If you buy your first home in Quebec in 2026, part of the welcome tax now comes back to you. The Quebec government announced a refundable first-time home buyer tax credit in April 2026 that reimburses up to $5,875 of the welcome tax (the droits de mutation immobilière) on a first home. At the same time, the City of Montreal closed its own first-time buyer program. If you were counting on the old municipal refund, the rules have changed, and for some buyers the amount has too.
This guide covers who qualifies, how the credit is calculated, what it is worth at common Montreal price points, and how to get the money in 2026 rather than waiting for your tax return. Every figure comes from Revenu Québec, the Quebec finance ministry or the City of Montreal, and the sources are named where the figures appear.
What changed between spring and fall 2026
Three things happened in a few months, and together they explain why buyers are asking about this now.
- April 17, 2026: the Quebec finance ministry published a technical bulletin announcing the new refundable tax credit for access to home ownership (crédit d'impôt remboursable pour l'accès à la propriété). Revenu Québec published its own summary on April 21.
- July 7, 2026: the City of Montreal stopped accepting applications to its Programme d'appui à l'acquisition résidentielle. The city's page states that the provincial credit now replaces the equivalent municipal help. Files received before July 7 are still processed until the end of 2026.
- Late summer and fall 2026: the finance ministry's bulletin says advance payments of the credit become available from late summer 2026. Revenu Québec handles the requests.
One point on status: the finance bulletin describes the credit as an announced measure. Announced Quebec tax measures are normally administered from the announced date, but the legislation itself follows later. Quebec also votes on October 5, 2026, and at least one party has promised larger support for first-time buyers. Nothing in this article reflects campaign promises. It describes the rules as announced and published as of September 28, 2026.
Who qualifies for the first-time buyer welcome tax credit
According to Revenu Québec and the finance bulletin, you qualify if all of the following are true:
- You acquire a home on or after January 1, 2026, anywhere in Quebec.
- The home becomes your principal residence.
- You are a first-time buyer. Neither you nor your spouse lived in a home that either of you owned during the year of the purchase or the four years before it.
- You are resident in Quebec on December 31 of the year you claim the credit.
Condos qualify. The published documents do not distinguish between new construction and resale. The credit also covers a person with a severe disability who buys a home better suited to their needs, even if they are not a first-time buyer.
The four-year test is the one people get wrong. It looks at where you lived in a home you or your spouse owned. If you owned a rental condo but lived elsewhere as a tenant, read the bulletin carefully or ask your accountant before you rely on the credit in your budget.
How the credit is calculated
The formula has two parts: a base amount and a reduction for higher-priced homes.
The base amount is 100% of the first $5,000 of welcome tax you pay, plus 25% of the next $3,500. The maximum is $5,875, reached when your welcome tax is $8,500 or more.
The reduction starts at a property value of $750,000. The credit falls by 2.35% of the value above $750,000, which brings it to zero at $1,000,000. A $900,000 purchase, for example, loses $3,525 of the maximum.
The credit is based on the welcome tax you actually pay, so the municipality matters. Montreal charges higher rates on the portion of a price above $552,300 than the standard provincial brackets. Westmount and Côte-Saint-Luc set their own upper brackets too. For a Montreal purchase, the 2026 brackets published by the city are 0.5% on the first $62,900, 1% up to $315,000, 1.5% up to $552,300, 2% up to $1,104,700, 2.5% up to $2,136,500, 3.5% up to $3,113,000 and 4% above that.
What the credit is worth at common Montreal prices
The table applies the city's 2026 welcome tax brackets and the credit formula above. The last column is what you still pay out of pocket after the credit.
| Purchase price | Montreal welcome tax | Credit | Net welcome tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| $400,000 | $4,110 | $4,110 | $0 |
| $500,000 | $5,610 | $5,153 | $458 |
| $600,000 | $7,349 | $5,587 | $1,762 |
| $700,000 | $9,349 | $5,875 | $3,474 |
| $750,000 | $10,349 | $5,875 | $4,474 |
| $800,000 | $11,349 | $4,700 | $6,649 |
| $900,000 | $13,349 | $2,350 | $10,999 |
| $1,000,000 | $15,349 | $0 | $15,349 |
Two things stand out. Up to about $459,000 the credit covers the entire welcome tax. And the full $5,875 applies only in a narrow band, roughly $658,000 to $750,000 in Montreal, where your welcome tax is high enough to reach the maximum but the price is still under the reduction threshold.
What this means in the neighbourhoods first-time buyers actually shop
The credit is not an abstraction at Montreal prices. The Centris condo median for the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough is $538,625 over the last four quarters to Q2 2026. At that price the welcome tax is $6,190 and the credit is $5,297, so you pay $892. In Côte-Saint-Luc, the condo median is $557,937. The city's own brackets put the welcome tax at $6,480, the credit at $5,370, and your net cost at $1,110.
