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Estimate your mortgage payment, CMHC insurance and deed transfer tax in Nova Scotia, starting from the Halifax-Dartmouth benchmark of $563,800. Then see the province’s two first-time buyer programs, an interest-free 5% down payment loan and a credit union mortgage with two to four per cent down, plus the federal programs.
Benchmark prices August 2026 · Rules checked October 16, 2026
Mortgage calculator for Nova Scotia
It opens on the Halifax-Dartmouth benchmark price of $563,800 (August 2026). Pick another Nova Scotia 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.
$2,496.38monthly mortgage payment
Down payment
$112,760 (20.0%)
CMHC insurance premiumNot needed with 20% or more down
$0
Mortgage amount
$451,040
Cash you need on closing day
Down payment
$112,760
Municipal deed transfer tax1.5% of the sale price
$8,457
Total cash to close
$121,217
Nova Scotia has no first-time buyer rebate on its deed transfer tax. See the programs below for the help that does apply.
CMHC says closing costs usually run 1.5% to 4% of the price: $8,457 to $22,552 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.
Nova Scotia at a glance
CREA MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark for Halifax-Dartmouth, August 2026, not seasonally adjusted.
A typical home in the market, not an average sale price.
Before any first-time buyer relief.
At Halifax’s 1.5% municipal rate.
Nova Scotia has no first-time buyer rebate on its deed transfer tax.
See the first-time buyer programs below for the help that does apply.
5.6% of the benchmark price: 5% of the first $500,000 and 10% of the rest.
With 20% down it’s $112,760.
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 Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia doesn’t rebate deed transfer tax for first-time buyers; it helps with the down payment instead. The province lends 5% of the price interest-free, or, through participating credit unions, guarantees a mortgage with as little as two per cent down and no mortgage insurance.
Provincial
Down Payment Assistance Program
5% of the priceinterest-free loan, repaid over 10 years
WHO QUALIFIES First-time buyers pre-approved for an insured mortgage, with household income under $145,000, a credit rating of 650 or more, and Canadian citizenship or permanent residence while living full-time in Nova Scotia.
Price limits: $570,000 in Halifax Regional Municipality and East Hants, $375,000 in West Hants, the Annapolis Valley and the South Shore, and $300,000 in Yarmouth County and the Northern and Eastern regions.
The loan is for the down payment only; you still need cash for closing costs.
Apply at least 3 weeks before the financing deadline in your agreement of purchase and sale.
2 to 4% downa credit union mortgage with a government guarantee instead of mortgage insurance
WHO QUALIFIES First-time buyers with household income under $200,000, a credit rating of 630 or more, citizenship or permanent residence and full-time residence in Nova Scotia, who can pass a stress test but can’t afford a 5% down payment.
Price limits: $570,000 in Halifax Regional Municipality and East Hants, $500,000 elsewhere in the province.
There’s no CMHC premium: the government’s guarantee takes its place at no cost to you.
Apply through a participating credit union; there’s no separate government application.
Federal programs for first-time buyers in Nova Scotia
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.
Nova Scotia 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.
Nova Scotia has no provincial land transfer tax. Each municipality sets its own deed transfer tax on the sale price, and the province’s July 2026 list runs from 1% to 1.5%. Halifax Regional Municipality and Cape Breton Regional Municipality charge 1.5%, and every unit in Pictou County charges 1%. At Halifax’s rate, the $563,800 Halifax-Dartmouth benchmark pays $8,457.
Municipalities can change their rates without telling Service Nova Scotia, so confirm yours. Every buyer files a Deed Transfer Affidavit of Value. The table below lists every municipality’s rate.
Deed transfer tax by municipality (Service Nova Scotia list, July 2026)
CMHC puts closing costs at 1.5% to 4% of the price. In Nova Scotia they’re the deed transfer tax, legal fees, a home inspection, title insurance and adjustments for property tax the seller prepaid. Nova Scotia doesn’t charge sales tax on the CMHC premium.
The Down Payment Assistance Program can’t be used for closing costs, so even with the province’s loan you need those in cash.
On the $563,800 Halifax-Dartmouth benchmark
Cost
Amount
Notes
Deed transfer tax
$8,457
Paid at registration
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
$8,457 to $22,552
1.5% to 4% of the price for all closing costs together
THE GUIDE
Buying a home in Nova Scotia: what else to know
Nova Scotia’s non-resident deed transfer tax
Buyers who don’t live in Nova Scotia pay a provincial non-resident deed transfer tax of 10 per cent of the sale price or assessed value, whichever is higher, on residential property with three units or less. The province created it in 2022.
Buyers who become Nova Scotia residents within six months are exempt. Since August 7, 2026 they have one year to provide proof of residency, and two years to apply for a refund.
Choosing between the two provincial programs
The Down Payment Assistance Program lends you the 5% minimum so you can get a regular insured mortgage; you repay the loan over 10 years. It has lower limits: household income under $145,000 and a credit rating of 650.
The First-time Homebuyers Program skips the loan: a credit union lends with two to four per cent down, and a government guarantee replaces mortgage insurance, so there’s no CMHC premium. It allows income up to $200,000 and a credit rating of 630. Once at least 20% of the home is paid off, you can renew with another lender.
Down payment rules in Nova Scotia
Outside those programs, the minimum is 5% of the first $500,000 of the price and 10% of the part above, so the $563,800 Halifax-Dartmouth benchmark needs at least $31,380.
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.
New homes and HST in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia 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 Nova Scotia
The big banks lend across Canada, including in Nova Scotia. Listed for convenience, not ranked here. See every lender’s current rates on mortgage rates in Canada.
How do I use this Nova Scotia mortgage calculator?
It starts from the Halifax benchmark price; type your own price and pick your municipality to change the deed transfer tax rate. Set your down payment, rate and a 25 or 30 year amortization to see the monthly payment, the CMHC premium and the cash you need on closing day.
What is the monthly mortgage payment on a typical Halifax home?
On the Halifax-Dartmouth benchmark of $563,800 (August 2026), with 20% down at 4.5% over 25 years, about $2,496 a month.
How much is deed transfer tax in Nova Scotia?
It depends on the municipality: from 1% to 1.5% of the sale price on the province’s July 2026 list. Halifax charges 1.5%, so the $563,800 benchmark pays $8,457 and a $500,000 home pays $7,500.
Is there land transfer tax in Nova Scotia?
Not a provincial one. Municipalities charge a deed transfer tax instead, and non-residents may also owe the provincial non-resident deed transfer tax of 10 per cent.
Is there a first-time buyer rebate on Nova Scotia’s deed transfer tax?
No. Nova Scotia’s first-time buyer help goes to the down payment instead: an interest-free 5% loan or a credit union mortgage with two to four per cent down.
How does Nova Scotia’s Down Payment Assistance Program work?
The province lends you 5% of the purchase price for the down payment, interest-free, repaid over 10 years. You need pre-approval for an insured mortgage, household income under $145,000 and a credit rating of 650 or more, and the home must be under the price limit for its region.
What is Nova Scotia’s First-time Homebuyers Program?
A credit union mortgage that needs only two to four per cent down, backed by a government guarantee instead of CMHC insurance. Household income must be under $200,000, and homes are capped at $570,000 in Halifax and East Hants and $500,000 elsewhere.
Do non-residents pay extra deed transfer tax in Nova Scotia?
Yes: 10 per cent of the sale price or assessed value on homes with three units or less, unless they become residents within six months.
How much down payment do I need in Nova Scotia?
5% of the first $500,000 and 10% of the rest under the usual rules, which is $31,380 on the Halifax benchmark. The First-time Homebuyers Program can go as low as two per cent.
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.
