Does Alberta charge land transfer tax when a business sale includes a building?

Alberta charges a Land Titles registration fee in place of a land transfer tax. A transfer of land costs $50 plus $5 for each $5,000 of the land’s market value, which comes to $1,550 on a $1.5 million building. The same building would carry $26,475 of land transfer tax in Ontario.

What is the tax rate on a capital gain when I sell my business in Alberta?

At the top bracket in 2026, 24 percent of the gain. Alberta’s 15 percent rate above $370,220 and the federal 33 percent combine to 48 percent, and half of a capital gain is taxable. The lifetime capital gains exemption can shelter up to $1,275,000 of gain on qualifying shares first.

Is there sales tax on the sale of business assets in Alberta?

The 5 percent GST is the only sales tax, since Alberta’s provincial rate is zero. Buyer and seller can remove the GST with a joint election on Form GST44 where the buyer takes at least 90 percent of the property used to run the business.

What happens to my employees when I sell my business in Alberta?

Under Alberta’s employment standards a change of ownership keeps each employee’s length of service. If the buyer later terminates someone, notice is based on the original hire date with your business, up to eight weeks for 10 years or more.

InsightsOctober 9, 20266 min read

How to sell a business in Alberta, where the costs run lower

A sale in Alberta follows the national stages at a lower cost. The top rate on a gain is 24 percent, and a building changes hands for a registration fee in place of a transfer tax.

Alberta adds lower provincial costs to the national stages. A capital gain at the top bracket is taxed at 24 percent, against about 26.76 percent in Ontario. An asset sale carries 5 percent GST alone, which Form GST44 can remove, and a building registers for $50 plus $5 per $5,000 of value. Employee service passes to the buyer.

What belongs to Alberta

If you want to sell a business in Alberta, the stages are those of any Canadian sale, and our guide to how to sell a business in Canada takes them in order. What Alberta changes is mostly cost. Its combined top tax rate is lower than Ontario’s or British Columbia’s, and an asset sale carries GST alone. A building changes hands for a registration fee in place of a transfer tax.

The national rules apply here in full. The lifetime capital gains exemption shelters up to $1,275,000 of gain on qualifying shares in 2026, and the choice between a share sale or an asset sale decides which of the Alberta rules below reach you.

Alberta at a glance

Topic	The Alberta rule	What it means for a seller
Tax on a capital gain	15 percent provincial rate above $370,220	24 percent of each dollar of gain at the top bracket, federal tax included
Corporate tax	8 percent general rate; 2 percent on small business income up to $500,000	The provincial share of tax on income your company earns before the sale
Sales tax on an asset sale	GST at 5 percent, the only sales tax charged	Form GST44 can remove it on a sale of substantially the whole business
Real estate in the sale	A Land Titles fee of $50 plus $5 per $5,000 of land value	$1,550 on a $1.5 million building
Employees	A change of ownership keeps each employee’s length of service	Notice runs from the original hire date, up to eight weeks at 10 years

The sales tax and land rows arise mainly in an asset sale, where the buyer takes the equipment and the building into its own name. Each row is explained below with its source.

The tax rate on your gain in Alberta

The CRA’s 2026 table of provincial rates sets Alberta’s top bracket at 15 percent on taxable income above $370,220. With the federal top rate of 33 percent, the combined rate at the top is 48 percent. Half of a capital gain is taxable, so each dollar of gain above the exemption costs 24 cents at that bracket, our arithmetic from the two published rates.

Take, as an illustration, a share sale that leaves $1 million of gain above the exemption. The tax at 24 percent is about $240,000. The same gain costs about $267,600 in Ontario and about $267,500 in British Columbia, so an Alberta seller keeps about $27,500 more of it. Alternative minimum tax and the timing of each payment are covered in the taxes when you sell a business.

Inside the company, Alberta’s own corporate rates are 8 percent general and 2 percent on small business income. The province’s corporate income tax page sets the small business threshold at $500,000 of active business income. In an asset sale the company sells first and pays its own tax before any money reaches you, and your accountant sorts out which part of the price is taxed at which rate.