Buyers stretching toward a house feel the reduction instead. The CDN–NDG plex median is $936,611, where the credit shrinks to $1,490. The single-family median of $1,247,000 is above the cut-off entirely. If you are weighing a larger condo against a small house in NDG or Verdun, put the credit into the comparison. A $50,000 difference in price above $750,000 changes the credit by $1,175 before you count anything else.
How to get the money in 2026
You have two routes.
- Claim it on your 2026 Quebec tax return, filed in spring 2027. This is the default.
- Request an advance payment during the year. It is available if your credit is more than $1,000 and you are registered for direct deposit with Revenu Québec. The request must be made by December 1 of the year of the purchase.
The practical order: close, receive the municipal welcome tax invoice (it usually arrives within weeks of the notary signing), pay it, then file the advance request through your Revenu Québec online account. Keep the invoice and proof of payment. The credit is calculated on the tax you paid, not on an estimate.
If you are buying in late November or December, check the timing before you count on an advance. The December 1 deadline applies to the request, and your invoice may not have arrived by then.
How it fits with the other first-time buyer programs
The welcome tax credit sits alongside the federal programs, not instead of them. As confirmed on the Canada Revenue Agency's pages in 2026:
- The RRSP Home Buyers' Plan lets you withdraw up to $60,000 per person from your RRSP for a first home.
- The First Home Savings Account allows $8,000 of contributions a year, up to $40,000 over your lifetime. Our FHSA guide for Montreal buyers covers how to combine it with the Home Buyers' Plan.
- The federal first-time home buyers' GST rebate refunds up to $50,000 of GST on a new or substantially renovated home, in full up to $1,000,000 and phased out to zero at $1,500,000.
Quebec's older non-refundable first-home credit (up to $1,400) is a separate measure. Whether a buyer can claim both in the same year had not been confirmed in the official material at the time of writing. Ask your accountant before you count on both.
The costs the credit does not touch
The credit covers the welcome tax only. If you buy with less than 20% down, the other large closing cost is the Quebec tax on your CMHC mortgage insurance premium. The premium itself is added to your mortgage, but the tax on it is due in cash at the notary. Revenu Québec's current rate is 9%, and it has announced that the insurance premium tax rises to 9.975% for premiums paid after December 31, 2026.
On a $600,000 purchase with the minimum down payment of $35,000, the CMHC premium at 4.00% is $22,600 and the tax on it is $2,034 at today's rate. That is more than the net welcome tax on the same home once the credit is applied. Our breakdown of closing costs for first-time buyers in Quebec lists the rest: notary, inspection, and property tax and fee adjustments.
Where I would be careful
- Do not budget the credit as cash at closing. You pay the full welcome tax first and are reimbursed later, by advance or on your return.
- Check the four-year rule for your spouse, not only for you. A spouse who lived in a home they owned in the last four years disqualifies the purchase.
- Price just above $750,000 costs more than it looks. Every $10,000 above that line removes $235 of credit on top of the higher welcome tax.
- Old Montreal program files: if you applied to the city before July 7, 2026, the city says it will process your file until the end of 2026. Do not apply for both on the same purchase without confirming which one applies.
First-time buyer welcome tax credit: FAQ
How much is the Quebec first-time buyer welcome tax credit?
Up to $5,875: 100% of the first $5,000 of welcome tax paid plus 25% of the next $3,500. It is reduced by 2.35% of the property value above $750,000 and reaches zero at $1,000,000.
Does the credit replace Montreal's first-time buyer program?
Yes. The City of Montreal closed its Programme d'appui à l'acquisition résidentielle to new applications on July 7, 2026, and says the provincial credit replaces the equivalent municipal help.
Can I get the money before I file my taxes?
Yes, if the credit is more than $1,000 and you have direct deposit with Revenu Québec. Request the advance by December 1 of the year you buy.
Does it apply to condos and resale homes?
Yes. Condos qualify, and the published rules do not distinguish between new and resale homes. The home must become your principal residence.
What if my spouse owned a home before?
If your spouse lived in a home they owned during the year of purchase or the four years before, the purchase does not qualify as a first-time purchase.
Is the credit the same in every municipality?
The formula is the same, but the welcome tax it is based on is not. Montreal, Westmount and Côte-Saint-Luc each set their own upper brackets, so the same price can produce a different welcome tax and, in some cases, a different credit.
If you are buying your first home in Montreal this year, the buyer page sets out how I work with first-time buyers. For the full sequence from pre-approval to keys, start with how to buy a home for the first time in Quebec.
Sources: Revenu Québec, "Instauration d'un crédit d'impôt remboursable pour l'accès à la propriété" (April 21, 2026); Ministère des Finances du Québec, technical bulletin (April 17, 2026); City of Montreal, Programme d'appui à l'acquisition résidentielle (updated July 7, 2026) and 2026 welcome tax brackets; Côte-Saint-Luc 2026 transfer duty brackets; Canada Revenue Agency, Home Buyers' Plan and FHSA pages; CMHC premium schedule; Revenu Québec, tax on insurance premiums. Market medians: Centris, last four quarters to Q2 2026.
