What It Really Costs to Sell a House in Ontario
Commission is the number everyone knows. Here is the rest of the list, including the one most sellers forget.
July 7, 2026 · 6 min read · Anchor Home Group
Sellers usually budget for commission and stop there. The other line items are smaller individually but they add up, and one of them — carrying cost — scales with how long the sale takes.
The line items
- Real estate commission: negotiated, commonly in the 3%–5% range of the sale price, plus HST.
- Legal fees and disbursements: typically a four-figure amount for a straightforward residential closing.
- Mortgage discharge: an administrative discharge fee, plus a prepayment penalty if you break a closed term early.
- Repairs and pre-list work: whatever the inspection surfaces, plus anything needed to photograph well.
- Staging, photography, cleaning: optional but standard on a competitive listing.
- Adjustments on closing: property tax, utilities, and any prepaid amounts prorated to the closing date.
- Carrying costs: mortgage interest, property tax, insurance, heat and hydro for every month the home is unsold.
The math that changes decisions
Take a home that would list around $700,000. Commission at 4% plus HST is roughly $31,600. Add legal fees, a modest repair list, staging, and three months of carrying costs at, say, $3,200 a month, and you are realistically looking at $50,000+ of friction between the list price and what lands in your account.
That is the number to hold up against any direct offer. A cash offer with no commission, no repairs, and a two-week close is not competing with the list price — it is competing with the net.
What you do not pay in Ontario
Land transfer tax is paid by the buyer, not the seller — including the additional municipal land transfer tax in Toronto. And if the property was your principal residence for every year you owned it, the principal residence exemption generally shelters the capital gain.
Common questions
- Who pays land transfer tax in Ontario?
- The buyer pays provincial land transfer tax, and an additional municipal land transfer tax applies on Toronto purchases. Sellers do not pay it.
- Do I pay tax on the profit from selling my home?
- If the home was your principal residence for all the years you owned it, the principal residence exemption generally shelters the gain. Rentals, second properties, and inherited homes have different treatment — check with an accountant.
- Can I sell without paying commission?
- Yes — selling privately or directly to a buyer avoids listing commission. You still pay your own legal fees and any mortgage discharge costs.
Selling in a specific city?
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