Legal & due diligence
Statement of adjustments at closing
By Bo Yu, Broker, Right at Home Realty, Brokerage · Verified/updated August 2026
The statement of adjustments is the accounting page of your closing. It starts with the purchase price, subtracts your deposit, then adjusts for anything the seller paid in advance that covers days after you own the home — or anything they owe that covers days before.
It is not a fee. It is a settling-up. But it lands on the same day as everything else, and it can add or subtract a couple of thousand dollars from what you wire your lawyer.
- Who charges it
- Nobody — it is prepared by the seller's lawyer and verified by yours.
- Who normally pays
- Whichever side is behind; usually the buyer credits the seller.
- When it's paid
- On closing day, through the lawyers.
- Cash or financed
- Cash at closing.
- Typical range
- $300–$2,500, depending on closing date and what's prepaid
How it's calculated — and why it varies
Each item is prorated to the closing date. Common Ottawa adjustments:
- Property taxes: if the seller has paid the City of Ottawa instalments past your closing date, you reimburse the balance of the period. If they're behind, you get a credit.
- Condominium common expenses: the current month is prorated.
- Fuel: oil or propane left in a tank is measured and charged at the current fill price — common in Greely, Manotick, Carp and Russell.
- Water and utility accounts: prorated where the account can't be split cleanly.
- Rent and last-month's-rent deposits, where you're buying a tenanted property.
- The deposit you paid with your offer is credited to you here, which is why the statement is the clearest picture of your real cash-to-close.
Exemptions, refunds and when it doesn't apply
- Closing early in a tax instalment period usually means a small adjustment; closing right after the seller paid a big instalment means a large one.
- Your deposit is not a fee and is not lost — it appears here as a credit against the price.
- New-construction closings have a much longer adjustment list, including development levies and Tarion enrolment; see the new-construction pages.
- Ask your lawyer for the draft statement two or three days before closing, and read it against the agreement.
A real Ottawa example
A $650,000 Alta Vista home with $5,400 in annual property taxes, closing October 1 after the seller paid the final instalment covering the year: the buyer credits the seller roughly $1,350 for October through December.
Same house, closing March 1 before any instalment has been paid: the adjustment is near zero, and the buyer simply picks up the next instalment. Identical house, very different closing-day cash.
How this shows up in the calculator
The calculator includes a conservative "Property tax adjustment" row based on your annual tax figure. Your actual number comes from the closing date and the seller's payment history, so treat the row as a placeholder until your lawyer sends the draft statement.
Open the calculatorOfficial sources — verified/updated August 2026
Rules and rates change. These are the first-party pages this one was checked against; confirm anything that matters to your purchase directly with them.
Every figure on this page is a planning estimate for general information only, based on the assumptions shown, and are not legal, tax, mortgage or financial advice or an offer of credit. Actual rates, payments, taxes, fees and values vary — confirm the numbers with your lender, lawyer or accountant before relying on them. Full disclosures.
This page is general information about how a cost works in Ontario, not legal, tax, mortgage or accounting advice, and not a quote. Your lawyer, lender and accountant confirm what actually applies to your purchase.
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