GST alone on an asset sale

Alberta has a provincial sales tax rate of zero, so the only sales tax on business assets is the federal GST at 5 percent, as the CRA’s GST/HST rate calculator shows. On an asset sale priced at $3 million that is $150,000, against $390,000 of HST on the same sale in Ontario.

The election under section 167 of the Excise Tax Act can take even the GST off the sale. According to the CRA’s page on buying an existing business, it needs a buyer who takes at least 90 percent of the property used to run the business. The two parties sign Form GST44 together and the buyer files it. The election works the same way as in Ontario, on a smaller tax.

Land Titles fees in place of a transfer tax

Where a building is part of the sale, Alberta charges a registration fee at Land Titles in place of a percentage land transfer tax. The province’s fee schedule, in force for documents received from October 1, 2026, sets a transfer of land at $50 plus $5 for each $5,000 of the value of the land. A mortgage registers at $50 plus $5 for each $5,000 of principal.

Value here means market value. The province’s Transfer of Land information sheet defines it as what the land might fetch on the open market between a willing seller and a willing buyer, buildings included. On a $1.5 million building the fee is $50 plus 300 steps of $5, or $1,550.

The same building would carry $26,475 of land transfer tax in Ontario and $28,000 of property transfer tax in British Columbia. A buyer who prices the purchase with those costs in mind has between about $25,000 and $26,500 more room in Alberta, and net proceeds from selling a business shows where such costs land for you.

Your employees under Alberta’s Employment Standards

Alberta’s employment standards page on termination treats a sale as a change of ownership. When the business changes hands and an employee keeps working for it, the employee retains all previous length of service. If the buyer later terminates them, the original hire date with your business sets their notice.

The same page sets notice by length of service, from one week after 90 days up to eight weeks at 10 years or more. Take, as an illustration, a shop foreman you hired 12 years ago. If the buyer lets them go a year after closing, the buyer owes eight weeks of notice, counted from your hire date. Buyers price that in, and what happens to your employees covers how and when to tell your staff.

Ontario’s statutory ban on employee non-competes is part of Ontario’s own Act. The covenant an Alberta buyer will ask of you is described in non-competes when selling a business.

Where to start

01Ask your accountant to run your own gain at Alberta’s rates and to check that your shares qualify for the exemption.
02Confirm that the buyer is registered for GST, since the GST44 election depends on it.
03If the company owns its building, get a market value appraisal, because the Land Titles fee is set on that figure.
04List each employee with a start date, because the buyer inherits that service.

For a business with sites in other provinces, the guides for British Columbia and Quebec set out their own rules. Who to hire for an Alberta sale, and how to check each person, is in hiring a business broker in Alberta. To see where your company stands first, the Quick AI valuation gives an early range in a few minutes, before you give anyone your name. Calgary hosted Canada’s Succession Summit 2026 in October, where buyers and lenders from across the country met on succession.

The provincial tax and regulatory requirements, regions and buyers are set out on selling a business in Alberta.

Questions owners ask

Does Alberta charge land transfer tax when a business sale includes a building?: Alberta charges a Land Titles registration fee in place of a land transfer tax. A transfer of land costs $50 plus $5 for each $5,000 of the land’s market value, which comes to $1,550 on a $1.5 million building. The same building would carry $26,475 of land transfer tax in Ontario.
What is the tax rate on a capital gain when I sell my business in Alberta?: At the top bracket in 2026, 24 percent of the gain. Alberta’s 15 percent rate above $370,220 and the federal 33 percent combine to 48 percent, and half of a capital gain is taxable. The lifetime capital gains exemption can shelter up to $1,275,000 of gain on qualifying shares first.
Is there sales tax on the sale of business assets in Alberta?: The 5 percent GST is the only sales tax, since Alberta’s provincial rate is zero. Buyer and seller can remove the GST with a joint election on Form GST44 where the buyer takes at least 90 percent of the property used to run the business.
What happens to my employees when I sell my business in Alberta?: Under Alberta’s employment standards a change of ownership keeps each employee’s length of service. If the buyer later terminates someone, notice is based on the original hire date with your business, up to eight weeks for 10 years or more.