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Home buying costs by country
What you really pay to buy a home isn't just the price — it's the transfer tax or stamp duty, the legal fees, the inspection and the registration. The mix is different in every country. Pick a country to work through the recorded regional rules, estimated fees and items to confirm.
19 of 21 regions source-verified outside the U.S. as of June 2026, plus the full 50-state U.S. dataset.
United States
50 states + DC, county-level transfer tax, title insurance and recording fees.
Typically 2%–5% of price →
Canada
In Canada the biggest closing cost is the provincial land transfer tax — and in Toronto a municipal land transfer tax on top of it.
Typically 1.5%–4% of price →
Australia
In Australia the biggest upfront cost by far is stamp duty (transfer duty) — set by each state on price bands, it can run tens of thousands of dollars.
Typically 4%–6% of price →
United Kingdom
In the UK the biggest upfront cost is the property transfer tax — Stamp Duty Land Tax in England & Northern Ireland, Land and Buildings Transaction Tax in Scotland, and Land Transaction Tax in Wales.
Typically 1%–5% of price →
New Zealand
New Zealand has no stamp duty or transfer tax on buying a home — almost unique among developed countries.
Typically 0.5%–1.5% of price →
Ireland
In Ireland the headline buying cost is stamp duty — 1% of the price for most homes (rising to 2% above €1m and 6% above €1.5m).
Typically 2%–3.5% of price →
The transfer tax, country by country
The transfer tax (or stamp duty) is almost always the biggest single line. Here's how the systems compare.
| Country | Main transfer tax | Typical total upfront |
|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 United States | State transfer tax + title insurance | 2%–5% |
| 🇨🇦 Canada | land transfer tax | 1.5%–4% |
| 🇦🇺 Australia | stamp duty | 4%–6% |
| 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | property transfer tax | 1%–5% |
| 🇳🇿 New Zealand | stamp duty | 0.5%–1.5% |
| 🇮🇪 Ireland | stamp duty | 2%–3.5% |
Percentages are typical all-in upfront costs (excluding the deposit) and vary a lot by price and first-home status. Open a country for an exact, itemised estimate.
Guides
All guides →The questions a calculator can't answer — first-home tapers, foreign-buyer rules and government schemes, each cited to its official source.
Every rate is cited
Each transfer-tax band links to the government source and the date we checked it. Unverified regions are flagged and kept out of search.
Nothing leaves your browser
No account, no quote form, no personal data. The math runs locally, wherever you're buying.
Genuinely neutral
We don't sell mortgages in any country. Estimates are never reordered by what a partner pays us.
Open data
Every source-verified transfer-tax band on this site, free to download and reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0). One row per band — country, region, threshold, rate, effective date and the official source URL. Reviewed June 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Which countries does TallyClose cover?
TallyClose started with U.S. closing costs and now covers the home-buying costs of the main English-speaking developed countries: the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Ireland. Each country page has a calculator tuned to that country's transfer tax (or stamp duty) and a breakdown of the other costs — legal fees, inspections, registration and mortgage insurance.
Why are the costs so different between countries?
The single biggest difference is the transfer tax. Australia's stamp duty and the UK's SDLT climb steeply on price bands and can run tens of thousands; Canada's land transfer tax is more moderate (and Toronto adds a municipal one); New Zealand charges no stamp duty at all. The U.S. instead leans on title insurance and county recording fees. Each country's calculator reflects its own structure.
How should I check the rates and assumptions?
Each regional record includes its source links and recorded review date. Those dates describe the dataset, not a live check of today's rules. The international dataset records a review in June 2026; unverified regions are flagged as estimates and kept out of search. Confirm current eligibility, local charges and your final quote with the relevant authority or closing professional.
Does TallyClose sell mortgages or take my information?
TallyClose is an independent information publisher and does not originate loans. Calculator inputs stay in your browser. If you choose to subscribe to dataset updates, your email address is submitted separately; no subscription is needed to calculate or download a worksheet.
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