Government introduced the Provincial Deed Transfer Tax and Property Tax for Non-residents of Nova Scotia in the 2022-2023 budget.
NOTE: As announced on May 5, 2022, the non-resident property tax will not move forward. The non-resident deed transfer tax will proceed as planned.
Provincial Non-resident Deed Transfer Tax
The Provincial Deed Transfer Tax (PDTT) is effective for all purchase and sale agreements and other specific transfers starting 1 April 2022.
The PDTT applies to all residential properties or portion of property deemed residential with 3 dwelling units or less, including vacant land classified as residential.
The PDTT is a 5% tax levied on the purchase price or the assessed value of property (whichever is greater).
Exemptions
Some deed transfers are exempt from this tax. They include:
- transactions involving an Agreement of Purchase and Sale dated before 1 April 2022
- transactions only including residential property (or a portion of residential property) with more than 3 dwelling units
- residential property with 3 or less dwelling units being transferred to grantees where 50% or more of the ownership is by residents of Nova Scotia
- residential property with 3 or less dwelling units being transferred to grantees who are not residents of Nova Scotia, if they intend to move to Nova Scotia within 6 months of the property transfer
- property being transferred between spouses/common law partners (or former spouses or common law partners if the transfer is for the purpose of division of marital/jointly held assets)
- all of the statements in this bullet must be true for this exemption to qualify.
- deeds being registered to simply confirm, correct, modify, or supplement a deed previously given,
- there is no consideration beyond $1 and
- the deed does not include more property than the previous deed
- residential property being transferred to a foreclosing mortgagee
- residential property being transferred from an executor to an eligible beneficiary under a will. An 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
- residential property being transferred from an administrator of an estate to a person entitled to the estate under the Intestate Succession Act or the intestacy laws of another jurisdiction
- transactions only including property classified as commercial/resource (no portion of the property is classified as residential)
- transactions where the grantee is a registered charity and the residential property in this transaction will not be used for commercial, industrial or other business purposes
Guidelines
Nova Scotia Provincial Non-resident Deed Transfer Tax Guidelines (PDF)
Process
Property transactions with a Purchase and Sale Agreement dated before 1 April 2022 are not subject to the Provincial Deed Transfer Tax. However, even if the Purchase and Sale Agreement was dated before 1 April 2022, you still need to complete the online Provincial Deed Transfer Tax Form if the transaction closes on or after 1 April 2022.
You need to complete the online Provincial Deed Transfer Tax Form for all property transactions, regardless of residency status and property type.
Provincial Deed Transfer Tax Form
Certain property transactions require an affidavit with additional information about each grantee. The affidavits for each grantee must be uploaded to the online form when prompted.
Moving to Nova Scotia
Grantees that state their intention to move to Nova Scotia within 6 months of the date the property is transferred are required to demonstrate proof of Nova Scotia residency after moving to Nova Scotia. This will be done by completing the Proof of Residency Form and providing supporting documentation.
The form and supporting documentation must be emailed to NSDeedTransferTax@novascotia.ca.
Proof of Residency Form
Contact
For questions about the Provincial Deed Transfer Tax, email NSDeedTransferTax@novascotia.ca.
Notice: Where there is a conflict between the information contained on this page and the Legislation and Regulations, the Legislation and Regulations governing the Provincial Non-Resident Deed Transfer Tax will take precedence over the Guidelines, website, communications documents, forms, advance rulings or any other published information.