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Estimate your mortgage payment, CMHC insurance and registration fees in Newfoundland and Labrador, starting from the St. John’s benchmark of $425,400. The province has no land transfer tax, and its First-time Homebuyers Program offers a down payment loan of up to five percent plus a grant toward legal costs.
Benchmark prices August 2026 · Rules checked October 16, 2026
Mortgage calculator for Newfoundland and Labrador
It opens on the St. John’s benchmark price of $425,400 (August 2026). Pick another N.L. market or type your own price, then set your down payment, rate and amortization. The rate starts at 4.5%, our rounded assumption from Bank of Canada data, not a quote.
$1,883.58monthly mortgage payment
Down payment
$85,080 (20.0%)
CMHC insurance premiumNot needed with 20% or more down
$0
Mortgage amount
$340,320
Cash you need on closing day
Down payment
$85,080
Deed registration fee$100 plus $0.40 per $100 above $500
$1,800
Total cash to close
$86,880
N.L. has no first-time buyer rebate on its registration fees. See the programs below for the help that does apply.
CMHC says closing costs usually run 1.5% to 4% of the price: $6,381 to $17,016 on this home.
Prices: CREA MLS® Home Price Index, composite benchmark, August 2026. Payments use semi-annual compounding, as Canadian fixed-rate mortgages do. CMHC premiums and the minimum down payment follow CMHC’s published rules. Your own estimates stay in your browser.
Newfoundland and Labrador at a glance
CREA MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark for St. John's, August 2026, not seasonally adjusted.
A typical home in the market, not an average sale price.
N.L. has no land transfer tax; this is the fee to register the transfer.
N.L. has no first-time buyer rebate on its registration fees.
See the first-time buyer programs below for the help that does apply.
5.0% of the benchmark price: 5% of the first $500,000 and 10% of the rest.
With 20% down it’s $85,080.
At 4.5% over 25 years, our default rate assumption, with semi-annual compounding.
CMHC lists only Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan as taxing the premium.
FIRST-TIME BUYERS
First-time buyer programs in Newfoundland and Labrador
With no land transfer tax to rebate, Newfoundland and Labrador’s help for first-time buyers goes to the down payment and legal costs, through Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation. Applications are approved first come, first served until the funding runs out, so apply early.
Provincial
First-time Homebuyers Program
Up to $17,500down payment loan, plus up to $1,500 toward legal costs
WHO QUALIFIES First-time buyers pre-approved for a mortgage, with household income under $85,000 for the full loan or up to $95,000 on a sliding scale.
The loan is up to five percent of the price, with maximum prices of $350,000 in the St. John’s area and Labrador, $300,000 in regional centres and $250,000 elsewhere. The largest loans are $17,500, $15,000 and $12,500.
Repayment starts five years after you buy, at an interest rate no higher than prime minus one percent.
The grant pays 50% of legal closing costs, up to $1,500, alongside the loan. Allow 15 business days before closing.
These work the same in every province. Many first-time buyers can use several together: the FHSA and the Home Buyers’ Plan for the down payment, the home buyers’ amount at tax time, and the GST rebates on a newly built home.
Newfoundland and Labrador charges HST, so on a new home the federal rebates cover the federal part of the HST.
Federal
First Home Savings Account (FHSA)
$8,000 a year$40,000 lifetime: deductible going in, tax-free coming out
WHO QUALIFIES Canadian residents aged 18 to 71 who haven’t lived in a home they or their spouse owned in the current year or the previous four calendar years.
Contributions are deductible like RRSP contributions, and a qualifying withdrawal to buy your first home is tax-free and never repaid.
Unused room carries forward up to $8,000, so the most room you can have in one year is $16,000. Room only starts once you open the account.
The account has to close by the end of the year of the 15th anniversary of opening it, the year you turn 71, or the year after your first qualifying withdrawal.
$60,000per person from your RRSP, with no tax withheld
WHO QUALIFIES First-time buyers (the same four-year test) with a written agreement to buy or build a qualifying home in Canada that they’ll live in within a year.
You repay it to your RRSP over up to 15 years. For a first withdrawal between January 1, 2026 and December 31, 2028, repayments start in the fifth year after the withdrawal.
Any year you repay less than the minimum, the shortfall is added to your income.
You can use the HBP and an FHSA withdrawal for the same home, and the home must be bought or built before October 1 of the year after your first withdrawal.
Home buyers’ amount (first-time home buyers’ tax credit)
$10,000claimed on line 31270 as a non-refundable federal credit
WHO QUALIFIES First-time buyers (no home owned and lived in by you or your spouse in the year of purchase or the four years before), and buyers eligible for the disability tax credit.
It lowers the federal tax you owe; there’s no refund if you owe no tax.
Two eligible buyers can split it, but not above the $10,000 total for the home.
You must plan to live in the home within one year of buying it.
Up to $50,000all the GST, or the federal part of the HST, on a new home up to $1 million
WHO QUALIFIES First-time buyers 18 or older, citizens or permanent residents, who haven’t lived in a home they or their spouse owned this year or the previous four, buying or building a new home to live in.
