Closing Costs in California 2026: Buyer & Seller Guide

California has no state deed tax. Each county may charge $0.55 per $500 of the price, not counting any loan the buyer takes over. Some cities charge far more: the City of Los Angeles adds $2.25 per $500, plus a Measure ULA tax of 4% or 5.5% on sales above $5,400,000, and San Francisco charges up to $30 per $500 on sales of $25 million or more. The deed of trust is not taxed.

The documentary transfer tax is a county tax, and some cities stack their own on top

The tax comes from the Documentary Transfer Tax Act, Revenue and Taxation Code §§ 11901–11935. Section 11911(a) lets the board of supervisors of a county adopt it by ordinance at “fifty-five cents ($0.55) for each five hundred dollars ($500) or fractional part thereof.” That works out to $1.10 per $1,000, and the rate has not changed since the section was added in 1967.

A city inside a taxing county may adopt a tax at half the county rate under § 11911(b). That city tax is not an extra charge: the county must credit it against its own tax (§ 11911(c)), and the county collects both and splits the money one-half to the city, one-half to the county (§ 11931). A city tax that does not conform to the Act gets no credit.

What the tax is computed on

The base is “the consideration or value of the interest or property conveyed (exclusive of the value of any lien or encumbrance remaining thereon at the time of sale).” If you assume the seller’s loan, its balance comes off this base (the City of Los Angeles’s Measure ULA tax is the exception, below). No tax is due when that figure is $100 or less. The recorder will not record a taxable deed unless the tax is paid at recording, and the declaration on the deed must say whether the tax was figured on full value or on value less liens left in place (§ 11933).

Who owes it

Section 11912 makes the tax payable “by any person who makes, signs or issues any document or instrument subject to the tax, or for whose use or benefit the same is made, signed or issued.” That reaches the seller who signs the grant deed and the buyer it benefits. The statute does not name one of them as the default payer.

Exemptions a household is likely to meet

• Gifts and inheritances: § 11930 exempts a transfer made “by reason of such inter vivos gift or by reason of the death of any person.”
• Divorce: § 11927 exempts a division of community property between spouses required by a judgment of dissolution, legal separation or nullity, by another judgment or order under the Family Code, or by a written agreement made in contemplation of one. The deed must carry a recital, signed by either spouse, claiming the exemption.
• Changing how you hold title: § 11925(d) exempts a transfer between individuals and an entity, or between entities, that “results solely in a change in the method of holding title” and leaves proportional ownership “the same immediately after the transfer.”

There is no first-time buyer exemption in the Act.

Cities with their own rates

The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder lists five cities with special rates: Culver City, Los Angeles, Pomona, Redondo Beach and Santa Monica. In those five, the county charges its full $1.10 per $1,000 and the city tax comes on top. For the City of Los Angeles, the Office of Finance puts the base city rate at $2.25 per $500. Measure ULA then adds 4% of the whole price, including any loan the buyer assumes, for sales above $5,400,000 and below $10,900,000, and 5.5% at $10,900,000 or more. Those thresholds apply to transactions closing after June 30, 2026, and the City re-indexes them every year.

San Francisco is a city and county. Its Assessor-Recorder collects the transfer tax under Article 12C of the city’s Business and Tax Regulations Code and publishes six tiers, with the tier picked by the entire price. The rate is $2.50 per $500 up to $250,000, $3.40 below $1,000,000, $3.75 below $5,000,000, $11.25 below $10,000,000, $27.50 below $25,000,000 and $30.00 at $25,000,000 or more.

Los Angeles County and San Francisco are the examples here, not a complete list. Charter cities in other counties can adopt their own transfer tax rates, and some are much higher than the county’s. Before you estimate, ask your county recorder what tax applies at the property’s address.

Your deed of trust is outside the transfer tax

Section 11921 reads in full: “Any tax imposed pursuant to this part shall not apply to any instrument in writing given to secure a debt.” None of the parts of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code (“Other Taxes”) taxes a mortgage or deed of trust either. What the lender’s document does cost is recording, below.

Recording fees: a Government Code ceiling plus county options

Government Code § 27361(a) caps the basic recording and indexing fee at $10 for the first page and $3 for each additional page. Boards of supervisors may add more, such as the $1 add-ons in § 27361.4 and a real estate fraud fee of up to $10 under § 27388, so the local total is on your county recorder’s fee schedule.

Two charges behave differently on a purchase:

• The $75 SB 2 fee (Gov. Code § 27388.1) is charged per document, up to $225 per transaction per parcel. It does not apply to a document recorded “in connection with a transfer subject to the imposition of a documentary transfer tax,” or with “a transfer of real property that is a residential dwelling to an owner-occupier.” The other exemptions cover federal liens, government filings and removal of a discriminatory covenant, so a homeowner’s refinance deed of trust fits none of them.
• The fraud fee under § 27388 likewise does not apply to a document recorded concurrently with a deed subject to the transfer tax, or presented the same business day and related to it with a statement identifying that deed.

