Question: how much tax do you pay when you buy a house?
Answer: Many provinces use a multi-tiered system to calculate the amount of tax owed. On a $500,000 home in Ontario (but not Toronto), for example, 0.5% is paid on the first $55,000, 1% on the next $195,000, 1.5% on the next $150,000, and 2% on the amount above $400,000. That works out to $6,475.