Journal ·
Who Pays the Transfer Tax When You Sell a House in Los Angeles County?
Short answer: in Los Angeles County the documentary transfer tax is $1.10 per $1,000 of value, and only five cities in the county charge anything on top of it. Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena and Santa Clarita are not among them. Who writes the check is set by your purchase agreement rather than by statute, and in this county sellers customarily pay it. On a $1,200,000 sale in Burbank the county tax is $1,320. The identical sale inside the City of Los Angeles costs $6,720.
How much is the documentary transfer tax in Los Angeles County?
The county rate comes straight from Revenue and Taxation Code section 11911, which lets a board of supervisors impose the tax at fifty-five cents for each $500 of value, or fractional part, once consideration exceeds $100. Fifty-five cents per $500 is $1.10 per $1,000, and that is what the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk collects on every conveyance recorded in the county.
Two mechanics inside that sentence cost people money. The value is net of any lien or encumbrance that stays on the property at the time of sale, which matters on an assumption. And the phrase "or fractional part thereof" means the county rounds up to the next full $500, so a $1,200,300 price is taxed as $1,200,500.
| Sale price | County tax | City tax in Burbank | City tax in Los Angeles |
|---|---|---|---|
| $900,000 | $990.00 | $0 | $4,050.00 |
| $1,200,000 | $1,320.00 | $0 | $5,400.00 |
| $2,500,000 | $2,750.00 | $0 | $11,250.00 |
Which Los Angeles County cities charge their own transfer tax?
Five. Culver City, Los Angeles, Pomona, Redondo Beach and Santa Monica, and the Recorder collects the city portion at the same moment it records the deed. Every other city in the county, and every unincorporated area, is county rate only.
That answer is worth saying out loud, because sellers routinely budget for a city tax that does not exist where they live. Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena and Santa Clarita have no city documentary transfer tax. Sherman Oaks and North Hollywood have none of their own either, but they are districts of the City of Los Angeles rather than separate cities, so the Los Angeles city tax applies to them in full.
Pomona and Redondo Beach are flat at $2.20 per $1,000. Culver City runs a tiered rate that starts at 0.45 percent and climbs to 4 percent above $10,000,000.
What does a seller in the City of Los Angeles pay in 2026?
The city stacks two taxes. The base real property transfer tax is $2.25 for each $500, which works out to 0.45 percent. The Measure ULA tax sits on top of it and applies only above a threshold that moves every year.
For transactions closing after June 30, 2026, the Los Angeles Office of Finance puts those thresholds at $5,400,000 and $10,900,000. Sales above $5,400,000 and below $10,900,000 carry a 4 percent ULA tax, for a combined city rate of 4.45 percent. Sales at or above $10,900,000 carry 5.5 percent, for a combined 5.95 percent. The thresholds are indexed annually to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Chained Consumer Price Index, which is why a figure copied from last year is already wrong: the same brackets sat at $5,300,000 and $10,600,000 for the year that ended June 30.
The measurement base is not the same for the two halves, and this is the detail that produces surprise invoices. The base tax is calculated on net value, excluding any assumed loan. The ULA tax is calculated on gross value, including it.
Why do Burbank and Glendale sellers pay less than a mile away?
The statute explains the first half. Section 11911(b) lets a city adopt a transfer tax at one-half the county rate, and section 11911(c) then gives a credit against the county tax for whatever the city collected under (b). A city tax adopted that way is not additive. It comes out of the county's share.
The City of Los Angeles charges $2.25 per $500, which is more than half of $0.55, so it cannot be a subdivision (b) tax and the credit does not apply. The county says the same thing from the other direction in its own bulletin: for these five cities, the county rate is calculated at the full $1.10 per $1,000. Nothing is credited back.
That is the whole reason a seller in Toluca Lake can pay a different tax than a neighbor across the street. Where a property straddles the boundary, the Office of Finance applies the city tax in proportion to the value inside city limits, and where no such valuation exists, in proportion to square footage.
Which transfers are exempt from documentary transfer tax?
The Recorder's declaration form lists the exemptions by section number, which is more useful than any summary. An instrument given to secure a debt is exempt under section 11921. Transfers where the United States, a state or a political subdivision is a party fall under 11922. Bankruptcy and reorganization sit at 11923, an SEC order conveyance at 11924, realty held by a continuing partnership at 11925, a deed in lieu of foreclosure at 11926, transfers of marital property at 11927, and an inter vivos gift or a transfer upon death at 11930.
If you claim one, the reason has to appear on the face of the document. The tax calculation is the responsibility of the document preparer, not the Recorder, and the declaration is signed under penalty of perjury.
Where the county's own tables disagree, and which one to trust
Two official Los Angeles County publications currently describe city rates differently, and neither is wrong so much as stale in a different place.
The historical rate bulletin, revised March 1, 2025, correctly labels Santa Monica's third tier of $56.00 per $1,000 on amounts of $8,000,000 and above as effective 3/1/23. The Registrar-Recorder's web page reproduces the same three Santa Monica tiers but labels the row "prior to 3/1/23" and publishes no current row. Meanwhile the bulletin's newest Los Angeles entry stops at 7/1/25, while the web page already carries the 7/1/26 figures.
The declaration form is older still and lists Los Angeles and Culver City at a flat $4.50 per $1,000, a rate both cities left behind in 2021 and 2023. Use the web page for the current Los Angeles brackets, use the bulletin for the effective dates, and confirm a Santa Monica or Culver City number with that city before you quote it to a client.
Does paying transfer tax change your property tax bill?
No, and confusing the two is common. Transfer tax is a one-time excise on the privilege of conveying an interest, assessed on the sale price and paid at recording. Property tax is annual and follows the assessor's reassessment of the property after a change in ownership. The second one arrives later and separately, in the form covered in the supplemental property tax bill.
The practical consequence is a timing question rather than a rate question. Transfer tax is a closing-statement line you can calculate to the dollar before you sign, which is one of the few costs in the process that behaves that way. For where it lands in the sequence, see how long escrow takes in California.
Q: Who pays the transfer tax in Los Angeles County, buyer or seller? Local custom puts it on the seller, and every purchase agreement allocates it explicitly. It is negotiable, and on new construction or investor purchases the split is often different from the residential norm.
Q: How much is transfer tax on a $1,000,000 house in Burbank? $1,100. Burbank charges no city transfer tax, so only the county rate of $1.10 per $1,000 applies.
Q: What is the Measure ULA threshold for 2026? For transactions closing after June 30, 2026, the ULA tax starts above $5,400,000 at 4 percent and rises to 5.5 percent at $10,900,000 or more. The thresholds are adjusted annually using the Chained Consumer Price Index.
Q: Do I pay Los Angeles city transfer tax if I live in Sherman Oaks or North Hollywood? Yes. Both are neighborhoods of the City of Los Angeles rather than separate cities, so the city base tax and, above the threshold, the ULA tax both apply.
Q: Is transfer tax due when I put my house into a living trust? A transfer that qualifies as an inter vivos gift is addressed by section 11930, and the reason for the exemption must be stated on the document itself. Confirm the specific transfer with your escrow officer or attorney before recording.
This article explains how the tax is calculated and is not legal or tax advice. Confirm your own numbers with escrow before closing. Call Alla at (818) 699-5367 or use the enquiry form.
Selling in Burbank or nearby? Start with the Burbank area guide, or get in touch.