Québec Budget 2016-2017 Announces Changes To Transfer Duties

The Québec 2016-2017 Budget delivered on March 17 announced a number of important changes to the province's land transfer duty regime.

The most important change relates to the event triggering the exigibility of the duties. Previously, the Act respecting duties on transfers of immovables provided that the duties became exigible only upon the transfer's registration. In other words, the payment of the duties could be postponed indefinitely by not registering the transfer of the immovable. The Budget provides that the Act will be amended so that duties will become exigible as of the date of transfer, regardless of registration.

The Act will also require transferees to notify municipalities of any unregistered transfers. A penalty equal to 150% of the duties, plus interest, could be levied where the notification is omitted. The transferee paying the duties following the notification will not be required to pay them again if the transfer is subsequently registered.