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Los Angeles County transfer taxes: how buyers and sellers should plan around Measure ULA, city taxes, and the November ballot

By Dr. Hamid Rowshan, Choice of America

A step-by-step guide for Los Angeles County buyers and sellers on the county and city transfer taxes, Measure ULA's thresholds, and the November 3 ballot.

Most Los Angeles County home sellers think about commissions, repairs, and the payoff on their mortgage. Fewer think about the documentary transfer tax, the one-time tax collected when a deed is recorded. For a typical home it is a modest line on the closing statement. But depending on which side of a city line the property sits on and how close the price lands to certain thresholds, the tax can range widely: a $950,000 sale owes about $1,045 in most of the county, while a $5.5 million City of Los Angeles sale owes over $250,000. In the City of Los Angeles, for sales closing after June 30, 2026, the Measure ULA tax takes 4% of the entire price on sales above $5.4 million and under $10.9 million, and 5.5% at $10.9 million or more. Santa Monica, Culver City, Pomona, and Redondo Beach have their own rates. And on November 3, City of Los Angeles voters will decide Proposition TE, which would exempt some homes damaged in the Palisades Fire from ULA. This guide explains every layer, shows the math, and walks through, step by step, how to plan a sale or purchase around it.

The market behind the numbers

Realtor.com's September 2026 data put Los Angeles County's median listing price at $950,000 (FRED MEDLISPRI6037), down from $965,000 in August and about 4.5% below the $995,000 median of September 2025. The median asking price per square foot was $620 (FRED MEDLISPRIPERSQUFEE6037), down from $638 a year earlier, on a median home of 1,673 square feet. The average listing price, pulled up by the county's luxury market, was $2,131,824.

There were 15,374 active listings (FRED ACTLISCOU6037), up about 4.1% from 14,764 a year earlier, and 5,670 new listings (FRED NEWLISCOU6037). Pending listings fell to 4,984 (FRED PENLISCOU6037) from 5,450 a year ago, roughly 32 homes in escrow for every 100 for sale. The median listing spent 56 days on the market (FRED MEDDAYONMAR6037), compared with 57 a year earlier. Realtor.com reports that 15.9% of Los Angeles County listings had a price reduction in September, up from 15.6% in August and 14.7% a year earlier. That is still the lowest share among the five Southern California counties Choice of America serves (Orange County was 21.1%, San Diego 20.4%, San Bernardino 18.1%, and Riverside 17.0%).

Freddie Mac's average 30-year fixed rate was 7.40% in the weeks of October 8 and October 15, 2026 (FRED MORTGAGE30US), compared with 6.27% in the week of October 16, 2025. The 15-year fixed averaged 6.71%. Freddie Mac's next weekly reading is due Thursday, October 22.

The payment math. As an illustration, 20% down on the $950,000 median ($190,000) leaves a $760,000 loan. At 7.40% on a 30-year fixed loan, principal and interest is about $5,262 a month. A year ago, 20% down on the $995,000 median at 6.27% would have meant a $796,000 loan at about $4,911 a month. Today's payment is about $351 more than on last year's higher $995,000 median; on the same $760,000 loan, the increase would be about $573. To redo this yourself, use any mortgage calculator or the spreadsheet formula =PMT(rate/12, 360, -loan): =PMT(0.074/12, 360, -760000) returns $5,262. That loan fits under the 2026 Los Angeles County conforming and FHA limit of $1,249,125 for one unit. These figures exclude property taxes, insurance, HOA dues, and mortgage insurance.

Transfer taxes do not change your monthly payment, but they change how much a seller walks away with, and that changes how prices are set and negotiated, especially near the thresholds below.

Layer 1: the county documentary transfer tax (everywhere)

Under California's Documentary Transfer Tax Act (Revenue and Taxation Code sections 11911-11933), the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk collects a tax when a deed conveying real property is recorded. The county rate is $0.55 for each $500 of value, or $1.10 per $1,000, and it is figured on the consideration or value exclusive of any lien that remains on the property. For a $950,000 sale, that is $1,045 (1,900 units of $500 × $0.55).

