Transfer Tax Rates When Selling a Home in the City of Los Angeles vs. Unincorporated LA County

Every real estate sale in California triggers a documentary transfer tax at the county level. This tax is collected at closing and recorded alongside the deed. The authority for it comes from California Revenue and Taxation Code Section 11911, which lets counties charge a tax on the transfer of real property. LA County uses that authority, and then individual cities within the county can layer on an additional municipal transfer tax on top of the county rate.

The County Base Rate

The LA County documentary transfer tax rate is $1.10 per $1,000 of the sale price (or the remaining loan balance if the buyer assumes an existing loan). That works out to $0.55 per $500. On a $900,000 home, which is close to the median sale price for many parts of the county right now in September 2026, the county tax alone comes to $990. The LA County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk administers this tax and publishes the current rate schedule on its website.

Who Pays and When

In practice, the seller typically pays the transfer tax in Los Angeles, though this is negotiable and not mandated by California law. The tax is due at the time the deed is recorded, which happens at the close of escrow. Escrow handles the calculation and remits the funds to the appropriate agency. Because transfer taxes are a direct deduction from your proceeds, they belong on your net sheet from day one. For a full picture of what sellers owe at closing beyond transfer taxes, see What Closing Costs Should a Home Seller Expect to Pay in Los Angeles California.

2. City of Los Angeles Transfer Tax Rates vs. Unincorporated LA County

The transfer tax rates when selling a home in the City of Los Angeles versus unincorporated LA County differ because incorporated cities are permitted to impose a city-level tax on top of the county base rate. Unincorporated areas only owe the county rate. Properties inside city limits owe both the county rate and the city rate. This distinction alone can add thousands of dollars to a seller's tax bill.

City of Los Angeles Rate

Properties within the incorporated City of Los Angeles owe the county base rate of $1.10 per $1,000 plus the city's own documentary transfer tax of $4.50 per $1,000. Combined, that is $5.60 per $1,000 of the sale price. On a $1.2 million Silver Lake bungalow or a $1.5 million Glassell Park craftsman, the combined county-plus-city transfer tax (before any Measure ULA calculation) would be $6,720 and $8,400 respectively. The City of Los Angeles Office of Finance administers the city portion and publishes its rate schedule and FAQ at its official website.

Unincorporated LA County Rate

Unincorporated LA County means the property sits in an area governed directly by the county, not by any city government. Large swaths of the county fall into this category, including parts of the San Gabriel Valley foothills, portions of the Antelope Valley, and areas near the Santa Monica Mountains. In unincorporated territory, sellers owe only the county documentary transfer tax of $1.10 per $1,000. There is no additional city layer because there is no city. On that same $1.2 million property, a seller in unincorporated LA County would owe $1,320 total in transfer taxes, compared to $6,720 inside city limits.

Why the Difference Matters on a Real Sale

The gap between city and unincorporated rates is not trivial. On a median-priced home in the City of Los Angeles, which has hovered near $900,000 to $950,000 through much of 2026, the difference between the city rate and the county-only rate is roughly $3,100 to $3,300. That is money that comes directly out of your net proceeds. Sellers who own property near jurisdictional boundaries, such as areas along the eastern edge of Eagle Rock or portions of the western San Fernando Valley, should confirm their exact address before estimating closing costs.

3. Measure ULA: The Additional Tax That Changed the Math for High-Value Sales

Measure ULA added a significant new transfer tax layer that applies exclusively within the City of Los Angeles for sales above specific price thresholds. Passed by voters in November 2022 and effective April 1, 2023, it is sometimes called the "mansion tax," though it applies to all property types, including apartment buildings, commercial properties, and vacant land, not just single-family homes. The City of Los Angeles Office of Finance Measure ULA FAQ is the authoritative source for current thresholds, exemptions, and filing procedures.

What Measure ULA Actually Is

Measure ULA created two new tax tiers on top of the existing city and county rates, both of which apply only to properties inside the City of Los Angeles. The first tier is a 4% tax on the entire sale price for properties that sell for more than $5,150,000 (the threshold adjusts annually for inflation; confirm the current figure with the Office of Finance). The second tier is a 5.5% tax on the entire sale price for properties that sell for more than $10,300,000. These are not marginal rates applied only to the amount above the threshold. The tax applies to the full sale price once the threshold is crossed.

Which Properties Owe the ULA Tax

Measure ULA applies to all real property transfers within city limits above the applicable threshold, regardless of property type. A $6 million apartment building in Koreatown, a $7 million mixed-use building in Hollywood, and a $5.5 million single-family home in Bel Air all owe the 4% ULA tax in addition to the standard city and county transfer taxes. Properties in unincorporated LA County do not owe any ULA tax, even if the sale price is $50 million. The tax is strictly a City of Los Angeles levy.

