate you'll want for your closing budget.
A market priced just below the top municipal step
According to Centris real-estate statistics for Châteauguay for the first quarter of 2026, the single-family median came in at $516,500, flat year over year, with homes spending an average of 31 days on the market — 10 days less than a year earlier. On a trailing four-quarter basis, the single-family median was $523,875 (+7%) on 458 transactions, while condominiums — still the minority segment locally — settled at $386,537 (+15%). Total residential volume in dollars grew 10% over the trailing year to $297.3 million. The takeaway for a buyer: the typical detached home in Châteauguay still lands well below the top municipal bracket, which materially changes the welcome-tax math compared with several neighbouring cities on the South Shore.
What moves the amount, and how Châteauguay stacks up against nearby cities
The taxable base is the greater of the price paid, the consideration stated in the notarial deed, or the market value (roll value times the comparative factor). You can verify the roll value for any address through the public assessment roll on Châteauguay's citizen portal. On the rate-grid side, Châteauguay shares its design with Mercier, its immediate neighbour in MRC de Roussillon: a clean jump from the intermediate step straight to the top municipal bracket, with no intervening step. The difference lies in the threshold — in Châteauguay the top bracket only kicks in well above the standard provincial threshold, while in Mercier it begins right at that standard level. For the same detached home near the Bassin-de-Châteauguay sector, the D'Youville district or along Lake Saint-Louis, that pushed-back threshold is what opens the gap in your favour. Against Salaberry-de-Valleyfield further west, the read is the same: a parallel curve, but Châteauguay only crosses the top step at a higher value. Run the calculator above on the same property value under all three cities to see the mechanic materialize side by side.
Municipal programs for new residents
Châteauguay does not run a dedicated welcome-tax rebate, but several rebates apply to buyers who settle here. The cloth diaper rebate and the home composter rebate target spending that often coincides with a move-in, especially for young families. The property-tax credit for seniors facing a municipal tax increase offsets part of the bump in the annual tax account, subject to income and occupancy conditions — useful for a retiree taking possession just after a new assessment roll enters into force. None of these programs is automatically applied to the welcome-tax notice: each request goes through its own form once the annual tax account has been received.
Payment, timing and the provincial home-access credit
The welcome-tax notice is mailed after the sale is published at the Quebec land register. Payment of the tax account is done through your financial institution using the 18-digit reference number, through your mortgage creditor where applicable, by cheque mailed with the remittance coupon, by pre-authorized debit using the City's enrolment form, or by dropping a cheque in the after-hours box at the main entrance of City Hall — cash is not accepted. Online consultation of your file goes through MonDossier, which then opens access to the Voilà! platform. If the transaction takes place under private deed (without a notary), the buyer must notify the City within 90 days using the disclosure form for transfers not registered in the land register. Your notary will confirm whether you qualify for the provincial home-access tax credit, governed by the Act respecting duties on transfers of immovables (CQLR, c. D-15.1).
Useful resources and contacts
Before paying, cross-check your estimate against the notice received from the City and the Taxes and assessment page on the municipal site.
- Finance Department — Taxation: 450 698-3020 for any question about the welcome-tax notice or the tax account; email: taxation@ville.chateauguay.qc.ca.
- City Hall: 5 boulevard D'Youville, Châteauguay (J6J 2P8) — Monday to Thursday 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1:15 p.m. to 5 p.m., Friday 8:30 a.m. to noon; an after-hours box at the main entrance accepts cheques.
- Citizen services line: 450 698-3000 for general routing and information.
- Online tax account and citizen file: the MonDossier portal opens access to the Voilà! platform for online consultation.
- Public assessment roll: search by address, account number or cadastral number on the Châteauguay citizen portal.
- Private-deed sales: the disclosure form for transfers not registered in the land register must be filed within 90 days.
The calculator above gives a working estimate for budgeting; the official notice issued by Ville de Châteauguay remains the document of record for final payment.
What is the transfer tax?
Commonly called the "welcome tax", the real estate transfer tax is a mandatory municipal tax collected when a property changes hands in Quebec. It is always paid by the buyer, never the seller, to the municipality where the building is located, in the months following the signing at the notary.
Is the welcome tax paid every year?
No. The transfer duty is paid only once, when the property changes hands. Do not confuse it with municipal and school taxes, which recur every year: the welcome tax is a single bill, sent by the municipality after the sale is registered in the Land Register.
How is the welcome tax calculated?
The calculation is based on the highest amount among the following:
- The purchase price paid for the building;
- The amount of the consideration entered in the deed of sale;
- The market value of the building, meaning the value entered in the municipal assessment roll multiplied by the city's comparative factor.
This amount is then subject to a progressive rate scale that varies by municipality. In 2026, the first bracket (up to $62,900) is taxed at 0.5%, the next ones at 1% and then 1.5%, and several large cities add higher brackets (up to 4% in Montreal).
New construction: the tax base is the price before GST and QST.
Calculation example (2026)
For a property purchased in Montreal at a price of $600,000 (tax base):
- $0 to $62,900 (0.5%) :$314.50
- $62,900 to $315,000 (1%) :$2,521.00
- $315,000 to $552,300 (1.5%) :$3,559.50
- $552,300 to $600,000 (2%) :$954.00
- Total to pay:$7,349.00
Calculated with the official rate grid in force in Montreal. Source: Ville de Montréal
Who is exempt from the welcome tax?
The Act respecting duties on transfers of immovables provides exemptions. The most common cases:
- Transfer between spouses: married, in a civil union, or common-law partners who have lived together for at least 12 months (in case of separation, the transfer must occur within 12 months of the end of the union);
- Transfer in the direct line: between parents and children or grandparents and grandchildren (but not between siblings);
- Tax base under $5,000;
- Transfer to a corporation in which the transferor holds at least 90% of the voting shares.
Even when exempt, the municipality may charge a special duty, generally capped at $200. The exemption must be recorded in the notarized deed: your notary claims it for you.
Not exempt? The 2026 first-time buyer tax credit can still refund up to $5,875 of your tax. See the first-time buyer credit guide
Why is it called the "welcome tax"?
The official name is "duties on transfers of immovables", introduced by a 1976 Quebec law allowing municipalities to collect this duty. The nickname is often attributed to Jean Bienvenue, Minister of Municipal Affairs at the time ("bienvenue" means "welcome" in French), but the expression mostly owes its success to its irony: a "welcome" billed to the new owner. Both terms refer to exactly the same tax.
Calculators for nearby cities
Selected year: 2026