Buying in Toronto vs the UK: costs and tax

Until you're a permanent resident, Canada may not let you buy at all, and if it does, foreign buyer taxes can add more than a third to the price. Back in Blighty anyone can buy, but living abroad costs you extra stamp duty.

The short version

Canada's foreign buyer ban has applied since 1 January 2023 and is due to end on 1 January 2027, but Budget 2026 proposes extending it to 1 January 2029 [9]. Work permit holders with 183 days or more left can usually buy one home.
Toronto buyers pay two land transfer taxes, Ontario's and the city's. Foreign nationals buying under an exemption add Ontario's 25% speculation tax and Toronto's 10% [7][8].
In England, a non-resident pays a 2% stamp duty surcharge, and owning a home worth £40,000 or more anywhere in the world adds the 5% higher rate [1][2].
Selling a UK home from Toronto means a UK capital gains tax return within 60 days of completion, and Canada taxes the gain too if you're resident [3].
Selling a Toronto home after you've left needs CRA clearance, or the buyer can hold back 25% of the price [10].

Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = CAD 1.89).

What a Brit can buy in Toronto, compared

Back home, nobody checks your immigration status before exchange. In Toronto it's the first question.

Under the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act, anyone who isn't a citizen or permanent resident is a "non-Canadian". The ban covers houses, semis, terraces ("rowhouses" here) and condo units across Toronto. The main exemptions for Brits: a work permit with at least 183 days left on the purchase date (one home only, and only if you haven't bought under the ban before), or buying with a spouse or partner who's a citizen or permanent resident [9]. The government's 2026 Budget, tabled on 5 November 2026, proposes legislation to run the ban to 1 January 2029 [9]. Check the rules on the day you sign. Our guide to buying a home in Toronto as a Brit has the full exemption table.

Ownership is familiar once you're in. Houses are freehold. Condos are owned outright with a share of the common elements, run by a condo corporation that charges monthly fees, closer to Scottish flats or English commonhold than a long lease.

In England and Wales anyone can buy, whatever their passport. Houses are usually freehold, and most flats leasehold, with a lease length and service charge to check.

Upfront costs side by side

To compare like with like, we've used the same money: £300,000, which is about CAD 566,000. These are our sums from the published rates, before legal fees, title insurance and lender costs.

	Toronto: condo, CAD 566,000	England: house, £300,000
Main purchase tax	Ontario land transfer tax: CAD 7,795 (about £4,130) [7]	Stamp Duty Land Tax: £5,000 at standard rates [1]
Local purchase tax	Toronto municipal land transfer tax: CAD 7,795 (about £4,130) [8]	None
Foreign or non-resident extra	Ontario NRST at 25%: CAD 141,500 (about £75,000), plus Toronto's 10%: CAD 56,600 (about £30,000) [7][8]	2% non-resident surcharge: £6,000 more [1]
Owning another home	No extra	5% higher rate if you keep a home worth £40,000+ anywhere [2]
Total, foreign buyer or non-resident	CAD 213,690 (about £113,300)	£11,000, or £26,000 if you keep a Toronto home
Total, permanent resident or UK resident	CAD 15,590 (about £8,270)	£5,000, or £20,000 with another home

Three things to notice:

Toronto taxes twice even for locals. The city's own land transfer tax mirrors Ontario's bands, so a Toronto buyer pays roughly double what someone in Mississauga would [7][8]. From 1 April 2026, Toronto also charges much higher rates on homes above CAD 3 million.
The foreign buyer taxes are the real deterrent. On this condo they come to 35% of the price. Rebates exist in some cases, such as becoming a permanent resident later, but don't plan around them.
The UK's 5% catches Toronto owners. Buy in Manchester while keeping your Toronto condo and the test for the higher rate counts property anywhere in the world [2]. Add non-residence and it's £26,000. A non-resident first-time buyer with no other home pays £6,000 [1]. You can reclaim the 2% if you spend 183 days in the UK within a year of buying, and the 5% if you sell your previous main home within three years [1][2].

First-time buyers in Toronto can get refunds of both land transfer taxes, but Ontario's refund is for people who have never owned a home anywhere in the world, so the flat you sold in Manchester counts against you.

Scotland and Wales differ. Neither has a non-resident surcharge. In Scotland, LBTT on £300,000 is £4,600 for 2026–27, plus an 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement (£24,000) if you'll own another home. In Wales, LTT on £300,000 is £4,500 at main rates, or £19,950 at the higher residential rates.