In most of the county, including unincorporated communities and most of the 88 cities, that is the entire transfer tax. The Recorder lists five cities that add their own tax on top: Culver City, Los Angeles, Pomona, Redondo Beach, and Santa Monica.

Layer 2: the five cities with their own tax

According to the Registrar-Recorder's current rate table and the cities' own pages:

  • City of Los Angeles: a base tax of $2.25 per $500 (0.45%) on every sale, plus Measure ULA on high-value sales (Layer 3).
  • Culver City: marginal rates under Measure RE (approved by voters in 2020, effective April 1, 2021) of 0.45% on value up to $1,499,999, 1.5% on the portion from $1.5 million to $2,999,999, 3% from $3 million to $9,999,999, and 4% on value of $10 million and above. Because Culver City's rates are marginal, each rate applies only to the part of the price within that bracket, so there is no sudden jump. Culver City says its tax is figured on value including any liens that remain, and that the thresholds adjust every five years with the Consumer Price Index.
  • Santa Monica: $3.00 per $1,000 on transfers under $5 million, $6.00 per $1,000 from $5 million to $7,999,999, and, since Measure GS took effect March 1, 2023, $56.00 per $1,000 (5.6%) at $8 million and above. Santa Monica's own example shows an $8 million transfer owing $448,000 in city tax plus $8,800 in county tax.
  • Pomona and Redondo Beach: $2.20 per $1,000.

Layer 3: Measure ULA in the City of Los Angeles

Measure ULA, the "United to House LA" or Homelessness and Housing Solutions Tax, was approved by City of Los Angeles voters in November 2022 and applies to sales recorded on or after April 1, 2023. It funds affordable housing and tenant programs administered by the Los Angeles Housing Department. In a May 2026 motion, City Council members wrote that ULA had raised more than $1 billion since collection began.

The Office of Finance's current rate table, effective for transactions closing after June 30, 2026:

Value of property conveyedCity base taxULA taxTotal city rate
Over $100 up to $5,400,0000.45% ($2.25 per $500)0%0.45%
Over $5,400,000 and under $10,900,0000.45%4%4.45%
$10,900,000 or more0.45%5.5%5.95%

The county's $1.10 per $1,000 is added on top. Four details matter:

  1. ULA applies to the whole price, not just the amount above the threshold. That creates a "cliff" at each threshold.
  2. The thresholds move every year. They began at $5 million and $10 million, were $5.3 million and $10.6 million for sales closing from July 1, 2025, and are now $5.4 million and $10.9 million. The Office of Finance says they adjust annually with the Bureau of Labor Statistics chained Consumer Price Index. Check the current figure before you price a home near the line.
  3. ULA uses gross value. The Office of Finance says the base tax is figured on net value, excluding liens that remain on the property, while ULA is figured on gross value, including them. If a buyer assumes the seller's loan, the assumed balance counts toward ULA.
  4. It is only the City of Los Angeles. A Los Angeles mailing address or a neighborhood name does not settle it. Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Malibu, Santa Monica, and Culver City are separate cities, and communities such as Altadena are unincorporated county territory, where ULA does not apply. The City of Los Angeles base tax applies to all property inside city limits, and the Office of Finance says a parcel that straddles the boundary is taxed in proportion to the part inside the city.

Exemptions. The Office of Finance lists ULA exemptions for buyers that are qualified affordable-housing nonprofits, community land trusts, and limited-equity cooperatives (administered by the Housing Department), for certain 501(c)(3) organizations with assets under $1 billion that received their IRS determination at least 10 years before the sale, for government agencies, and for transfers that are exempt from the base transfer tax under local, state, or federal law. A typical sale between private parties does not qualify.

