Does Northwest Territories have a land transfer tax?

No. Northwest Territories does not levy a land transfer tax. You still pay land titles registration fees on closing, which are calculated from the property value and the mortgage amount.

What do people get wrong about Northwest Territories land transfer tax?

THE TRANSFER RATE IS $2.00 PER $1,000, NOT $1.50. Almost every competing calculator still shows $1.50 per $1,000 for NWT transfers — that is the old rate and it understates every NWT purchase by 25%. On a $500,000 home the correct fee is $1,000, not $750. Land Titles Act s.156(2)(a) currently reads '$2 for each $1,000 of value or part thereof'; the GNWT Justice fee schedule updated 1 September 2025 says the same. The $1.50 figure survives only for mortgages and for the portion of a transfer above $1,000,000.

Northwest Territories land transfer tax calculator

Northwest Territories charges no land transfer tax — but you still pay to register the transfer, and that fee is calculated from the price. Enter it and we'll work out what you actually owe.

Purchase price Mortgage amount Registering the mortgage is a separate fee, calculated on the loan rather than the price.

Northwest Territories does not charge a land transfer tax. That is the whole answer, and most calculators stop there — which is unhelpful, because you still pay real money on closing. Here is what it actually is.

What you pay on closing instead

Fee	Amount	How it's calculated
Registration of a transfer (also transmission application, vesting order, notice of vesting, Crown grant) on titled land	$1,000	Value of the land <= $1,000,000: $2.00 for each $1,000 of value OR PART THEREOF, subject to a minimum fee of $100. Value > $1,000,000: $2,000 plus $1.50 for each $1,000 or part thereof of value IN EXCESS of $1,000,000. The $100 minimum binds below $50,000 of value. Example: $500,000 -> $1,000; $1,500,000 -> $2,750. Rates are in Land Titles Act s.156(2); the $100 minimum is prescribed by the Tariff of Fees Regulations (R-062-93) item 1.
Registration of a mortgage, special encumbrance, or caveat claiming a mortgage interest	$600	$1.50 for each $1,000 OR PART THEREOF of the amount secured, subject to a minimum fee of $80. The $80 minimum binds below roughly $53,334 of secured amount. Example: $400,000 mortgage -> $600. Land Titles Act s.156(3); $80 minimum prescribed by Tariff of Fees Regulations item 2.
Mortgage where the amount secured exceeds the value of the land	—	The amount payable under s.156(3) is calculated on the VALUE OF THE LAND instead of the secured amount, per s.156(4), PROVIDED an affidavit of the current value of the land or properties in the Northwest Territories is attached to the mortgage. Without that affidavit the fee is charged on the full secured amount.
Leases and transfers of leases	—	$20 for each year or part of a year of the unexpired term of the lease, minimum $60, maximum $400.
All other documents and instruments	—	$30 flat — covers transfer of mortgage, transfer of caveat, statutory declaration for lost duplicate certificate of title, withdrawal, DISCHARGE (including mortgage discharge), builders' lien, certificate of pending litigation, change of name, application by surviving joint tenant, by-laws, power of attorney, revocation, writ of execution, renewal of writ. Plain caveats (not mortgage caveats) are $50. Applications to consolidate titles or issue separate titles: $10 plus $10 per title issued. Condominium registration: $100 plus $10 per unit.
Searches and copies	—	Title/instrument/caveat search $4; writ book and general register search $5 per person; plan search $10; photocopies $1/page; certified copy of certificate of title $9 plus copy fee; writ book and general register certificate $15 per person; fax or email of a title or document $2/page.
Total you'll actually pay to register	$1,600	Mandatory rows only

This is the number other calculators don't give you. Ask most sites what land transfer tax costs in Northwest Territories and they answer "$0" and stop — which is true and useless, because you still write a real cheque at the land titles office.

What calculators get wrong here

THE TRANSFER RATE IS $2.00 PER $1,000, NOT $1.50. Almost every competing calculator still shows $1.50 per $1,000 for NWT transfers — that is the old rate and it understates every NWT purchase by 25%. On a $500,000 home the correct fee is $1,000, not $750. Land Titles Act s.156(2)(a) currently reads '$2 for each $1,000 of value or part thereof'; the GNWT Justice fee schedule updated 1 September 2025 says the same. The $1.50 figure survives only for mortgages and for the portion of a transfer above $1,000,000.
THE RATES LIVE IN THE ACT, NOT THE REGULATION. NWT moved the value-based amounts into Land Titles Act s.156(2)-(3); the Tariff of Fees Regulations now prescribe only the MINIMUMS ($100 transfer, $80 mortgage) and the flat fees. Anyone who reads R-062-93 alone and reports its numbers will get the transfer rate wrong.
ROUNDING IS UP PER $1,000 BLOCK. The statute says 'each $1,000 of value or part thereof' (French: 'par tranche complète ou incomplète de 1 000 $'). A $500,500 transfer pays for 501 blocks = $1,002, not $1,001. Straight 0.2% multiplication is wrong on any price that is not an exact multiple of $1,000.
THE ABOVE-$1M TIER IS MARGINAL AND THE RATE DROPS. Over $1,000,000 the fee is $2,000 plus only $1.50 per $1,000 on the excess — the rate goes DOWN, not up. Calculators that apply a flat 0.2% to the whole value overstate every transaction above $1M.
THE MINIMUMS BITE ON LOW-VALUE TRANSACTIONS. Below $50,000 of land value the transfer fee floors at $100; below about $53,334 the mortgage fee floors at $80. Relevant for vacant lots, small community properties, and share transfers.
THE MORTGAGE-EXCEEDS-VALUE RELIEF REQUIRES AN AFFIDAVIT. s.156(4) lets the fee be computed on land value rather than the secured amount, but the GNWT schedule states this applies only where an affidavit of the current value of the land is attached to the mortgage. Do not apply the relief automatically.

The bigger number nobody calculates

Land transfer tax is the closing cost people search for. The one that actually decides whether you can buy is the down payment — $45,000 on a $700,000 home in Canada. Taking over a mortgage that already exists costs closer to $7,500.

See what you can afford →

Rates current as of 2026-08-03. Verified against NWT Land Titles Act s.156(1)-(4) — verbatim '$2 for each $1,000 of value or part thereof' for transfers up to $1M, '$2,000 plus $1.50 for each $1,000 or part thereof in excess of $1,000,000', '$1.50 for each $1,000 or part thereof of the amount secured' for mortgages, and the mortgage-exceeds-value rule, GNWT Department of Justice Land Titles Office Schedule of Fees, updated 1 September 2025 — the operative published schedule confirming $2.00/$1,000 transfers with $100 minimum, $1.50/$1,000 mortgages with $80 minimum, the affidavit requirement, lease/caveat/other-document and search fees, Land Titles Tariff of Fees Regulations R-062-93 (amended to R-040-2019) — confirms the Regulation prescribes only the s.156(2)(a) $100 minimum and s.156(3) $80 minimum plus flat fees; the value-based rates are not in the Regulation, GNWT Land Titles landing page — confirms the September 2025 fee schedule is the current published document and that transfer fees are proportional to land value while mortgage fees are based on principal. This is information, not tax advice.