Real estate transfer tax in California and Los Angeles

Is there a state transfer tax in California?

No. The state does not levy its own transfer tax. The Documentary Transfer Tax Act lets local governments do it (Revenue and Taxation Code, Part 6.7).

Under § 11911(a), a county board of supervisors may tax each deed that conveys real property sold in the county. The tax applies when the value conveyed exceeds $100. The rate is $0.55 for each $500 or fraction of $500. The value excludes any lien or encumbrance that stays on the property at the time of sale, such as a loan the buyer assumes.

Under § 11911(b), a city may add half the county rate ($0.275 per $500), and the county credits it against its own tax (§ 11911(c)). Some cities charge more. The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder lists five cities with “special rates”: Culver City, Los Angeles, Pomona, Redondo Beach and Santa Monica. In those five cities, it states, the county rate is calculated at the full $1.10 per $1,000.

What Los Angeles County and the City of Los Angeles charge

The Registrar-Recorder collects the county tax and the city taxes when the deed is recorded. Both amounts must be shown separately on the first page of the deed (LA County Registrar-Recorder, as of October 2026).

The ULA thresholds above apply to transactions closing after June 30, 2026. For the year before, from July 1, 2025, they were $5,300,000 and $10,600,000 (LA County Registrar-Recorder). The ULA ordinance tells the Director of Finance to adjust them every year using the Bureau of Labor Statistics Chained Consumer Price Index (Ordinance 187692). Check the City FAQ for the figures in force on your closing date.

Two details change the bill:

• The ULA rate applies to the whole price, not to the part above the threshold. The ordinance sets “a tax at the rate of 4% of the consideration or value.” The City FAQ adds that ULA is not rounded to $500 because it is a percentage.
• ULA counts loans that remain on the property; the base taxes do not. If the buyer assumes the seller’s loan, the base tax uses the net value and ULA uses the gross value, including the assumed loan (City FAQ).

Santa Monica and Culver City have their own tiered rates, listed by the Registrar-Recorder. This article covers the City of Los Angeles; see our Los Angeles page for the local market.

Who pays the transfer tax?

Neither the state statute nor the City of Los Angeles FAQ assigns the tax to the buyer or the seller. The statute taxes the deed itself, and the Registrar-Recorder states that the tax calculation is the responsibility of the person who prepares the document. Who bears the cost is set in your purchase contract and escrow instructions. Read those documents before you sign, or ask a California real estate attorney.

Exemptions

The Documentary Transfer Tax Act exempts several kinds of transfers (Chapter 3). The main ones for homeowners:

When no tax is due, the deed must say why on its face, using one of the Registrar-Recorder’s accepted exemption statements. For how property is held between spouses, see community property in California.

Measure ULA has its own exemptions, listed in the City FAQ. They cover qualified affordable housing organizations (LAMC § 21.9.14). They also cover a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that received its IRS determination letter at least 10 years before the sale and has under $1 billion in assets, public agencies, and any transfer already exempt from the base tax (LAMC § 21.9.15).

Worked examples in the City of Los Angeles

These are examples at round prices, not quotes. They assume an ordinary sale closing after June 30, 2026, with no loan assumed by the buyer, so net and gross values are equal.

Because ULA applies to the full price, crossing the threshold adds a large amount at once. At $5,400,000 no ULA is due. At $6,000,000 the 4% tier adds $240,000.

Outside the five special-rate cities, the same $1,000,000 home would owe only the county’s $1,100.

Transfer taxes come on top of recording fees. One link: under Government Code § 27388.1, the $75 Building Homes and Jobs Act recording fee is not charged on documents recorded in connection with a transfer subject to the documentary transfer tax. For the full closing bill, see closing costs in California and closing costs explained.