Etobicoke or Mississauga? The Costs That Actually Differ When You Cross Highway 427

Highway 427 is the boundary between the City of Toronto and the City of Mississauga. Buyers looking at west Etobicoke almost always look at east Mississauga too, and the question they ask is which one costs more. The honest answer is that the two cities cost more at different times — Toronto costs more on closing day, and Mississauga costs more every year afterwards.

This page does the arithmetic with the published rates.

Every rate on this page was taken from the government source that publishes it, on 25 August 2026, and each source is listed at the bottom with the date that page states. Rates change. Confirm them before you rely on them, and take your own legal and tax advice — I am a Realtor, not a lawyer or an accountant.

Difference one: Toronto charges a second land transfer tax

Every buyer in Ontario pays provincial land transfer tax. Buyers inside the City of Toronto — which includes all of Etobicoke — pay a second, municipal land transfer tax on top of it. Mississauga has no municipal land transfer tax.

Up to $2 million the two Toronto taxes use the same bracket structure, so the practical effect is simple: an Etobicoke buyer pays roughly double the land transfer tax a Mississauga buyer pays on the same price.

On a $1,000,000 purchase of a single-family residence, calculated from the published brackets:

• Provincial land transfer tax: $16,475
• Toronto municipal land transfer tax: $16,475
• Etobicoke buyer total: $32,950, plus a $102.56 MLTT administration fee plus HST
• Mississauga buyer total: $16,475
• Difference on closing day: $16,475

That is a real, immediate, non-negotiable cash difference, and it is the single largest number in this comparison.

Difference two: Mississauga’s property tax rate is materially higher

For 2026:

• City of Toronto residential total rate: 0.767311% — made up of a 0.605295% city rate, the 0.153000% education rate and a 0.009016% City Building Fund levy.
• City of Mississauga residential total rate: 1.087901% — made up of a 0.396141% city rate, a 0.538760% Region of Peel rate and the same 0.153000% education rate.

Mississauga’s city portion is actually lower than Toronto’s. The difference is the Region of Peel levy, which has no equivalent in Toronto — Toronto is a single-tier municipality and does not sit inside a regional government.

On an assessed value of $1,000,000 that is $7,673.11 a year in Toronto against $10,879.01 in Mississauga — $3,205.90 a year in Toronto’s favour.

The break-even

Divide the extra land transfer tax by the annual property tax saving and you get the point at which staying put in Etobicoke has repaid the higher closing cost.

• At $1,000,000: $16,475 extra, $3,205.90 saved a year — about 5 years 2 months.
• At $1,500,000: $26,475 extra, $4,808.85 saved a year — about 5 years 6 months.
• At $2,000,000: $36,475 extra, $6,411.80 saved a year — about 5 years 8 months.

The honest caveat, and it matters. Property tax is charged on MPAC’s assessed value, not on what you paid. Ontario has postponed its province-wide reassessment, and 2026 property taxes are still being calculated from a 1 January 2016 valuation date. For most Etobicoke and Mississauga homes the assessed value is well below today’s purchase price, which means the real annual saving is smaller than the figures above and the real break-even is longer than five or six years. Anyone quoting you a shorter payback has used the purchase price as the assessed value. Look up the actual assessment on the property you are considering — it is on the tax bill — and redo the sum with that number.

Difference three: a tax that only exists on the Toronto side

Toronto levies a Vacant Home Tax at 3% of a property’s current value assessment, applying from the 2024 taxation year. Every Toronto residential owner must file an annual occupancy declaration. If you do not declare, the City deems the property vacant and issues a Vacant Home Tax bill.

That last sentence is the part that catches people. The tax is not aimed at ordinary owner-occupiers, but the declaration requirement applies to them anyway, and silence is treated as a vacancy. If you buy in Etobicoke, put the declaration in your calendar. Mississauga has no equivalent tax.

Difference four: non-resident buyers

Toronto charges a Municipal Non-Resident Speculation Tax of 10% on top of the provincial non-resident speculation tax. If you are not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, this is a much larger consideration than anything else on this page, and it is worth specific legal advice before you look at anything.

So which is cheaper?

Neither, categorically. It depends on how long you will own it.

• Buying and moving again within a few years: the Toronto municipal land transfer tax is unlikely to be repaid by the property tax saving. Mississauga wins on cost.
• Buying to stay: the annual saving compounds indefinitely, and Toronto wins — though later than the simple arithmetic suggests, because of the assessment point above.

What should not decide it is a guess. Both cities publish their rates, both are linked below, and the sum takes ten minutes with the actual assessed value of the actual property.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Ontario — Calculating land transfer tax. The provincial land transfer tax bracket table in force since 1 January 2017. Page last updated 22 April 2026. Accessed 24 August 2026.
• City of Toronto — Municipal Land Transfer Tax rates and fees. The Toronto MLTT bracket table effective 1 April 2026, the $102.56 administration fee, and the 10% Municipal Non-Resident Speculation Tax. Page last updated 7 April 2026. Accessed 24 August 2026.
• City of Toronto — Property tax rates and fees. The 2026 Toronto residential rate of 0.767311% and its three components. Page last updated 11 May 2026. Accessed 24 August 2026.
• City of Mississauga — By-law 0061-2026, 2026 tax ratios and rates. The 2026 Mississauga residential rate of 1.087901% and its City, Region of Peel and education components. By-law enacted 29 April 2026. Accessed 24 August 2026.
• City of Toronto — Vacant Home Tax. The 3% rate applying from the 2024 taxation year and the consequence of failing to file a declaration. Page last updated 22 July 2026. Accessed 24 August 2026.
• MPAC — The assessment cycle. Confirmation that 2026 property taxes are calculated from a 1 January 2016 valuation date and that the province-wide reassessment remains postponed. Accessed 24 August 2026.

Related reading

• Land transfer tax on an Etobicoke purchase, and the two rebates
• Is Etobicoke still a city? What amalgamation means for your tax bill
• Jatin Dua, Realtor in Mississauga
• What is my home worth in Toronto and the GTA?