Welcome Tax Calculator Québec 2026

Three interest-free instalments: a calendar unique to the Capitale-Nationale

A trait of the City of Québec that reshapes cash-flow planning: the welcome-tax notice is payable in three equal instalments without interest, due 30, 90 and 150 days after the City mails the bill, under by-law R.V.Q. 3101. Most Québec municipalities require the duty to be paid in a single instalment, so this staggered schedule is genuinely useful for budgeting the months that follow a closing — provided every date is met, since any late payment then triggers interest and a penalty at the rates set out in the by-law. The estimate produced by the calculator above helps size that cash flow, but the official notice issued by the City's Finance Department is what governs the actual payment.

A snapshot of the Québec City CMA market

According to the APCIQ Québec City April 2026 release, the Québec City CMA posted a median single-family price of $486,000 (up 8% year-over-year), a median condominium price of $342,000 (up 10%) and a median plex price of $565,000 (up 13%). Sales fell 7% in April (1,006 residential transactions) while inventory jumped 21% (2,204 properties listed). Selling times remain the shortest ever recorded in the CMA: 15 days on average for a single-family home, 19 days for a condominium or plex. In practice, the typical single-family transaction in the CMA sits in the middle of the City's tax base brackets, well below the upper municipal step; a plex or a higher-priced detached home in Sainte-Foy–Sillery–Cap-Rouge, on the other hand, can land in the intermediate step the City inserts before its top bracket.

What moves the amount, and how Québec City compares with its neighbours

The taxable base is the highest of the three following amounts: the price actually paid (excluding GST and QST), the consideration stated in the notarial deed, and the market value at transfer — that is, the value entered on the assessment roll multiplied by the comparative factor the City publishes each year (1.08 for 2026, the first year of the 2025-2027 triennial roll). To verify the roll value at a given address, use the Property Assessment Roll lookup or the 2025-2027 assessment rolls page. On the grid side, Lévis, right across the river on the South Shore, runs a steeper schedule: no intermediate step before the upper municipal bracket, so the curve hardens faster above the trigger threshold. Saguenay inserts an intermediate step like Québec City, but pushes it further up the value scale before the final tier kicks in — Québec City's curve climbs earlier at the top of the market. Run the calculator on the same value across the three to see the gap open.

The Accès Famille program for down payments

The City does not refund the welcome tax, but it administers the Accès Famille program, framed by by-law R.V.Q. 2263. The accession credit takes the form of an interest-free, no-instalment loan granted to eligible families to strengthen the down payment. The existing-home stream is running as a 2026 pilot limited to 40 families; all spots were allocated by lottery, but the page is worth bookmarking for upcoming rounds and to confirm eligibility before house-hunting in a borough such as La Cité-Limoilou or Les Rivières. Cross-check the conditions with your mortgage broker and your notary before signing.

Payment, timing and the provincial homeownership credit

The bill is settled through participating financial institutions (online, at a teller or by phone), by post-dated cheques mailed to the City, or in person at a service centre. Credit cards are not accepted, and pre-authorized debit is reserved for the annual municipal tax account, not for the welcome-tax notice. When the deed is not recorded in the Quebec land register by the 90th day after the transfer, the buyer files the City's disclosure form, as required by the Act respecting duties on transfers of immovables (CQLR, c. D-15.1). On the provincial side, the new refundable tax credit for access to homeownership targets purchases completed on or after January 1, 2026, refunding the duty paid up to a cap set by Revenu Québec, with a phase-out that erases the credit once the tax base exceeds the prescribed value threshold — confirm eligibility with your notary before signing.

Useful resources and contacts

Before paying, cross-check your notice against the official Transfer Duties page, which sets out the tax base, the main exemptions and the supplementary duty.

• 311 — Citizen Relations Centre: 311 Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; from outside Québec City and L'Ancienne-Lorette, dial 418-641-6311 long-distance or 1-855-641-6311 toll-free from Canada and the United States. Online requests via the 311 portal.
• Service de l'évaluation: 500 rue du Pont, Québec QC G1K 6N4, Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to noon and from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Property assessment roll: Property Assessment Roll page and the 2025-2027 assessment rolls page for the comparative factor and the notice of assessment.
• Accès Famille program: program landing page for eligibility criteria, the accession credit and the pilot schedule.
• Provincial credit to verify: refundable tax credit for access to homeownership (Revenu Québec) for purchases completed on or after January 1, 2026.

The calculator above provides a working estimate for budgeting; the official notice issued by the City of Québec remains the document of record for final payment, in three instalments or in a single payment depending on the amount billed.