The cliffs, in dollars

Sale (City of Los Angeles)County taxCity base taxULATotal transfer tax
$950,000 (county median list price)$1,045$4,275$0$5,320
$2,000,000$2,200$9,000$0$11,200
$5,400,000$5,940$24,300$0$30,240
$5,500,000$6,050$24,750$220,000$250,800
$10,900,000$11,990$49,050$599,500$660,540

A seller who accepts $5,500,000 nets about $5,249,200 after transfer taxes, while one who accepts $5,400,000 nets about $5,369,760, or $120,560 more for a price that is $100,000 lower. Before other closing costs, a City of Los Angeles sale has to reach about $5.63 million (about $5,626,320) before the seller comes out ahead of a $5.4 million sale on transfer taxes alone. At the upper threshold, a sale just under $10.9 million owes about $497,040 in total transfer tax, while a sale at exactly $10.9 million owes $660,540, and the break-even price is about $11,074,000. Commissions and other percentage-based costs push those break-even prices a bit higher.

Santa Monica has a similar cliff at $8 million: about $56,800 in combined tax on a $7,999,999 sale versus $456,800 at $8,000,000. Culver City's marginal brackets avoid the cliff: a $10,000,000 sale there owes about $239,250 in city tax plus $11,000 in county tax.

The same $950,000 home in different places: about $1,045 in most of the county; $3,135 in Pomona or Redondo Beach; $3,895 in Santa Monica; and $5,320 in the City of Los Angeles or Culver City. On a $2,000,000 home: $2,200 in most of the county, $6,600 in Pomona or Redondo Beach, $8,200 in Santa Monica, $11,200 in the City of Los Angeles, and $16,450 in Culver City.

What is on the November 3 ballot, and what is not

  • Proposition TE (City of Los Angeles). The City Council placed it on the November 3, 2026 ballot. It asks: "Shall an ordinance be adopted to provide a one-time exemption from the City's special documentary transfer tax (Proposition ULA) for residential properties that were damaged or destroyed in the Palisades Fire and are sold within five years of the date of the Fire?" Under the measure text, the seller must have owned the home on January 7, 2025, the damage must be verified by the Department of Building and Safety, each property can use the exemption only once, and the exemption would cover sales from January 7, 2025 through January 6, 2030. It would also let the Director of Finance refund ULA already paid on qualifying sales. It needs a simple majority. It would not change ULA for anyone else.
  • Statewide Proposition 43. According to the official voter guide, Proposition 43 would require a two-thirds vote for local special taxes proposed by voters, and the Legislative Analyst says it would apply to "any new, increased, or extended" such taxes beginning January 1, 2027. It would not repeal ULA.
  • No general ULA rollback. In July the City Council considered asking voters to reduce ULA rates on some properties, but the only ULA measure on the city's November ballot is Proposition TE. A separate statewide initiative that could have affected ULA was withdrawn and is not on the Secretary of State's list of November measures.

How sellers should plan: a step-by-step checklist

  1. Confirm the jurisdiction before you set a price. Look at your property tax bill or title report to see which city, if any, the parcel is in, and ask your escrow or title officer to confirm. The City of Los Angeles ZIMAS parcel map (zimas.lacity.org) covers only parcels inside the city. Do not rely on the mailing address.
  2. Estimate every layer in writing. County: divide the price by 500, round up, and multiply by $0.55. City: apply the city's rate from the Recorder's table. ULA: if the price is above $5.4 million, multiply the entire price by 4% (5.5% at $10.9 million or more). The Office of Finance's ULA page includes a calculator. Then ask escrow for a written estimated settlement statement.
  3. If you are near a cliff, price with it in mind. A list price of $5.45 million in the City of Los Angeles invites offers that leave you with less than a $5.4 million sale. Discuss with your agent whether to list at or below the threshold, or high enough above it (about $5.63 million or more) that a sale still nets more. Remember that the threshold is "greater than" $5,400,000, so a sale at exactly $5,400,000 owes no ULA.
  4. Do not try to hide value. ULA is figured on gross value, including liens that stay on the property, and the Office of Finance says it will invoice underpayments it finds through compliance reviews. Moving part of the price into furniture, side payments, or credits to duck under a threshold can create legal and tax problems. If an inspection turns up repairs near a threshold, ask your tax adviser and escrow officer whether a price reduction or a credit is the right way to document it.
  5. Decide in the contract who pays. The purchase agreement states who pays the county and city transfer taxes, and that is negotiable. Culver City notes that either party may pay, and if the tax goes unpaid, buyer and seller are jointly and severally liable.
  6. Check exemptions and Proposition TE. If you are a nonprofit or public agency, or if you owned a Palisades home damaged in the January 2025 fire, keep your Department of Building and Safety damage records and your proof of ownership on January 7, 2025, and talk with a tax professional about timing before you close.
  7. Watch the calendar. ULA thresholds adjust each July 1 with inflation (the chained Consumer Price Index). Culver City's adjust every five years. A sale that closes on the other side of an adjustment can land in a different bracket.

