Two dates converge for Toronto-area owner-managers this April. The graduated Municipal Land Transfer Tax (MLTT) rates on high-value single-family homes, approved by City Council in December 2025, took effect on April 1, 2026 — no longer a future change to plan around, but a live rate schedule that applies to any qualifying closing from that date forward. And the annual personal tax filing and payment deadline for most individuals falls on April 30, 2026. Neither date is new information on its own, but April is when both actually apply rather than sit on a calendar as something to plan for later. Here is what each means now that it is in force.
The MLTT graduated rates, now in effect
Toronto's MLTT applies on top of Ontario's provincial Land Transfer Tax to all property purchases in the city. As of April 1, 2026, single-family residential properties (one or two units) valued above $3,000,000 pay graduated rates on top of the existing schedule, rather than the flat rate that applied to every purchase before this change:
| Value of consideration | MLTT rate |
|---|---|
| Up to $55,000 | 0.5% |
| $55,000.01–$250,000 | 1.0% |
| $250,000.01–$400,000 | 1.5% |
| $400,000.01–$2,000,000 | 2.0% |
| $2,000,000.01–$3,000,000 | 2.5% |
| $3,000,000.01–$4,000,000 | 4.40% |
| $4,000,000.01–$5,000,000 | 5.45% |
| $5,000,000.01–$10,000,000 | 6.50% |
| $10,000,000.01–$20,000,000 | 7.55% |
| Over $20,000,000 | 8.60% |
Source: City of Toronto — Municipal Land Transfer Tax & Municipal Non-Resident Speculation Tax: Rates & Fees.
The graduated brackets apply only to single-family residential property with one or two units — condos in larger buildings and multi-unit residential beyond a duplex continue on the existing flat schedule, topping out at 2.0% above $400,000. Rates on property valued at $3,000,000 or below are unchanged.
What "now in effect" actually changes for a closing this month
Before April 1, this was a rate schedule to plan around; from April 1 on, it is simply the rate that applies. The practical consequence is that the effective date is no longer a variable in a purchase or sale above $3 million — it is fixed. Anyone with an accepted offer closing in April should confirm with their real estate lawyer that the land transfer tax figures in the closing statement already use the graduated rates rather than the pre-April flat schedule, since a statement built from a template used before April 1 can miss the update.
For an owner-manager weighing whether a high-value purchase or sale should be held personally or structured through a corporation for other reasons, the MLTT calculation itself does not change based on how the buyer is organized — it applies to the property transaction regardless. Where a corporate structure is relevant is in the broader tax picture around the purchase, which is a conversation worth having with an accountant before closing rather than after, alongside a review of Ontario corporate tax considerations if the property has any business use.
The April 30 personal tax deadline, briefly
Separately, and on its usual schedule, the deadline to file a 2025 T1 personal income tax return and pay any balance owing is April 30, 2026, for the great majority of individual taxpayers — including any self-employed individual's payment (though not necessarily their filing, which has a later deadline).
Source: Government of Canada — Important dates for individuals.
For a Toronto owner-manager who closed on a high-value home purchase or sale earlier this year, the two dates intersect in one practical way: any land transfer tax paid is not itself a deduction on a personal T1, but the cash outlay around a closing this size is worth factoring into instalment planning for the rest of the year if it affects how much is available for a 2025 balance owing or 2026 instalments. If your household return also includes salary or dividend income from a corporation, see our guide to incorporating a business in Ontario for how compensation structure and personal filing interact, and our corporate tax calculator to sanity-check the corporate side before the year progresses further.
What Toronto-area owners should do this month
- If you're closing on a single-family home above $3 million this month: confirm the closing statement uses the graduated rates in force since April 1, not a pre-April flat-rate template.
- If you're mid-negotiation on a high-value purchase: the graduated rates now apply regardless of when the offer was made — only the closing date matters for which schedule applies.
- If you haven't filed your 2025 T1 yet: confirm whether your household includes any self-employment income, which shifts the filing deadline but not the April 30 payment deadline.
- If a large land transfer tax payment this year affects your cash position: revisit your remaining 2026 corporate instalments rather than assuming this year's plan still holds.
- If you're unsure whether a property purchase should touch your corporation at all: raise it before closing, not after — the MLTT calculation is the same either way, but the surrounding tax and liability considerations are not.
Key takeaways
- Toronto's graduated MLTT rates on single-family homes over $3,000,000, reaching 8.60% above $20 million, took effect April 1, 2026 and now apply to every qualifying closing.
- Rates at or below $3,000,000 are unchanged, and the graduated brackets apply only to one- or two-unit single-family residential property, not condos or multi-unit buildings.
- Confirm any April closing statement above $3 million reflects the new graduated schedule rather than a pre-April template.
- The 2025 T1 filing and payment deadline is April 30, 2026 for most individuals, with the payment deadline applying even where the filing deadline is later.
- A large MLTT outlay this month is worth reflecting in your remaining 2026 corporate instalment planning, not treated as a one-off separate from the rest of the year.
If you're closing on a high-value Toronto property this month or want your 2026 instalment plan revisited after a large personal outlay, RN Canada works with Toronto-area owner-managers remotely from our Edmonton and Vancouver offices on exactly this kind of personal-and-corporate tax coordination.