Welcome Tax Calculator Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu 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 guideFive former municipalities, one welcome-tax grid across the Richelieu
From a row house in Vieux-Iberville on the east bank to a starter bungalow in Saint-Luc out west, or a country lot in the former parish of Saint-Athanase, the same welcome-tax grid covers every street of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. That uniformity dates back to the merger of five former municipalities — Saint-Jean, Saint-Luc, Iberville, L'Acadie and Saint-Athanase — into the current city, and it makes sector-by-sector comparisons straightforward both while shopping and the moment the promise to purchase is signed.
A snapshot of the Johannais market
According to the monthly APCIQ statistics reported by Journal Métro for April 2026, the median single-family price in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu lands at $597,500, up 3% year-over-year, with a 33-day median time on market. The detached segment carries the volume — 85 of 119 monthly sales — followed by condominiums (29 transactions, up month-over-month) and a thin layer of plex (4 sales). Active listings have climbed to 420, up 11% from March, a sign the supply side is starting to catch up with demand still anchored by families and first-time buyers from across the South Shore. Useful read for the welcome-tax notice: the typical detached home clears the threshold where the City steps up to its top municipal bracket — whether the address sits in Saint-Luc, Iberville or the former parish of Saint-Athanase — while a typical condominium stops well below it.
What moves the amount, and how Saint-Jean stacks up
As elsewhere in Quebec, the City computes the duty on the highest of three figures: the price actually paid, the consideration stipulated in the deed (mortgages assumed included), or the fair market value at transfer — that is, the roll value multiplied by the comparative factor the City publishes for the fiscal year. Look up a Saint-Jean property through the online public roll, searchable by address, and read the methodology on the City's Comprendre le rôle d'évaluation page. On the rate side, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu sticks to the standard four-bracket structure, with a direct jump to the top municipal bracket as soon as the reference threshold set by the Act is crossed. Chambly, an immediate neighbour upstream on the same river, runs the very same mechanic: at a given price, the difference comes from the neighbourhood rather than the rate grid. Sainte-Julie instead slips an intermediate step in before its top rate, which softens the climb on higher-end transactions. The calculator above surfaces those gaps city by city.
Saint-Jean programs: L'Acadie heritage, lead-pipe replacement, off-market housing
No municipal subsidy reduces the welcome-tax notice itself, but several levers still matter for the move-in budget. The L'Acadie heritage building revitalization program, phase III supports owners in the historic village core on the west bank for exterior work that respects the built character. The domestic plumbing rehabilitation program covers replacement of lead water-service lines and sanitary sewer connections — still a recurring case in the older streets of Vieux-Saint-Jean and Vieux-Iberville. Outside the urban perimeter, the septic-system upgrade aid remains the relevant track for isolated dwellings in the L'Acadie sector. The Renovation Quebec program is currently paused at the provincial level: the City will resume the waiting list as soon as the Société d'habitation du Québec relaunches funding.
Payment, timing and the provincial home-access credit
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 within thirty days. That contrasts with the annual property tax bill, framed by by-law 2413, which is split across four due dates between February and September. To settle the notice, pay online through your financial institution using the 18-digit reference printed on the payment stub, by cheque made out to Ville de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and mailed to P.O. Box 700, J3B 6Z8, or at the Section revenus counter at 188, rue Jacques-Cartier Nord — cash, debit and cheque accepted, credit cards never processed. The Section revenus also issues a separate notice for buyers exempt from the transfer duty: a supplementary duty («droit supplétif») then applies under the brackets set in the Act respecting duties on transfers of immovables (CQLR, c. D-15.1), with mandatory disclosure by email to revenus@sjsr.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 official Taxes page and the notice received in the mail.
- Section revenus: 188, rue Jacques-Cartier Nord, P.O. Box 1025, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (Quebec) J3B 7B2, at 450 357-2227, Monday through Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. (Wednesday from 10 a.m.) and Friday until noon.
- City hall switchboard: 450 357-2100 for general questions, with the full contact directory here.
- Payment mailing address: P.O. Box 700, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (Quebec) J3B 6Z8, payable to Ville de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, with the stub detached from the notice.
- Assessment roll: look up any Saint-Jean property through the online public roll or read the methodology on the Comprendre le rôle d'évaluation page.
- Disclosures and exemptions: email revenus@sjsr.ca with a copy of the deed for transfers not registered at the land register or where an exemption has ended.
The calculator above gives a working estimate to plan the post-closing budget; the official notice issued by Ville de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu 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