Welcome Tax Calculator Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier 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 guideAccelerated growth on Quebec City's outer ring is reshaping the move-in budget
The MRC de La Jacques-Cartier ranks among the sectors where the single-family median moved the most in the greater Quebec City area in the first quarter of 2026, according to the Q1 2026 market read-out reported by Radio-Canada. For a buyer settling in Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier, the practical consequence is immediate: negotiated prices slide into the upper brackets of the municipal grid faster than they did two years ago, and the welcome-tax notice that lands after the notary visit takes up a more visible share of the move-in budget than the provincial average suggests.
A snapshot of the Sainte-Catherine market
According to Centris real-estate statistics for Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier, the single-family median came in at $427,500 in the first quarter of 2026, up 2% year-over-year. Across the last four rolling quarters, the single-family median settles at $418,375 (+10%) — a sign that the pressure on detached homes has been steady, not a one-quarter blip. Average days on market drops to 21 in Q1 2026, 64 days shorter than a year ago: inventory clears quickly. Total residential volume rises 2% to $20.1 million for the quarter. Condominium and plex volumes are too thin to publish a reliable median, which puts most local transactions in the detached-home segment — exactly where the welcome-tax grid is most sensitive to the negotiated price.
What moves the amount, and how the grid compares
As elsewhere in Quebec, the welcome tax is computed on the highest of three figures: the price actually paid, the amount listed in the deed, or the uniformized value (the roll value multiplied by the comparative factor the City publishes each year). The assessment roll is kept by the MRC, which mandates Groupe Altus to maintain it; you can search by address or by matricule on the public property data portal (PDI PG Municipal) and cross-check on the MRC's Sigale cadastral matrix. On the rate side, Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier keeps a four-bracket structure with a direct jump to the top municipal bracket as soon as the reference threshold is crossed — the same mechanic Lévis uses on the South Shore of the St. Lawrence. Ville de Québec, by contrast, slips an intermediate step in before its top rate: on the same home that clears the reference threshold by a wide margin, the climb is gentler in Quebec City and steeper on the Catherinois side. Run the same negotiated price through the calculator above to see the gap city by city.
Municipal supports, new-resident onboarding and the taxation by-law
The City does not run a municipal credit aimed at the welcome tax for new owners. The local fiscal frame rests on by-law 1704-2026 (annual taxation and tariffs), which fixes the annual tax bill and the rates for the year; the sector-tax groupings for 2026 are published separately. The welcome-tax piece sits in by-law 1503-2020, which frames the rate applied to the top municipal bracket of the grid. For everything that follows closing — change of mailing address, online registration for the tax account, citizen requests — the City routes residents through the Voilà! citizen portal, which doubles as a notification channel for tax-bill reminders.
Payment, timing and the provincial home-access credit
The annual property-tax bill is mailed at the end of February and payable in three instalments (25 March, 23 June and 22 September 2026), unless the balance is below the City's single-instalment threshold. The welcome-tax notice is mailed separately, after the sale is published at the land register, and remains payable in one instalment — earmark the amount in the budget for the weeks following the transaction. You can settle it through your financial institution (biller «Ville de Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier – Taxes», matricule number as reference), by post-dated cheque made out to «Ville de Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier» with the detachable stub attached, or in person at city hall in cash, by cheque or by Interac debit (credit cards are not accepted). Your notary will confirm at signing 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 Taxes et évaluation foncière page on the City's site and the notice received in the mail.
- City hall: 2, rue Laurier, Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier (Quebec) G3N 1W1, at 418 875-2758.
- Taxation desk: 418 875-2758, ext. 8900, or by email at taxation@villescjc.com.
- Assessment roll: public look-up on the PDI PG Municipal portal; revision requests through the MRC de La Jacques-Cartier.
- Citizen portal: the Voilà! portal lets you register the tax bill online and manage your file after moving in.
- Municipal emergencies outside business hours: 418 875-0911.
The calculator above gives a working estimate for budgeting; the official notice issued by Ville de Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier 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