What It Costs to Sell a House in Ontario in 2026: A Line by Line Look for Eastern Ontario Sellers

I get asked the same question in almost every listing conversation, usually somewhere near the end: what is actually going to come off the sale price. It is a fair question and it deserves a straight answer rather than a range someone pulled out of the air. Below is how the money works on an Ontario residential sale, what drives each cost, and where sellers most often get surprised.

Remuneration is negotiated, not set

Under Ontario's Trust in Real Estate Services Act, what you pay a brokerage has to be an agreed amount, a percentage of the sale price, or a combination of both. RECO is explicit that agents must not suggest remuneration is fixed or approved by RECO, any government authority, or any real estate board or association. So if you hear a number described as standard, that description is wrong.

Your seller representation agreement has to set out the method for determining what is payable, the circumstances in which the amount might change, how it gets paid, the services you are receiving, the effective date, and the expiry date. It also has to separate two things that used to get bundled together: the amount you are paying your own brokerage for the services and representation you receive, and the amount, if any, you are offering to pay toward a buyer's brokerage fees. Those are now stated separately, which is a real improvement, because it lets you see what you are buying rather than one blended figure.

Remuneration is a taxable service in Ontario, so HST at 13 per cent applies on top of it. That is not optional and it is worth including in your own math from the start.

One thing brokerages cannot do: charge you based on the difference between your list price and the actual sale price. That arrangement is prohibited outright.

Legal fees, disbursements, and clearing the mortgage

You need a real estate lawyer to close. The lawyer's account has two halves. There is the fee for the legal work, which is what the firm charges for its time and is quoted up front if you ask. Then there are disbursements, which are the hard costs the firm pays on your behalf and passes through: title searches, software and registration charges, courier and wire fees, and the registration of the discharge that takes your lender off title.

That last one has a published number. As of November 3, 2025, registering a document in electronic format at the Ontario land registry costs $85.00, made up of a $71.55 statutory fee, an $11.90 ELRSA fee and $1.55 HST. Non-electronic registration under the Land Titles Act is $83.45. Those figures are adjusted periodically for inflation, so confirm the current amount with your lawyer rather than assuming last year's number still holds.

HST applies to the legal fee and to most of the taxable disbursements. Ask for the quote inclusive of tax so you are comparing the same thing between firms.

Your mortgage: the penalty is the wild card

If you are paying out a closed mortgage before its term ends, expect a prepayment penalty. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada describes the usual calculation as the higher of two amounts: three months' interest on what you still owe, or the interest rate differential. The interest rate differential generally shows up when your contract rate is higher than the lender's current comparable rate and you signed less than five years ago.

This is the line I see catch sellers hardest, because three months' interest is manageable and an interest rate differential calculation sometimes is not. FCAC also lists the other charges that can come with breaking a mortgage contract: administration fees, appraisal fees, reinvestment fees, a mortgage discharge fee, and repayment of any cash back you received when you took the mortgage out.

Worth checking before you list: call your lender and ask for a written payout quote as of your expected closing date, and ask specifically whether your mortgage is portable and what porting would cost. If you are buying again, porting can remove the penalty entirely. Also read the holdover clause in your listing agreement before you sign it. Holdover clauses are not required by law, they are common, and they can create an obligation after the agreement has expired. RECO flags them as a recurring source of consumer complaints, which tells you how often they are signed without being explained.

Adjustments on closing day

Your lawyer prepares a statement of adjustments that squares up anything you prepaid or underpaid. If you paid property taxes past the closing date, the buyer reimburses you for their share. If you are behind, it comes off your proceeds. The same logic applies to prepaid utilities, fuel left in an oil or propane tank, and condominium common expenses. These are not really costs so much as a settling of accounts, but they move the final number, sometimes by a few thousand dollars in the fall when tax instalments and a full fuel tank line up.

What comes off a sale, and when

Preparation is the one line you have real control over, and it is the one worth spending on selectively rather than broadly. My pre listing checklist goes through what tends to earn its money back and what does not.

Costs that only apply to some sellers

If you are selling a condominium, the buyer will almost certainly want a status certificate. In Ontario a corporation can charge up to $100 including all applicable taxes to provide it, and must deliver it within ten days of the request. Anyone can request one.

If the property was not your principal residence for every year you owned it, part of the gain is taxable. Even when it was fully your principal residence and no tax is owing, CRA requires you to report the disposition and designate the property on your return in order to claim the exemption. There is also a residential property flipping rule: a gain on a housing unit you owned for fewer than 365 consecutive days before selling is deemed to be business income rather than a capital gain, subject to a list of life event exceptions. None of that is a closing cost, but it lands on your tax return and it is better known in September than in April.

What is not a seller cost in Ontario

Land transfer tax is paid by the buyer, not by you, and so is the Non Resident Speculation Tax where it applies. Home inspection and appraisal, when they happen, are ordered and paid for by the buyer. Title insurance on the purchase is a buyer expense. If you are curious what the other side of the table is budgeting, I wrote a companion piece on buyer closing costs in Ontario, and a fuller explanation of how land transfer tax works.

Before you sign the listing agreement

1. Ask for the remuneration to be stated two ways: what you pay your brokerage for your own services and representation, and what, if anything, you are offering toward a buyer's brokerage.
2. Ask what circumstances would change the amount, including multiple representation, and what happens if you decline to consent to it.
3. Read the expiry date and the holdover clause, and ask what the holdover period means in practice.
4. Get a written mortgage payout quote from your lender, including the penalty and whether the mortgage is portable.
5. Get a legal quote that includes disbursements and HST, not just the fee.
6. Decide your preparation budget before you start spending, and spend it where a buyer will actually notice.

What this looks like between Ottawa and Brockville

The rules are provincial, so the framework is identical in Orleans and in Brockville. What differs is scale. Remuneration is a percentage of the sale price on most agreements, so the same percentage on an Ottawa sale produces a materially larger dollar figure than on a comparable Brockville sale, and it is worth negotiating with that in mind rather than treating the percentage as the only number that matters. Preparation costs run closer together across the corridor. Rural properties east and south of the city carry their own items, since a buyer's lender or insurer may want documentation on a well, a septic system, a wood stove or an oil tank before closing, and pulling that paperwork together in advance is cheaper than doing it under a condition deadline.

Timing matters too. If you are trying to line up a sale and a purchase, the sequencing decision drives bridge financing costs and overlap costs more than anything on this list. I covered that trade off in sell first or buy first, and the seasonal question in when is the best time to sell.

If you want the real number for your property