Full rebate at $1 million or less, shrinking to nothing at $1.5 million. CRA’s example: a $1.25 million home gets $25,000.
Bought from a builder: the agreement must be signed on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031, with construction starting before 2031.
It tops up the regular GST/HST new housing rebate, and applies only to newly built or substantially renovated homes.
How registration fees works in Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador has no land transfer tax. The Registry of Deeds charges $100 to register a deed, plus $0.40 for each $100 of value above $500. On the $425,400 St. John’s benchmark that’s $1,799.60.
Registering your mortgage costs a separate fee on the same formula, applied to the amount the mortgage secures, with a $5,000 maximum.
CMHC puts closing costs at 1.5% to 4% of the price. In Newfoundland and Labrador they’re the deed and mortgage registration fees, legal fees, a home inspection, title insurance and adjustments for property tax the seller prepaid.
The province doesn’t charge sales tax on the CMHC premium, so with less than 20% down the whole premium can go on the mortgage. If you qualify for the First-time Homebuyers Program, its grant covers half your legal closing costs, up to $1,500.
On the $425,400 St. John’s benchmark
Cost
Amount
Notes
Registration fees
$1,800
Paid at registration
Mortgage registration fee
Formula
Same $100 plus $0.40 per $100 formula on the amount borrowed
Legal fees and disbursements
Get a quote
Your lawyer also registers the transfer and mortgage
Home inspection
Get a quote
Optional; you can make your offer conditional on one
Title insurance
Get a quote
Optional; often arranged by your lawyer or notary
Property tax and utility adjustments
Varies
Repaying the seller for anything they prepaid past closing
CMHC’s rule of thumb
$6,381 to $17,016
1.5% to 4% of the price for all closing costs together
THE GUIDE
Buying a home in Newfoundland and Labrador: what else to know
Down payment rules in Newfoundland and Labrador
The minimum is 5% of the first $500,000 of the price and 10% of the part above. The St. John’s benchmark is under $500,000, so the minimum there is a flat 5%: $21,270.
With less than 20% down the mortgage must be insured, and the CMHC premium (4.00% of the loan with under 10% down) is added to the mortgage. First-time buyers can choose a 30-year insured amortization through CMHC Home Start.
How the provincial loan fits with the 5% minimum
The First-time Homebuyers Program lends up to five percent of the price, the same as the minimum down payment on homes under $500,000, within the program’s price limit for your region. A variance policy allows homes up to ten per cent above the limit in the St. John’s area, Labrador and regional centres, but the loan stays capped at 5% of the limit and you cover the rest of the down payment.
Incomes between $85,000 and $95,000 get a smaller loan on a sliding scale: in St. John’s and Labrador, the maximum falls from $17,500 to $12,500.
New homes and HST in Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador charges HST, so a new home carries a federal and a provincial part. First-time buyers can get back up to $50,000 of the federal part on a new home up to $1 million through the FTHB rebate.
Each first-time buyer can also withdraw their FHSA tax-free and take up to $60,000 from an RRSP under the Home Buyers’ Plan for the same home.
Mortgage lenders in Newfoundland and Labrador
The big banks lend across Canada, including in N.L.. Listed for convenience, not ranked here. See every lender’s current rates on mortgage rates in Canada.
It starts from the St. John’s benchmark price; type your own price to change it. Set your down payment, rate and a 25 or 30 year amortization. You get the monthly payment, the CMHC premium if you put less than 20% down, the deed registration fee and the cash you need on closing day.
What is the monthly mortgage payment on a typical St. John’s home?
On the St. John’s benchmark of $425,400 (August 2026), with 20% down at 4.5% over 25 years, about $1,884 a month.
Is there a land transfer tax in Newfoundland and Labrador?
No. You pay Registry of Deeds fees to register the deed and the mortgage instead. On the $425,400 benchmark the deed fee is $1,799.60.
How much are registration fees in Newfoundland and Labrador?
$100, plus $0.40 for each $100 of value above $500, to register the deed. The mortgage costs the same formula on the amount it secures, with a $5,000 maximum.
What is the NL First-time Homebuyers Program?
A Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation program: a repayable loan of up to five percent of the price (up to $17,500 in St. John’s and Labrador) plus a grant of half your legal closing costs, up to $1,500. Household income must be under $95,000, and repayment starts after five years.
How much down payment do I need in Newfoundland and Labrador?
5% of the first $500,000 and 10% of the rest, or 20% at $1.5 million or more. On the St. John’s benchmark that’s $21,270.
What closing costs should I budget for in Newfoundland and Labrador?
Deed and mortgage registration fees, legal fees, a home inspection, title insurance and adjustments. CMHC’s rule of thumb is 1.5% to 4% of the price.
What federal programs can first-time buyers in Newfoundland and Labrador use?
The FHSA, up to $60,000 from an RRSP through the Home Buyers’ Plan, the $10,000 home buyers’ amount, up to $50,000 of the federal part of the HST back on a new home and a 30-year insured amortization through CMHC Home Start.
General information, not financial or legal advice. Programs have conditions on residency, past ownership and price; your lawyer or notary and the program will confirm what you qualify for. Rules checked October 16, 2026. See our methodology.