Financing: Canadian bank or UK lender?

In Toronto, the minimum deposit ("down payment") on CAD 566,000 is 5% of the first CAD 500,000 plus 10% of the rest: CAD 31,600 (about £16,760). Put down less than 20% and you'll pay mortgage loan insurance of 0.6% to 4.5% of the loan [6]. Lenders stress-test you at a higher rate than you'll pay, terms are usually five years or less, and your UK credit file doesn't come with you. Several banks run newcomer schemes that accept foreign income evidence with a bigger deposit.

Back in the UK, many high-street lenders won't lend to someone living in Canada or won't count income paid in Canadian dollars. A smaller group of specialist and private-bank lenders does, usually with a bigger deposit and more paperwork. Repaying a sterling loan from Canadian income can make it a "foreign currency loan" under FCA rules, with warnings when the exchange rate moves a long way. See UK mortgages for Brits living abroad.

Owning it: property tax and running costs

In Toronto the 2026 residential property tax rate is 0.767311% of your MPAC assessed value, covering city, education and the City Building Fund levy [8]. That's about CAD 767 (about £410) a year for every CAD 100,000 of assessed value. Leave the home empty for six months or more in a year and Toronto's Vacant Home Tax charges 3% of its assessed value, and every owner must file a yearly occupancy declaration or be treated as vacant [8]. The federal Underused Housing Tax has been scrapped for 2025 onwards. Add condo fees and, for a house, heating bills that'll make you miss a mild British winter.

In the UK you'll pay council tax. If the house sits empty as a furnished second home, councils in England can charge a premium of up to 100% from April 2025, so up to double, with exceptions such as up to 12 months while it's marketed for sale or let [5].

Letting the UK home while you're in Toronto? Under the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme your letting agent, or a tenant paying more than £100 a week, takes basic rate tax off the rent unless HMRC approves you on form NRL1 [4]. You still file a Self Assessment return, and Canada taxes the same rent with credit for the UK tax. See renting out your UK home.

Tax when you sell

The Canadian side

Your Toronto home while you live there is generally covered by the principal residence exemption, as long as you report the sale and designate it on your return [10]. Sell within 365 days of buying and the gain is usually treated as business income instead, under the flipping rule.
Your UK home while you're a Canadian resident. Canada taxes residents on worldwide income and gains, with a foreign tax credit for tax paid abroad. Property you owned when you became resident is generally treated as bought at its market value on the day you arrived, so keep a valuation from that date.
Selling after you've left Canada. A non-resident seller must tell the CRA within 10 days and get a certificate of compliance; without one, the buyer can withhold 25% of the price [10].

The UK side

Selling a UK home while you live in Toronto: non-residents pay UK capital gains tax on UK property and must report every sale within 60 days of completion, even with no tax due [3]. For homes owned before April 2015 you generally only pay on growth since 5 April 2015. Rates are 18% and 24% for 2026–27, with a £3,000 annual exempt amount, and private residence relief can still cover the years you lived there plus the final nine months.
Selling the Toronto home once you're back in the UK: a UK resident pays capital gains tax on overseas property and may claim relief for tax paid abroad. For years you're not tax resident in Canada, private residence relief on it generally needs 90 nights a year there. Our selling guide covers the UK reliefs in more depth.
The UK–Canada double taxation convention (1978, amended since) decides who taxes first. Broadly, the country where the property is gets first go and the other gives credit.

A tax adviser who knows both countries can check your case before you sell either home.

Which makes sense for whom

On a work permit with no PR in sight. Renting is the norm. The 35% foreign buyer taxes make buying under an exemption hard to justify.
A new permanent resident. You buy like a Canadian, may get first-time buyer refunds if you've never owned anywhere, and your Toronto home is generally tax-free on sale while you live in it.
Keeping the house in Manchester. Let it with NRL1 in place. Buying again in the UK later can mean the 5% rate if you still own in Toronto.
Heading home in a few years. Selling Toronto while still resident keeps the principal residence exemption simple; selling afterwards brings in the CRA certificate.

For first-hand tales of Toronto bidding wars, try our community group for Brits in Canada.

Buying in Toronto vs back in the UK: two land transfer taxes and one HMRC