Advertiser disclosure: CreditLab.ca may earn a commission when you apply through our links. It never changes how we compare products. How we make money
Estimate your mortgage payment, CMHC insurance and P.E.I.’s real property transfer tax, starting from the province-wide benchmark of $372,800. First-time buyers in P.E.I. pay no transfer tax at all, with no price cap in the Act, and can also use the federal FHSA, Home Buyers’ Plan and GST rebate on new homes.
Benchmark prices August 2026 · Rules checked October 16, 2026
Mortgage calculator for Prince Edward Island
It opens on the Province-wide benchmark price of $372,800 (August 2026). Pick another P.E.I. 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.
$1,650.68monthly mortgage payment
Down payment
$74,560 (20.0%)
CMHC insurance premiumNot needed with 20% or more down
$0
Mortgage amount
$298,240
Cash you need on closing day
Down payment
$74,560
Real property transfer tax1% of the price or assessed value, whichever is higher
$3,728
First-time home buyer exemption
−$3,728
Total cash to close
$74,560
CMHC says closing costs usually run 1.5% to 4% of the price: $5,592 to $14,912 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.
Prince Edward Island at a glance
CREA MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark for Prince Edward Island (province-wide; no Charlottetown-only series), August 2026, not seasonally adjusted.
A typical home in the market, not an average sale price.
Before any first-time buyer relief.
Off the property transfer tax at closing, if you qualify.
5.0% of the benchmark price: 5% of the first $500,000 and 10% of the rest.
With 20% down it’s $74,560.
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 Prince Edward Island
If you qualify as a first-time buyer, P.E.I. exempts you from its 1% real property transfer tax whatever the price, which saves $3,728 on the $372,800 benchmark. The province also runs a down payment loan for modest-income buyers.
Provincial
First-time home buyer exemption
No transfer taxat any price, for first-time buyers
WHO QUALIFIES Canadian citizens or permanent residents whose principal residence was in P.E.I. for the 6 months before registration (or who filed P.E.I. returns in 2 of the last 6 tax years) and who have never held a registered interest in a principal residence.
The Act, consolidated to May 29, 2026, sets no price cap.
You file a declaration and must intend to live in the home. If you don’t live there for 183 consecutive days, the tax becomes payable.
If you fail only the residency test, you can get a refund after living in the home for 183 days. You can’t have used the exemption before.
Down payment loanfor modest-income first-time buyers
WHO QUALIFIES Modest-income first-time buyers with an insured mortgage, through Finance PEI.
The program page blocked our automated check, so we don’t quote the loan amount or income limit. Confirm them with Finance PEI before you count on the loan.
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.
P.E.I. 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 property transfer tax works in Prince Edward Island
P.E.I. charges real property transfer tax of 1% on the greater of the price or the assessed value. Properties of $30,000 or less pay nothing. On the $372,800 benchmark it’s $3,728, or nothing for an eligible first-time buyer.
The calculator uses the price you enter. If the assessed value is higher, the tax is 1% of that instead.
CMHC puts closing costs at 1.5% to 4% of the price. In P.E.I. they’re the transfer tax (unless you’re exempt), legal fees and registration, a home inspection, title insurance and adjustments for property tax the seller prepaid.
P.E.I. doesn’t charge sales tax on the CMHC premium, so with less than 20% down the whole premium can go on the mortgage.
On the $372,800 Province-wide benchmark
Cost
Amount
Notes
Property transfer tax
$3,728
$0 for an eligible first-time buyer
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
$5,592 to $14,912
1.5% to 4% of the price for all closing costs together
THE GUIDE
Buying a home in Prince Edward Island: what else to know
Down payment rules in P.E.I.
The minimum is 5% of the first $500,000 of the price and 10% of the part above. The province-wide benchmark is under $500,000, so the minimum is a flat 5%: $18,640.
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.
New homes and HST in P.E.I.
P.E.I. 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.
Using your FHSA and RRSP in P.E.I.
Each first-time buyer can withdraw everything in their FHSA tax-free and up to $60,000 from an RRSP under the Home Buyers’ Plan for the same home. FHSA withdrawals are never repaid; the Home Buyers’ Plan goes back into your RRSP over up to 15 years.
The federal $10,000 home buyers’ amount, claimed on line 31270, also lowers your federal tax the year you buy.
Mortgage lenders in Prince Edward Island
The big banks lend across Canada, including in P.E.I.. Listed for convenience, not ranked here. See every lender’s current rates on mortgage rates in Canada.
It starts from P.E.I.’s province-wide 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 transfer tax with or without the first-time exemption, and the cash you need on closing day.
What is the monthly mortgage payment on a typical P.E.I. home?
On the province-wide benchmark of $372,800 (August 2026), with 20% down at 4.5% over 25 years, about $1,651 a month.
How much is property transfer tax in P.E.I.?
1% of the price or the assessed value, whichever is higher, with nothing due on properties of $30,000 or less. On the $372,800 benchmark that’s $3,728.
Do first-time buyers pay transfer tax in P.E.I.?
No, if they qualify. First-time buyers are fully exempt, and the Act sets no price cap. You must live in the home for 183 consecutive days or the tax becomes payable.
Who counts as a first-time buyer for P.E.I.’s exemption?
A Canadian citizen or permanent resident who has never held a registered interest in a principal residence or used the exemption, and whose principal residence was in P.E.I. for the 6 months before registration, or who filed P.E.I. returns in 2 of the last 6 tax years.
How much down payment do I need in P.E.I.?
5% of the first $500,000 and 10% of the rest, or 20% at $1.5 million or more. On the province-wide benchmark that’s $18,640.
Does P.E.I. have a down payment assistance program?
Yes. Finance PEI runs a Down Payment Assistance Program for modest-income first-time buyers with an insured mortgage. Check the current loan amount and income limit with Finance PEI.
Can I use my FHSA and RRSP to buy in P.E.I.?
Yes. Both are federal: you can make a qualifying FHSA withdrawal and take up to $60,000 from an RRSP through the Home Buyers’ Plan for the same home.
Do new homes in P.E.I. get a GST or HST rebate?
P.E.I. charges HST on new homes. First-time buyers can get back up to $50,000 of the federal part through the FTHB rebate, in full on homes up to $1 million and shrinking to nothing at $1.5 million. Anyone buying a new home to live in may also get the regular new housing rebate under $450,000.
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.
