Skip to content

Provincial Non-Resident Deed Transfer Tax Guidelines

Brian Tabor, QC and Eyoab Begashaw

On April 8, 2022, the Nova Scotia Department of Finance and Treasury Board (Provincial Tax Policy and Administration Division) released the Provincial Non-Resident Deed Transfer Tax Guidelines (“Guidelines”) with respect to the recently introduced Provincial Non-Resident Deed Transfer Tax (“PDTT”), which came into effect April 1, 2022.

The PDTT is a five per cent tax levied on the greater of the purchase price or the assessed value of the property and applies to all residential properties or a portion of the property that is deemed residential, including vacant land classified as residential.

The Guidelines provide general information with respect to the following:

  • how the PDTT is applied;
  • defining ‘residential property’ and ‘property ownership’;
  • defining to whom the PDTT applies to/who is exempt;
  • defining ownership types (e.g. resident versus non-resident) and ownership by individuals, corporations, and trusts;
  • how the PDTT is calculated;
  • how the PDTT applies to non-residents moving to Nova Scotia;
  • the PDTT Tax Form submission; and
  • paying the PDTT.

Exemptions

The following deed transfers are exempt from the PDTT:

  • transactions with an Agreement of Purchase and Sale dated before April 1, 2022;
  • transactions only including residential property (or a portion of a residential property) with more than three dwelling units;
  • residential property with three or fewer dwelling units being transferred to grantees where 50 per cent or more of the ownership is by residents of Nova Scotia or if the grantees are not residents but they intend to move to Nova Scotia within six months of the property transfer;
  • property being transferred between spouses/common-law partners or former spouses/common-law partners (if the transfer is to divide marital or jointly-held assets);
  • residential property being transferred to a foreclosing mortgagee or from an executor to an eligible beneficiary under a will (eligible beneficiary is a spouse, common-law spouse, child, grandchild, parent or sibling of the testator or a child or grandchild of the testator’s spouse or common-law spouse);
  • if all of the following three factors are true: (i) deeds being registered to confirm, correct, modify, or supplement a deed previously given; (ii) the consideration does not exceed $1.00; and (iii) the deed does not include more property than the previous deed.
  • if the grantee is a registered charity and the residential property for which the deed is being transferred is not to be used for commercial, industrial, or other business purposes.

Process

All property transactions, regardless of residency status and property type, require the online Provincial Deed Transfer Tax Form to be completed. Certain transactions may require an affidavit with additional information about the grantee, depending on if the grantee is an individual, corporation, or persons acting as a Trustee.

Provincial Non-Resident Property Tax

The Finance and Treasury Board Minister, Allan MacMaster, introduced the Financial Measures (2022) Act (“Act”) on April 8, 2022. The proposed Act will establish the Provincial Non-Resident Property Tax which also took effect April 1, 2022. The Provincial Non-Resident Property Tax is an annual tax of $2.00 per $100.00 of the property’s assessed value, as determined by the Property Valuation Services Corporation.

We will provide a more detailed update once the Act has been finalized.


This client update is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. If you have any questions about the above, please contact a member of our Real Property group.

 

Click here to subscribe to Stewart McKelvey Thought Leadership.

SHARE

Archive

Search Archive


 
 

The Latest in Labour Law: A Stewart McKelvey Newsletter – Onsite OHS liability: Who is (and who is not) the true constructor?

December 15, 2016

Peter McLellan, QC and Michelle Black In a recent decision, R v McCarthy’s Roofing Limited, Judge Anne Derrick provided some much-needed clarity around what it means to be a “constructor” on a job site. This is critical as…

Read More

Federal Government’s Cannabis Report: What does it mean for employers?

December 15, 2016

Rick Dunlop On December 13, 2016, the Government of Canada released A Framework for the Legalization and Regulation of Cannabis in Canada: The Final Report of the Task Force on Cannabis Legalization and Regulation (“Report”). The Report’s…

Read More

Canadian employers facing marijuana challenges in the workplace

November 25, 2016

Brian Johnston, QC Canadian employers are already coping with approximately 75,000 Canadians authorized to use medical marijuana. Health Canada expects that this number will increase to about 450,000 by 2024. Employers know that medical marijuana…

Read More

You’ve got mail – Ontario Court of Appeal sends a constitutional message to municipalities about community mailboxes

October 28, 2016

Jonathan Coady With its decision in Canada Post Corporation v. City of Hamilton,1 the Ontario Court of Appeal has confirmed that the placement of community mailboxes by Canada Post is a matter beyond the reach of municipalities…

Read More

A window on interpreting insurance contracts: Top 10 points from Ledcor Construction

September 23, 2016

Jennifer Taylor Introduction Thanks to some dirty windows, insurance lawyers have a new go-to Supreme Court case on issues of policy interpretation: Ledcor Construction Ltd v Northbridge Indemnity Insurance Co, 2016 SCC 37. The insurers in Ledcor Construction had…

Read More

Charter-ing a Different Course? Two decisions on TWU’s proposed law school

August 11, 2016

Jennifer Taylor Introduction Appeal courts in Ontario1 and Nova Scotia2 have now issued decisions about Trinity Western University’s proposed law school (“TWU”) in British Columbia, and at first glance they couldn’t be more different. The Court of Appeal for…

Read More

Restart the Clock!: Confirmation and resetting limitation periods in Tuck v. Supreme Holdings, 2016 NLCA 40

August 11, 2016

Joe Thorne1 and Giles Ayers2 Limitation periods serve a critical function in the civil justice system. They promote the timely resolution of litigation on the basis of reliable evidence, and permit litigants to assess their legal exposure…

Read More

Client Update: SCC issues major decision affecting federal employers: Wilson v. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited

July 15, 2016

On July 14, 2016 the Supreme Court of Canada issued a significant decision affecting federally regulated employers across Canada. In Wilson v. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited the Court held that the purpose of the unjust dismissal…

Read More

Client Update: Requirement to register as a mortgage brokerage and mortgage administrator in New Brunswick

July 7, 2016

On April 1, 2016 New Brunswick’s Mortgage Brokers Act came into force, requiring businesses acting as mortgage brokerages or as mortgage administrators in New Brunswick to be licensed. A mortgage brokerage is a business that on behalf…

Read More

Copyright does not monopolize facts – documentary filmmakers’ claim against book author and publisher fails

June 29, 2016

In May 2016, the Federal Court of Canada confirmed that copyright does not protect facts, even where a book’s author is clearly inspired by the content of a film (Maltz v. Witterick, 2016 FC 524 (CanLII)).…

Read More

Search Archive


Scroll To Top