Welcome Tax Calculator Drummondville 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

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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 guide

A notice that settles in three steps

Drummondville stands out from most Quebec municipalities with an uncommon payment schedule for transfer duties: invoices issued on or after January 1, 2026 are payable in three equal instalments due 30, 60 and 90 days after the invoice date, as set out on the City's Calculation of transfer duty (welcome tax) page. The mechanic spreads the new owner's outlay across roughly a full quarter, where most Quebec cities still require a single payment within 30 days of the mailing. The calculator above sets the total to plan for; the City's Finance Department remains the authority for the official invoice.

A rising market with shorter days on market

The Centre-du-Québec market kept up a brisk pace through the year: per the APCIQ 2025 review for the Drummondville CMA, the median single-family price reached $399,000 for 2025 (up 12% on 2024) and plexes climbed to $460,000 (up 21%). In Q4 alone, single-family transactions held a $420,000 median (+13%) and average time on market fell to 46 days. The Centris real-estate statistics for Drummondville point to tight supply, which pushes a rising share of transfers into the upper rungs of the municipal grid.

What moves the amount, and how Drummondville compares

The taxable base is the greater of the price paid, the consideration stated in the notarial deed, or the market value at the time of the transfer (the value carried on the roll multiplied by the comparative factor the City publishes each year). To verify the value carried on the roll for any address, use the Property Assessment Consultation page, searchable by address or matricule. On the rate-grid side, Drummondville carries the standard four-step structure shared by its regional neighbours: Victoriaville, Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières all run a very similar mechanic, with no intermediate step before the top bracket. The contrast shows up east in the Eastern Townships: Magog inserts two intermediate steps before its top bracket, softening the slope at the upper end of the market. In Drummondville the mechanic stays simpler, but the speed of the recent median-price increase means a growing share of transfers now reaches the top bracket.

Local programs worth knowing when you move in

Drummondville does not offer a direct welcome-tax rebate, but several programs target the new owner or recently settled household. The RénoRégion program run by the MRC de Drummond helps low- and modest-income owner-occupants in rural sectors fund major-defect repair work on their principal residence. The central area is the focus of an integrated urban revitalization initiative for the Saint-Joseph neighbourhood — a useful program to know about for buyers settling in that sector. The sectors brought together by the 2004 amalgamation — Saint-Charles, Saint-Nicéphore and Saint-Joachim-de-Courval — keep their own identity and municipal-service footprint, locatable through the interactive map of Drummondville. On the amenities side, registration at the municipal library and the Accès-loisirs leisure card opens cultural and recreational services from move-in.

Payment, timing and the provincial home-access credit

The welcome-tax notice is issued after the sale is published at the Quebec land register. Beyond the three instalments staggered at 30, 60 and 90 days, the standard payment methods apply: online banking using the invoice or matricule number, the counter or ATM at most financial institutions, cheque payable to Ville de Drummondville mailed to 415 Lindsay Street, P.O. Box 398 (J2B 6W3), or in person at City Hall. The desk is open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except holidays; during the summer period, from National Patriots' Day to Labour Day, services are available on Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Interest accrues as soon as an instalment is late. 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 with the official notice and the Calculation of transfer duty – Ville de Drummondville page, which details the current grid and the instalment schedule.

The calculator above gives a working estimate for budgeting; the official notice issued by the Drummondville Finance Department 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.

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