Non-resident Deed Transfer Tax Regulations
made under Section 27 of the
Non-resident Deed Transfer Tax Act
S.N.S. 2022, c. 4
O.I.C. 2026-259 (effective August 6, 2026), N.S. Reg. 185/2026
Table of Contents
Please note: this table of contents is provided for convenience of reference and does not form part of the regulations.
Click here to go to the text of the regulations.
Citation
Definitions
Proof of residency in Province
Exemption for grantee who will become resident within 1 year
Exemptions for spousal transfers
Exemptions for transfers to trusts
Exemption for transfers from deceased grantor or their estate
Exemption for transfers to and from foreclosing mortgagees
Exemptions for corrections to deed
Exemptions in other situations
Application for refund of deed transfer tax
Refund after appeal
Issue of refund by Administrator
Prorating tax
Assessments
Interest on unpaid tax
Administrative penalties
Requirement to provide records
Use of information by Administrator
Citation
1 These regulations may be cited as the Non-resident Deed Transfer Tax Regulations.
Definitions
2 In these regulations,
“Act” means the Non-resident Deed Transfer Tax Act;
“Nova Scotia health card” means a health card issued by the Province to
individuals insured under the Health Services and Insurance Act;
“parcel” means a parcel as defined in the Land Registration Act;
“transfer” means a transfer of residential property by deed or instrument.
Proof of residency in Province
3 A person may prove they are a resident of the Province by providing the following to the
Administrator:
(a) a Nova Scotia health card; or
(b) both
(i) a Nova Scotia driver’s licence or an identification card issued by the
Registrar of Motor Vehicles for identification purposes and bearing a
photograph of the individual, and
(ii) another form of proof of residence that is acceptable to the
Administrator.
Exemption for grantee who will become resident within 1 year
4 (1) A transfer to an individual grantee is exempt from the tax if the individual intends
to become a resident of the Province within 1 year of the date the property is
transferred and files an affidavit with the Administrator to that effect.
(2) A grantee who claims an exemption from the tax under this Section must provide
all of the following to the Administrator:
(a) proof that they are a resident of the Province, no later than 1 year after the
date the residential property is transferred to the grantee;
(b) their social insurance number, if required by the Administrator to verify the
grantee’s residence status.
(3) If proof is not provided under subsection (2) within the time required by that
subsection, the Administrator
(a) must assess the grantee for the tax and interest calculated in accordance with
these regulations; and
(b) may assess a penalty in accordance with these regulations.
(4) A grantee who claims an exemption from the tax under this Section but will no
longer become a resident of the Province within 1 year of the date the property was
transferred
(a) must notify the Administrator by filing the required form; and
(b) may request an extension of the time period for a maximum of 1 additional
year based on extenuating circumstances that have occurred since the time
of the transfer, including any of the following:
(i) illness of the grantee,
(ii) death or illness of an immediate family member of the grantee,
(iii) fire, flood or natural disaster,
(iv) the grantee’s employment transfer being delayed.
(5) On receiving a request under clause (4)(b), the Administrator may, in the
Administrator’s sole discretion, do any of the following:
(a) request additional information or documentation to support the request;
(b) grant the extension, taking into account any extenuating circumstances that
have been demonstrated by the grantee in their request;
(c) deny the request.
(6) A decision under clause (5)(c) may be appealed by the grantee to the Minister in
accordance with Section 23 of the Act.
Exemptions for spousal transfers
5 A transfer between any of the following is exempt from the tax:
(a) spouses or common law partners;
(b) former spouses or common law partners, if the transfer is for the purpose of
division of marital or jointly held assets.
Exemptions for transfers to trusts
6 A transfer made to or from a trust in any of the following ways is exempt from the tax:
(a) from an individual to a trust of which the individual is the sole beneficiary,
if the trust is 1 of the following:
(i) an alter ego trust as defined in subsection 248(1) of the Income Tax
Act (Canada),
(ii) a trust with similar requirements to a trust in subclause (i) for an
individual who is a non-resident of Canada;
(b) from an individual to a trust if the individual and their spouse or
common-law partner are the only beneficiaries, if the trust is 1 of the
following:
(i) a joint spousal or common-law partner trust as defined in subsection
248(1) of the Income Tax Act (Canada),
(ii) a trust having similar requirements to a trust in subclause (i) for an
individual who is a non-resident of Canada;
(c) to or from a trust if there is no change in beneficial ownership of the
residential property.
Exemption for transfers from deceased grantor or their estate
7 A transfer involving a deceased grantor or their estate that is made in any of the
following ways is exempt from the tax:
(a) from an executor to a beneficiary under a will, including to a spousal trust;
(b) from an administrator of an estate to a person entitled to the estate under the
Intestate Succession Act or the intestacy laws of another jurisdiction;
(c) to the grantor’s child, grandchild, parent or sibling, if the deed is registered
after the grantor’s death.
Exemption for transfers to and from foreclosing mortgagees
8 A transfer involving a foreclosing mortgagee that is made in any of the following ways is
exempt from the tax:
(a) to a foreclosing mortgagee;
(b) from a foreclosing mortgagee to a mortgage insurer.
