City of Los Angeles Transfer Tax: Measure ULA, Rates, and Exemptions

The Los Angeles transfer tax has two layers: a base city documentary transfer tax of $4.50 per $1,000 of property value, and a Measure ULA surcharge of 4% or 5.5% that kicks in on sales above roughly $5.3 million. Los Angeles County adds its own $1.10 per $1,000 on top. The two city taxes use different calculation methods, and the ULA thresholds move every year, so a deal near a cutoff can look very different from one side of closing to the other.

What You’ll Pay on a Standard Sale

The city’s base documentary transfer tax applies to any sale where the consideration exceeds $100. The rate is $2.25 per $500 of value, or any fraction of $500, which works out to $4.50 per $1,000.¹ The rounding runs up: a $1,002,250 sale is taxed on $1,002,500, because that trailing $250 fills out the next $500 increment.

One detail quietly saves sellers money. The base tax applies to the net value of the property, meaning you first subtract any loans or liens the buyer is assuming.² On a $1,000,000 property where the buyer takes over a $400,000 mortgage, the base city tax is calculated on $600,000, producing $2,700 instead of $4,500.

Los Angeles County layers on its own documentary transfer tax at $1.10 per $1,000 of value, charged on every sale in the county.³ Properties inside city limits pay both, so the combined base rate is $5.60 per $1,000 before any Measure ULA surcharge.

The Measure ULA Surcharge on High-Value Sales

Measure ULA, formally the Homelessness and Housing Solutions Tax, took effect April 1, 2023. It added a second, much steeper tax on expensive sales. The original cutoffs were $5 million and $10 million, but both figures adjust annually using the Chained Consumer Price Index. For transactions closing after June 30, 2025, the rates are:²

4% on sales above $5,300,000 but below $10,600,000
5.5% on sales of $10,600,000 or more

Two things make ULA harder than the base tax. First, the percentage applies to the entire sale price, not just the amount above the threshold. A $6,000,000 sale generates $240,000 in ULA tax plus roughly $27,000 in base city tax, bringing the city-level bill close to $267,000. A $12,000,000 sale produces $660,000 in ULA plus about $54,000 in base tax, totaling around $714,000 before the county’s levy.¹

Second, ULA applies to the gross value of the property, including any loans or liens the buyer assumes.² That difference from the base tax is where deals get caught. A $5,000,000 sale with a $500,000 assumed mortgage has a gross value of $5,500,000 for ULA purposes, which trips the 4% rate on the full $5,500,000 even though the cash price sits below the threshold.

Because the thresholds move each year, confirm the current figures with the Los Angeles Office of Finance if your closing falls near a cutoff.

Who Writes the Check

Neither the base ordinance nor Measure ULA assigns the tax to buyer or seller. Custom in Los Angeles puts both taxes on the seller, but allocation is fully negotiable and often shifts in competitive deals, with buyers sometimes agreeing to cover or split the ULA surcharge as a concession. Whatever you agree to, put it in the purchase agreement. The county recorder only requires that the tax be paid before the deed records; it does not care which side pays.

Transfers That Are Exempt from the Base Tax

Several categories of transfers avoid the city’s base documentary transfer tax. These largely track the exemptions in the California Revenue and Taxation Code and are listed on the Declaration of Documentary Transfer Tax form filed with the county recorder.⁴

Transfers between spouses, including those made as part of a divorce settlement.
Gifts made during someone’s lifetime, and transfers that occur because of a death. This covers moving property into or out of a revocable living trust for estate planning, provided no money or debt relief changes hands.
Deeds where the United States, any state, or a political subdivision is a party.⁵
Conveyances carrying out a federal bankruptcy reorganization plan, or reflecting a mere change in organizational identity or form, if the transfer happens within five years of the court’s confirmation.⁵
Deeds of trust and mortgages recorded to secure a loan, since no ownership actually transfers.
Corrective deeds that fix a name or add a legal description without changing the underlying ownership interest.

Claiming an exemption means checking the right box on the Declaration and citing the statutory basis. The recorder’s office may ask for supporting documents.

Transfers That Are Exempt from Measure ULA

Measure ULA has its own exemption framework, separate from the base tax. A transaction can owe the base tax and still escape the ULA surcharge if the buyer qualifies.

Qualified Affordable Housing Organizations

Under LAMC Section 21.9.14, the ULA tax does not apply when the buyer is a qualifying affordable housing entity: a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, a community land trust, a limited-equity housing cooperative, or a limited partnership or LLC whose only general partners or managing members are qualifying nonprofits.⁶ The buyer, or one of its partners, must show a track record in affordable housing development or management that the Los Angeles Housing Department verifies. Community land trusts and limited-equity cooperatives without that track record can still qualify by partnering with an experienced nonprofit or by recording an affordability covenant at the time of purchase.

Established Nonprofits and Government Entities

A broader exemption under LAMC Section 21.9.15 covers three categories of buyers:⁷

501(c)(3) organizations with assets under $1 billion that received their IRS determination letter at least ten years before the transfer.
Federal, state, and local government entities and their agencies.
Any buyer the city cannot tax under the state or federal constitution.

ULA exemption requests go to the Los Angeles Housing Department through its applicant portal. The exemption attaches to the buyer, not the seller. If the tax was already paid at closing, the buyer has to file a separate refund claim after the fact.²

Selling the Entity Instead of the Property

Transferring an LLC that holds the real estate is not a workaround. When someone acquires a greater-than-50% controlling interest in a legal entity that owns property in Los Angeles, the county treats it as a change of ownership and collects the documentary transfer tax, even though no deed is recorded.⁸ The tax is due as of the date control changed hands, and the taxpayer submits payment with a Declaration of Documentary Transfer Tax directly to the Registrar-Recorder. Budget for the transfer tax in any entity-level deal the same way you would for a straight sale.

How to File, Pay, and Claim a Refund

Every property transfer requires a Declaration of Documentary Transfer Tax filed with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. The form asks for the Assessor’s Parcel Number, the property address, the names of buyer and seller, the fair market value, any encumbrances the buyer is assuming, and the computed tax for both the county and city portions.⁴ Any exemption claim goes on the same form, with the statutory basis identified. The declaration is filed with the grant deed at the recorder’s office.

If you overpaid or later realize the deal qualified for an exemption, file a Claim for Refund Application with the Los Angeles Office of Finance.² For underpayments, the city invoices the balance. On a ULA-size transaction, verifying the gross value calculation before closing is far cheaper than correcting it afterward.

1
American Legal Publishing. Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 21.9.2 – Tax Imposed
2
City of Los Angeles Office of Finance. Real Property Transfer Tax and Measure ULA FAQ
3
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. Documentary Transfer Taxes – General Info
4
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. Declaration of Documentary Transfer Tax
5
American Legal Publishing. Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 21.9.6 – Exemptions – Bankruptcy, Receivership, Etc
6
City of Los Angeles. Eligibility Guidelines for the United to House Los Angeles (ULA) Homelessness and Housing Solutions Tax Exemption
7
American Legal Publishing. Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 21.9.15 – Other Exemptions
8
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. Legal Entity/Corporate Documentary Transfer Tax Collections