There are limited exemptions. Affordable housing transfers, certain nonprofit transactions, and some government transfers may qualify for exemptions, but the criteria are specific. The Office of Finance FAQ details each exemption category. Sellers of high-value properties should work with both a real estate attorney and their escrow officer to confirm whether an exemption applies before closing.

Calculating the ULA Tax on a Real LA Sale

Consider a $6 million home in the Hollywood Hills, inside City of Los Angeles limits. The seller would owe the county transfer tax of $6,600 (at $1.10 per $1,000), the city transfer tax of $27,000 (at $4.50 per $1,000), and then the Measure ULA tax of $240,000 (4% of $6,000,000). The total transfer tax burden reaches $273,600. That is a meaningful line item that reshapes the seller's net proceeds and, in some cases, affects how sellers price their listings. Many sellers of properties near the ULA threshold have priced strategically to stay below it, which is a real market dynamic worth understanding in Los Angeles right now.

4. Other Incorporated Cities Inside LA County With Their Own Rates

LA County contains 88 incorporated cities, and many of them impose their own transfer taxes separate from both the county rate and the City of Los Angeles rate. If your property is in Culver City, Santa Monica, Pomona, or another incorporated city that is not the City of Los Angeles, your transfer tax calculation is entirely different from what is described above for the city or unincorporated areas.

Cities That Layer On Their Own Transfer Tax

Culver City charges a tiered transfer tax that reaches $45 per $1,000 for sales above $10 million, one of the steepest in the county. Santa Monica charges $3.00 per $1,000 for sales up to $5 million and higher rates above that. Pomona charges $2.20 per $1,000. Cities like Burbank, Glendale, and Long Beach each have their own schedules. The point is that knowing your city matters as much as knowing your county. A seller in Culver City and a seller in unincorporated LA County face dramatically different transfer tax bills even if their homes sell for the same price.

How to Confirm Your Property's Jurisdiction

The most reliable way to confirm jurisdiction is to look up your parcel on the LA County Assessor's website using your address or APN (Assessor's Parcel Number). The property detail page will show whether the parcel is in an incorporated city and which one. Your escrow officer can also confirm jurisdiction during the opening of escrow. Do not rely on zip codes alone; zip code boundaries frequently cross city and county jurisdictional lines, which means a 90042 zip code address could be in the City of Los Angeles or in an adjacent city depending on the exact street.

If you are also thinking about property taxes on a high-value LA County home, the breakdown of annual tax obligations is a separate but related topic. You can read through the specifics in How Much Are Property Taxes on a $1.2 Million Home in Los Angeles County This Year.

5. Practical Steps for Sellers Before Closing

Understanding the transfer tax landscape is only useful if you apply it to your specific sale. These are the concrete steps every LA County seller should take before signing a listing agreement or accepting an offer.

Verify Your Parcel's Jurisdiction First

Before you estimate any transfer tax, confirm whether your property is in the City of Los Angeles, another incorporated city, or unincorporated LA County. This single step determines which rate schedule applies. Use the LA County Assessor's parcel lookup, or ask your agent to pull the parcel detail from the MLS. The parcel record will clearly state the jurisdiction. This matters especially for properties along the borders of Los Angeles neighborhoods like Atwater Village, El Sereno, or portions of the South Bay where city boundaries are not obvious from street addresses.

Factor Transfer Taxes Into Your Net Sheet

A seller's net sheet is the document that estimates your proceeds after all costs are deducted from the sale price. Transfer taxes should be one of the first line items added, not an afterthought. For a $1 million home inside the City of Los Angeles, the combined county and city transfer tax is $5,600. For a $5.5 million property in the City of Los Angeles, add the 4% Measure ULA tax of $220,000 on top of the standard $30,800 in county and city taxes, for a total of $250,800. Running these numbers before you set your list price helps you price accurately and avoid surprises.

Timing and Exemptions Worth Knowing

Certain transfers are exempt from documentary transfer tax under California law. Transfers between spouses, transfers to a revocable living trust where the transferor remains the beneficiary, and certain transfers between parent and child may qualify. However, these exemptions apply to the documentary transfer tax and do not automatically exempt a seller from Measure ULA if the sale price crosses the ULA threshold. Sellers who believe they may qualify for an exemption should consult a real estate attorney or tax professional before closing, not after. Escrow cannot retroactively adjust a tax payment once the deed records.

If you are preparing to sell and want a full picture of the process from listing to close, What Are the Steps to Buying a House in Los Angeles from Offer to Closing walks through the timeline from the buyer's side, which helps sellers understand what their buyers are experiencing and how to structure a competitive offer response.