Exemptions for corrections to deed
9 A deed that meets all of the following is exempt from the tax:
(a) it only confirms, corrects, modifies or supplements a deed previously given;
(b) there is no consideration for the transfer beyond 1 dollar;
(c) it does not include more residential property than the deed previously given.
Exemptions in other situations
10 (1) A transfer to His Majesty the King in right of Canada or an agency of or
corporation owned by His Majesty the King in right of Canada is exempt from the
tax.
(2) A transfer pursuant to an agreement of purchase and sale entered into before
April 1, 2022, is exempt from the tax.
(3) A transfer to a registered charity is exempt from the tax if the residential property
is not to be used for any commercial, industrial or other business purpose and an
officer of the grantee makes and files a declaration with the Administrator to that
effect.
Application for refund of deed transfer tax
11 (1) An application may be made to the Administrator for a refund of the tax in any of
the following circumstances:
(a) for a person,
(i) extraordinary circumstances, [or]
(ii) the tax or a portion of the tax was paid in error;
(b) for an individual, they paid the tax in respect of a residential property and
became a resident of the Province within 1 year of the date they acquired the
property.
(2) An individual who applies for a refund of the tax under subsection (1)(b) must
provide the following to the Administrator:
(a) proof that they are a resident of the Province;
(b) their social insurance number, if required by the Administrator to verify the
grantee’s residence status.
(3) An application for a refund under this Section must be made no later than 2 years
after the date the person acquired the residential property.
(4) If the Administrator is satisfied that the applicant meets the conditions in
subsection (1), the Administrator must refund the tax or a portion of the tax.
Refund after appeal
12 The Administrator must refund the tax or a portion of the tax in accordance with any
decision of the Minister to change an assessment or determination regarding the
applicability of the tax as a result of an appeal made under the Act.
Issue of refund by Administrator
13 A refund of tax required under these regulations must be issued by the Administrator to
the following:
(a) the grantee or grantees in accordance with their ownership interest in the
property;
(b) the designated grantee, if the grantees have consented to a designated
grantee to represent all grantees in a transaction;
(c) the legal representative, if the grantees have consented to the payment of the
refund being made to their legal representative.
Prorating tax
14 (1) If only a portion of a parcel is being transferred, the applicable tax rate in Section 4
of the Act is applied to the greater of the following:
(a) the sale price;
(b) the assessed value attributable to the portion of the parcel being transferred,
as determined under subsection (2).
(2) The assessed value attributable to a portion of a parcel referred to in subsection (1)
is determined by 1 of the following methods:
(a) by prorating the assessed value of the parcel on the basis of the percentage
of the total area of the parcel transferred;
(b) if the amount determined under clause (a) does not reasonably reflect the
assessed value attributable to the portion of the parcel being transferred, the
amount determined by the following formula:
AVportion = AVtotal × (FMVportion ÷ FMVtotal)
in which
AVportion = the assessed value attributable to the portion of the parcel
being transferred
AVtotal = the assessed value of the entire parcel
FMVportion = the appraised fair market value of the portion of the
parcel being transferred
FMVtotal = the appraised fair market value of the entire parcel
(3) If the Administrator determines that tax remitted for a portion of a parcel under this
Section should have been calculated under the alternate method set out in clause
(2)(a) or (b) for a more reasonable reflection of the assessed value of the portion of
the parcel being transferred, the Administrator may select the alternate method to
determine the tax and issue an assessment for any difference.
(4) The appraised fair market value referred to in clause (2)(b) must be calculated by a
real estate appraiser registered under the Real Estate Appraisers Act.
(5) The cost of an appraisal must be paid by the grantee.
Assessments
15 The Administrator must send any tax assessment the Administrator makes under the Act
or these regulations to the grantee and the grantee must pay the assessed amounts by the
due date shown on the tax assessment.
Interest on unpaid tax
16 (1) The rate of interest to be applied to unpaid tax is 1% of the unpaid amount per
month until it is paid.
(2) Interest charges are calculated starting on the date of the transfer that attracted the
tax.
(3) The Administrator may at any time waive all or part of any interest payable under
the Act or these regulations.
Administrative penalties
17 (1) The penalty that may be assessed by the Administrator is as follows:
(a) 20% of the tax; or
(b) 100% of the tax, if the grantee knowingly, or under circumstances
amounting to gross negligence, made or participated in, assented to or
acquiesced in the making of a false statement or an omission in any
document filed or provided under the Act or these regulations.
(2) The Administrator may waive all or part of any penalty that is or may be charged
under the Act or these regulations.
Requirement to provide records
18 (1) A person must provide the Administrator with all records that the Administrator
requires and considers necessary to determine compliance with the Act or these
regulations.
(2) In a written notice to the person, the Administrator may
(a) specify the form, manner and time in which the records referred to in
subsection (1) must be provided; and
(b) require the records to be provided in English or an English translation of the
records that is verified in a manner satisfactory to the Administrator.
Use of information by Administrator
19 The Administrator may use any information collected under the Act and these
regulations for the purpose of analyzing and reviewing the tax from a policy perspective.
The following regulations are not
yet in force and are not included in the current consolidation: