Yukon's land transfer tax has three main components. The first is a fee on the purchase price of the property, which is also called the transfer fee. There's also a fee on the mortgage amount of the purchase. And finally, an assurance fee for adjusting for discrepancies between the purchase price and property value, if necessary.
The land transfer tax is calculated as follows:
Transfer fee
Mortgage fee
If the purchase price of the property is higher than the value of the property, you're also required to pay the assurance fee.
The sum of the transfer fee, mortgage fee, and the assurance fee make up the total land transfer tax payable in Yukon.
As an example, let's assume you purchased a property for $600,000 in Whitehorse. The value of the property was $570,000, and you took out a $400,000 mortgage to finance your purchase. The land transfer tax on this purchase would be:
The total land transfer tax would be $490 ($350 + $100 + $40)
Yukon's housing market has seen considerable price appreciation over the last few years. Particularly in Yukon's capital city, Whitehorse, where the price of the average detached house sells for $520,000, up from $475,000 in 2018.
Over 80% of the population of Yukon live in Whitehorse. Several factors have contributed to rising home prices in Whitehorse including, retirees choosing to remain in Yukon and not moving south, younger Canadians moving to the city, and immigrants choosing to settle in Whitehorse.
With a population of 41,000 inhabitants, Yukon is the westernmost and smallest in size amongst Canada's three territories. Named after the Yukon River, the territory is home to the tallest mountain in Canada, Mount Logan.
Its economy is the smallest out of all the provinces and territories in Canada. Yukon's economy relies on the government sector as well as the tourism industry.