Welcome Tax Calculator Saint-Colomban 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 guideA market where detached homes carry the welcome-tax conversation
On this stretch of the Laurentian foothills, condominiums and plexes stay too thin in volume to publish a reliable median, and the quarterly statistics confirm it: the welcome-tax conversation in Saint-Colomban runs almost entirely through the detached home. That is the city's distinctive feature — a forested territory dotted with the artificial lakes left by the 1960s cottage wave, where the residential pyramid leans heavily toward the bungalow, the family cottage and the country home converted into a primary residence.
A snapshot of the Saint-Colomban market
According to Centris real-estate statistics for Saint-Colomban for the first quarter of 2026, the single-family median came in at $635,000, up 8% year-over-year, with an average of 38 days on market — six days shorter than a year ago. Across the last four quarters, the single-family median settles at $615,000 (+7%), and total residential sales are up 20% in number of transactions and 26% in dollar volume in the first quarter. The condominium and plex categories show too few transactions to produce a reliable statistic — a strong signal that the typical Colombanois transaction is a detached home, and that the typical home clears the threshold where the municipal grid steps up to its top rate.
What moves the amount, and how Saint-Colomban stacks up
As elsewhere in Quebec, the taxable base is the highest of three figures: the price actually paid, the amount listed in the deed, or the uniformized value — the value on the assessment roll multiplied by the comparative factor the ministère des Affaires municipales et de l'Habitation publishes each year. You can look up that roll value through the Acceo public assessment roll for Saint-Colomban. On the rate side, the City keeps a clean four-bracket structure with no intermediate step: once the reference threshold is crossed, the buyer jumps straight to the top municipal bracket. Mirabel, the immediate neighbour to the south, plays the same way, which makes side-by-side comparisons very straightforward at any given negotiated price. Morin-Heights, further north in the Laurentides, slips an intermediate step in before its highest rate, which softens the climb on higher-end homes. Run the calculator above on the same negotiated price to see the gap city by city.
Municipal helps for the post-move budget
Saint-Colomban does not run a generic welcome-tax credit for new owners, but the City keeps a few financial-aid programs that can lighten the first bills for young families settling in. The cloth-diaper rebate refunds part of the purchase cost for any child under the age of one, and the «produits d'hygiène personnelle durables» program runs on the same principle for reusable hygiene products bought from a Quebec retailer. On the planning side, the city's Climate Change Action Plan frames building and site-layout choices worth knowing before renovations that could shift the roll value. None of these supports changes the welcome-tax notice itself, but they do move a few lines of the broader move-in budget.
Payment, timing and the provincial home-access credit
The welcome-tax notice is due in a single instalment within 30 days of being mailed by the City — a tight window that bears some planning, unlike the annual property-tax bill, which is split across four instalments from March to September. To settle the notice, pay through your financial institution using the matricule as the account number (zeros included), at your bank's teller or ATM, by cheque made out to Ville de Saint-Colomban, or in person at the city hall reception in cash, by Interac debit or by cheque during business hours. Electronic tax-bill delivery can also be activated through the Citizen Portal to keep the history online after move-in. Your notary will confirm whether you qualify for the provincial home-access tax credit, framed 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 official Taxes, mutation et évaluation foncière page and the notice you receive in the mail.
- City hall: 330, montée de l'Église, Saint-Colomban (Quebec) J5K 1A1, open Monday to Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and Friday from 8 a.m. to noon.
- Switchboard: 450 436-1453 for tax collection, the assessment roll and welcome-tax questions.
- Public assessment roll: Acceo immonet for quick lookups by address or roll number.
- Professional assessment roll: PGMunicipal for notaries, brokers and appraisers.
- Citizen Portal: the online portal lets you turn on electronic tax-bill delivery and manage your file once you have moved in.
The calculator above gives a working estimate for budgeting; the official notice issued by Ville de Saint-Colomban 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