Welcome Tax Calculator Saint-Jean-Baptiste 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 guideSettling in the shadow of Mont Saint-Hilaire, inside the old Rouville seigneurie
Between Mont Saint-Hilaire and Rougemont, the Rivière des Hurons crosses a working agricultural plain anchored by the Vieux-Village, the Rang des Trente, the Rang du Cordon and a string of waterfront roads. That geography — inherited from the Rouville seigneurie granted in 1694 and the parish erected in 1795 — explains why a welcome-tax notice in Saint-Jean-Baptiste reads as much through the value of a heritage core as through that of a country lot or a newer bungalow off Quebec Route 229. The Municipality is celebrating its 225th anniversary this year; the welcome-tax timetable, on the other hand, is the standard Quebec one.
A market snapshot: pressure from a sought-after neighbour
Saint-Jean-Baptiste is one of the smaller municipalities of the MRC La Vallée-du-Richelieu and sits in the direct halo of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, its western neighbour. According to the 2026 market read by broker Mathieu Carrière (RE/MAX Extra), citing Centris data, the median single-family price in Mont-Saint-Hilaire reaches roughly $810,000 in Q4 2025, up 10% year-over-year, in a market where inventory remains tight. Saint-Jean-Baptiste typically prints a notch below — a rural feel, more distance to the commuter train, an agricultural backdrop — yet a typical detached home still clears the threshold where the City steps up to its top municipal bracket. A rang farmhouse to renovate or a condominium (a marginal segment locally) tends to land below it.
What moves the amount, and how the by-law stacks up
As elsewhere in Quebec, the Municipality computes the taxation base on the highest of the three amounts set in the Act respecting duties on transfers of immovables (CQLR, c. D-15.1): the price actually paid, the consideration stipulated in the deed, or the fair market value at transfer (the roll value multiplied by the comparative factor published for the fiscal year). Look up a Rouville-area property through the online assessment roll hosted on the CIBGM portal, searchable by civic address or matricule. On the rate side, Saint-Jean-Baptiste keeps the standard four-bracket structure — with a direct jump to the top municipal bracket as soon as the reference threshold set in the Act is crossed. The mechanic is essentially identical to Mont-Saint-Hilaire and McMasterville: at the same price, the gap comes from the neighbourhood rather than the by-law. By contrast, Otterburn Park slips two intermediate steps in before its top rate, softening the climb on higher-end transactions — a useful detail when shopping across the Richelieu river.
By-laws on the books and family programs
The local regulatory backbone is in two documents: by-law r-971-23 framing the top municipal bracket and its amendment r-1004-26 adopted on March 6, 2026, which adjusts the mechanic above the reference threshold. No municipal subsidy reduces the welcome-tax notice itself, but the Politique familiale municipale 2024-2026 anchors several supports for new residents: the financial aid for cloth diapers and the financial aid for participation in leisure activities both ease the move-in budget. For a property on a private well or septic system — common in the rural sector — the private well water quality page and the municipal building inspector point to the diligence steps to take after the notary visit.
Payment, timing and disclosure of atypical transfers
The welcome-tax notice is mailed between one and three months after the transaction is published at the land register, and it is payable in a single instalment. That contrasts with the annual property tax bill, which is settled in four instalments per the Municipality's payment calendar — 30 days after the bill is mailed, May 1, August 1 and October 1. To settle the notice, pay through your online banking, at the counter at 3041, rue Principale, or by slipping a cheque made out to Municipalité de Saint-Jean-Baptiste through the slot on the lower left of the main door outside business hours. Buyers of a mobile home on leased land, or assignees of an immovable not registered at the land register, must complete the Disclosure of transfers of immovables within 90 days and send it to info@msjb.qc.ca. Your notary will confirm whether you qualify for the provincial home-access tax credit.
Useful resources and contacts
Cross-check your estimate against the Rates and Fees page and the notice received in the mail.
- City hall: 3041, rue Principale, Saint-Jean-Baptiste (Quebec) J0L 2B0, at 450 467-3456, Monday through Thursday 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and Friday 8:30 a.m. to noon; fax 450 467-8813.
- General email: info@msjb.qc.ca for any question about the welcome-tax notice, the disclosure of an atypical transfer, or the end of an exemption.
- Assessment roll: look up any Rouville-area property through the online assessment roll (CIBGM) and the property assessment explainer.
- Payment calendar: dates and methods on the Calendrier des versements page; the full by-law is linked from the Rates and Fees page.
- New residents: the Nouveaux résidents portal groups the post-closing steps (waste collection, water, transit, leisure).
The calculator above gives a working estimate to plan the post-closing budget; the official notice issued by the Municipalité de Saint-Jean-Baptiste 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