File the Preliminary Change of Ownership Report with the deed. If you do not, the recorder “may charge an additional recording fee of twenty dollars ($20)” (Rev. & Tax. Code § 480.3(b)).

Title premiums are filed with the Insurance Commissioner, not set by the state

Each title insurer, underwritten title company and controlled escrow company files its own schedule of rates with the Insurance Commissioner (Ins. Code § 12401.1). The article’s stated intent is “to permit and encourage competition,” and nothing in it gives the commissioner “power to fix and determine a rate level” (§ 12401). A filed rate cannot be used until its effective date, at least 30 days after the commissioner receives the filing. Before use, it must also be publicly displayed for at least 30 days in each of the company’s offices in the county where it applies (§§ 12401.1, 12401.7). Because every company files its own schedule, ask each one for its filed rate on your price.

Who closes a California sale: licensed escrow holders

Under the Escrow Law, anyone in the business of receiving escrows must be a corporation licensed by the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation (Fin. Code §§ 17002, 17200). Banks and insurance companies are exempt. So are title-search firms whose work supports a title policy, and licensed real estate brokers in a transaction where the broker is an agent or a party. A licensed attorney is exempt when the attorney has a bona fide client in the deal and is not actively in the escrow business. The attorney and broker exemptions are personal and do not cover an arrangement to do escrows for more than one business (§ 17006). The tax code names “any attorney, escrow company, or title company” as the person who may be responsible for closing (Rev. & Tax. Code § 18662(e)(6)(A)).

Sellers: 3⅓% can be withheld for the Franchise Tax Board

When an individual sells California real property, Revenue and Taxation Code § 18662(e)(2)(A) requires the buyer to withhold 3⅓% of the sales price. The seller may instead elect to certify a gain-based amount under § 18662(e)(2)(B). No withholding is required if any one of these applies:

• the price is $100,000 or less;
• the real estate escrow person has not provided written notification of the requirement;
• the seller certifies in writing, under penalty of perjury, that the home is the seller’s principal residence within IRC § 121, or was last used as one, and the buyer relies on that certificate in good faith;
• the seller certifies, on the same terms, a loss or a gain not recognized for California tax, or another listed ground such as a § 1031 exchange (only to the extent of the gain not recognized).

An escrow holder may not charge for complying with the rule. If it gives “assistance,” such as doing the withholding at the parties’ request, its fee cannot exceed $45 (§ 18662(e)(7)).

Buyers: the supplemental assessment that follows a sale

A sale is a change in ownership, so the assessor reappraises the home at full cash value as of that date (Rev. & Tax. Code § 75.10). The difference from the old roll value goes on a supplemental roll. If you close between January 1 and May 31, § 75.11(a) calls for two supplemental assessments, one for the current roll and one for the roll being prepared. If you close between June 1 and December 31, there is one.

CalHFA help with down payment and closing costs

The California Housing Finance Agency’s MyHome Assistance Program, as its page read on September 24, 2026, offers a deferred-payment junior loan of up to the lesser of 3.5% of the purchase price or appraised value with a CalHFA FHA first loan, or 3% with a CalHFA conventional loan, “to assist with down payment and/or closing costs.” Borrowers must be first-time homebuyers and occupy a one-unit home as their primary residence, with no non-occupant co-borrowers. They must also complete homebuyer education and meet CalHFA income limits. The CalPLUS FHA and CalPLUS Conventional first loans are paired with CalHFA’s Zero Interest Program for closing costs. CalHFA “does not lend money directly to consumers”; applications go through its approved loan officers.

More California pages and neighbor-state costs

• Closing costs by state
• California real estate guide
• Homeowner insurance guide for California
• Down payment calculator and what can I afford calculator
• Mortgage pre-approval
• Mortgage payment calculator and refinance guide
• Arizona, Nevada and Oregon closing costs

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the buyer or the seller pay California’s transfer tax?

The Act makes it payable by anyone who signs the deed or for whose benefit it is signed (§ 11912), which covers both. The statute itself sets no default between them.

If I take over the seller’s loan, is the tax lower?

For the county tax, and for a city tax that follows the state Act, yes: the base excludes “any lien or encumbrance remaining thereon at the time of sale” (§ 11911), and the deed’s tax declaration must say the tax was computed on value less liens (§ 11933). The City of Los Angeles’s Measure ULA tax is different: the Office of Finance computes it on gross value, including an assumed loan. Other cities with their own ordinances may also differ, so check with the recorder.

Will part of my sale price be withheld for California income tax?

It can be: the buyer must withhold 3⅓% of the sales price unless an exemption in § 18662(e)(3) applies (§ 18662(e)(2)(A)). A price of $100,000 or less and a certified principal residence are two of the exemptions. The escrow holder may do the withholding at the parties’ request for a fee of no more than $45.