Documentary Transfer Tax: Rates, Who Pays, and Exemptions

The California documentary transfer tax is charged whenever real property changes hands through a recorded deed, at a base county rate of $1.10 per $1,000 of the property’s value.¹ The seller customarily pays it out of closing proceeds, but the parties can negotiate a different split. Several charter cities layer their own transfer taxes on top of the county rate, and in cities like San Francisco and Oakland the combined bill can dwarf the county portion.

How the Tax Is Calculated

The statutory rate is $0.55 for every $500 of transferred value, which works out to $1.10 per $1,000.¹ The tax only applies when the transferred value exceeds $100, so a nominal-value deed transferring a sliver of interest below that threshold is not taxable.

You do not always pay on the full purchase price. When the buyer takes over an existing loan that stays on the property, the tax is calculated only on the new money changing hands, meaning the sale price minus the liens the buyer assumes.¹

Say you sell a home for $500,000 and the buyer assumes your $200,000 mortgage. The taxable amount is $300,000. Divide by $500 to get 600 taxable units, multiply by $0.55, and the county tax comes to $330. If no loan stays on the property, the full $500,000 is taxable and the county bill is $550.

The statute’s “fractional part thereof” language rounds up. A taxable amount of $300,250 counts as 601 units, not 600, because any amount above an even $500 increment bumps you into the next unit.

City and Charter City Rates

A general-law city inside a county that has adopted the tax can impose its own transfer tax, but the city rate is capped at half the county rate, or $0.275 per $500. That city portion creates a dollar-for-dollar credit against the county tax, so the combined rate in a general-law city stays at $0.55 per $500 total.¹

Charter cities work differently. California courts determined in the early 1990s that charter cities have independent authority to set their own transfer tax rates outside the Documentary Transfer Tax Act.² Some charter cities now charge ten or twenty times the standard rate, and those charges stack on top of the county tax rather than offsetting it.

Notable charter city rates as of late 2025:

Oakland: tiered city rates from $10.00 to $25.00 per $1,000 depending on sale price, producing combined rates of $11.10 to $26.10 per $1,000.
Berkeley: $16.10 per $1,000 combined for properties under $1.6 million, jumping to $26.10 per $1,000 above that threshold.
Richmond: tiered rates that reach $30.00 per $1,000 at the top tier, for a combined rate of $31.10 per $1,000.
San Francisco: a six-tier system starting at roughly 0.50% for properties under $250,000 and climbing to 3.00% for sales above $25 million.
Los Angeles (Measure ULA): 4% on sales between approximately $5.3 million and $10.6 million, and 5.5% above $10.6 million, with thresholds adjusted annually for inflation. These rates sit on top of the county and existing city transfer taxes.

On a $2 million sale in an unincorporated county area, the transfer tax runs about $2,200. The same sale in Oakland can cost more than $50,000. Check the local rate before pricing a deal, because it changes the closing math fundamentally.

Who Pays

The statute does not assign payment to either party. By longstanding California custom, the seller pays the county transfer tax, and the city portion is either paid by the seller or split evenly between buyer and seller. In charter cities with steep rates, negotiation over who bears the tax is common and can become a significant point in the purchase agreement. Whatever the parties agree to in the contract controls.

What Transfers Are Taxable

Any deed or written instrument that conveys real property for value is taxable. Grant deeds, quitclaim deeds with consideration, and similar conveyance documents all qualify.¹ The tax attaches to the document itself, not to the property or the parties.

Long leases can also trigger it. In Thrifty Corporation v. County of Los Angeles (1989), the California Court of Appeal held that “realty sold” in Section 11911 should be read consistently with the change-of-ownership rules, which treat any lease of 35 years or more, including renewal options, as a transfer of the fee interest.³ A shorter lease, such as a 20-year term with a 10-year renewal option, is not taxable. A lease needs to hit that 35-year mark before the recorder can demand transfer tax on it.

Common Exemptions

California carves out several categories of transfers that owe no tax. People get into trouble by assuming they qualify without following the paperwork requirements.

Security Instruments

A deed of trust, mortgage, or any other instrument given to secure a debt is exempt.⁴ Refinancing your home records a new deed of trust without triggering transfer tax because the document secures the loan rather than conveying ownership.

Gifts and Death Transfers

Section 11930 exempts any transfer made as a gift between living people or any transfer that occurs because of someone’s death, whether through a will, intestate succession, or a trust distribution.⁵ The exemption is broader than many people realize. Moving property into your own revocable living trust falls under this provision, because no consideration changes hands and beneficial ownership does not shift.

Marital Dissolution

Deeds that divide community property between spouses as part of a divorce, legal separation, or annulment are exempt under Section 11927. The exemption covers transfers ordered by a court and those made under a written agreement in anticipation of the judgment. To qualify, the deed must include a signed statement from either spouse declaring that the transfer is exempt.⁶

Same Proportional Interest

When you move property into an LLC, partnership, or other entity and your ownership percentage stays exactly the same, no tax is owed.⁷ This exemption protects changes in how title is held, not changes in who holds it. If you and a partner each own 50% of a property and transfer it into an LLC where you each hold 50% membership interests, the transfer is exempt. If the LLC interests do not mirror the original ownership percentages, the exemption fails.

Government Entities and Deed in Lieu

Section 11922 exempts transfers where a government agency acquires title, including situations where a foreclosing lender conveys to a government-sponsored entity like Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae. Section 11926 exempts a deed given in lieu of foreclosure when the only consideration passing to the borrower is cancellation of the outstanding debt. If additional cash or other value changes hands beyond debt forgiveness, the exemption does not apply.

How to Claim an Exemption on the Deed

Every exempt document must state on its face the specific Revenue and Taxation Code section that supports the exemption. The county recorder will reject the document and demand full tax payment if the citation is missing. The required language varies by exemption but follows a standard format: a recital on the deed itself (for example, “This transfer is exempt from the documentary transfer tax per R&T Code Section 11930”) along with any additional declarations the statute requires, such as the spousal signature for Section 11927 transfers.⁶

Filing and Recording

Before recording, complete a Transfer Tax Declaration. It’s a short form that requires the Assessor’s Parcel Number, the total consideration paid (including cash, assumed debt, and anything of value exchanged), and any liens remaining on the property. If existing loans stay with the property, list them so the recorder can verify your tax calculation. The declaration is signed under penalty of perjury, so accuracy matters. Most county recorder websites have the form available for download.

Submit the signed declaration with the original deed to the county recorder’s office. Title companies handle this routinely through electronic recording services, but you can also file in person or by mail. Payment is due at the moment of recording and can be made by check, money order, or in many counties by credit card. Once the recorder processes everything, the tax amount is noted on the recorded deed as part of the public record.

1
California Legislative Information. California Code Revenue and Taxation Code 11911
2
Legislative Analyst’s Office. Local Taxes Initiative Ballot Analysis
3
FindLaw. Thrifty Corporation v County of Los Angeles
4
California Legislative Information. California Code Revenue and Taxation Code 11921
5
California Legislative Information. California Code Revenue and Taxation Code 11930
6
California Legislative Information. California Code Revenue and Taxation Code 11927
7
California Legislative Information. California Code Revenue and Taxation Code 11925