How buyers should use this

  1. Spot the listings priced just above a cliff. A City of Los Angeles home listed between $5.4 million and about $5.63 million costs the seller money at that price. An offer at or below $5.4 million may net the seller more and save you money. On a 20%-down loan at 7.40%, a $100,000 price reduction lowers principal and interest by about $554 a month (about $69 for every $10,000 borrowed).
  2. Factor transfer taxes into your next sale, too. Buying inside the City of Los Angeles, Culver City, or Santa Monica means a higher transfer tax when you sell, especially if your home could someday be worth more than the thresholds.
  3. Read the escrow instructions. Confirm which transfer taxes the contract assigns to you, if any, and that the city line and rate are right before you sign.
  4. For apartment and mixed-use buyers. ULA applies to residential and commercial property alike, so a multifamily building selling above $5.4 million in the City of Los Angeles carries the same 4% or 5.5%. Underwrite it from the start, and know that Culver City offers its 0.45% rate for 100% deed-restricted affordable housing transfers and the first sale of certain newly built apartment buildings.

What this means day to day

For most Los Angeles County households buying near the $950,000 median, the transfer tax is about a thousand dollars ($1,045) in most of the county, or $5,320 inside the City of Los Angeles, and the monthly payment at 7.40% matters far more. The planning matters most for owners of high-value homes, apartment buildings, and land on the Westside, in the Hollywood Hills, the San Fernando Valley hillsides, and Palisades lots being rebuilt or sold, and for anyone selling near the city lines of Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and Culver City. With 15,374 homes for sale, the median listing at 56 days on the market, and one listing in six cut, sellers who price around the thresholds are more likely to attract offers that actually close.

At Choice of America, we run these numbers before a home is listed, confirm the jurisdiction and transfer tax with escrow, and help buyers find listings where the threshold math gives them room to negotiate. Visit our Los Angeles County page for local guidance, or call or text to talk through your sale or purchase.

Choice of America · Los Angeles County real estate

Dr. Hamid Rowshan, DRE #02004794, company DRE #02240008. Choice of America, serving Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties. Call or text 833-THIS-BROKER, (833) 842-7465.

Transfer tax figures are estimates based on the rates published by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, the City of Los Angeles Office of Finance, the City of Culver City, and the City of Santa Monica as of October 18, 2026. Rounding, exemptions, partial-interest transfers, entity transfers, and parcels that cross city lines can change the result, and thresholds adjust over time. Payment figures are illustrations based on the median asking price and Freddie Mac's average rate; they are not a loan quote or a pre-approval. Ballot measure descriptions summarize the official texts and are not a recommendation on how to vote. This article is general information, not legal, tax, lending, or financial advice. Consult your escrow officer, a tax professional, or an attorney about your own transaction.

Sources:

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Dr. Hamid Rowshan · DRE #02004794 · Company DRE #02240008 · Orange, LA, Riverside, San Bernardino & San Diego counties.

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