How Much Is Transfer Tax When You Sell a Home in Tarzana or Santa Clarita?

By Randy Plaice · Broker · DRE #01863252 · November 6, 2026

Short answer: In LA County, sellers customarily pay a county transfer tax of $1.10 per $1,000 of the sale price, so about $1,100 on a $1 million home in Santa Clarita. In Tarzana and the rest of the City of Los Angeles, the city adds 0.45%, bringing that $1 million sale to about $5,600. City of LA sales above $5.4 million also owe Measure ULA, an extra 4% or 5.5% of the full price.

Almost every seller I talk with in the Valley asks some version of this once we get to the net sheet: "Wait, what's this transfer tax line, and why is it bigger in Tarzana than it was for my cousin in Valencia?" It's a fair question. The tax depends on which city the house sits in, not on the ZIP code or the neighborhood name on the listing. Here's how it works, step by step, with real math.

Step 1: Figure out which city your home is actually in

This is where people get tripped up. Tarzana, Encino, Woodland Hills, Northridge, Sherman Oaks and Van Nuys are neighborhoods inside the City of Los Angeles. Valencia, Saugus, Newhall and Canyon Country are part of the City of Santa Clarita. Some areas, like Stevenson Ranch, are unincorporated county land. Your property tax bill or the LA County Assessor's parcel record will show which jurisdiction you're in. If you're near a city line, check. Don't guess from the mailing address.

Step 2: Know the two layers of tax

The county tax. LA County charges a documentary transfer tax of $0.55 for each $500 of value, which works out to $1.10 per $1,000. The price is rounded up to the next $500. It's figured on the value conveyed, excluding any loan the buyer takes over (LA County Registrar-Recorder). In a normal sale, where your loan gets paid off at closing, that's basically the full price.

The city tax. Only five cities in LA County add their own tax on top: Culver City, Los Angeles, Pomona, Redondo Beach and Santa Monica (LA County Registrar-Recorder). Santa Clarita isn't on that list, so a Santa Clarita seller pays only the county's $1.10 per $1,000.

The City of Los Angeles charges a base tax of $2.25 per $500 (0.45%) on every sale. Then Measure ULA, often called the "mansion tax," adds more on high-value sales. For sales closing after June 30, 2026, ULA adds 4% on sales above $5,400,000 and under $10,900,000, and 5.5% at $10,900,000 or more (LA Office of Finance). Those cut-offs are adjusted every year for inflation. One heads-up: when I checked on November 6, the county's page still listed last year's $5.3M and $10.6M numbers. The city's own Office of Finance page is the one to trust.

Step 3: Run the numbers on your price

Here's what that looks like at real local prices. The latest monthly report from the Southland Regional Association of REALTORS® is for September 2026. It shows a San Fernando Valley median single-family price of $1,101,000 (SRAR SFV, September 2026). In the Santa Clarita Valley it was $848,000 (SRAR SCV, September 2026).

• A $1,101,000 sale in Tarzana (City of LA): county tax $1,211.10 plus city base tax $4,954.50, for a total of about $6,165.60. No ULA, because the price is well under $5.4M.
• An $848,000 sale in Valencia (City of Santa Clarita): county tax only, about $932.80.
• A $6,000,000 sale in Encino (City of LA): county tax $6,600, city base tax $27,000, plus ULA at 4% of the full price, $240,000. That comes to about $273,600.

Notice the cliff. ULA isn't charged only on the amount over the threshold. Once a sale goes past $5,400,000, the 4% applies to the whole price. A $5,400,000 sale pays no ULA. A $5,400,500 sale owes about $216,020 in ULA alone. If your home is anywhere near that line, talk it through with your agent and a tax professional before you set a list price or accept a counter. The city also notes that ULA is figured on the gross value, including any loan the buyer assumes, while the base tax uses the net value (LA Office of Finance).

These are estimates from the published rates. Your escrow officer does the official math.

Step 4: Who pays it (and how that's decided)

In LA County, the custom is that the seller pays both the county and the city transfer tax. A title company's statewide chart, revised January 6, 2026, lists Los Angeles County transfer tax as seller-paid and the City of LA tax as "Seller Pays" (Fidelity National Title, "Who Pays What," rev. 1/6/2026). That same chart says these items are subject to negotiation. So custom is the starting point, but the purchase contract is what actually decides it. If a buyer asks you to split it, or you offer to pay something as a concession, it gets written into the contract.

Step 5: How it gets paid at closing

1. Escrow calculates it. You'll see it on your estimated settlement statement early in escrow. Ask for that estimate as soon as escrow opens.
2. It comes out of your proceeds. You don't write a separate check. It's deducted at closing, like your loan payoff and commissions.
3. It's declared on the deed. The county requires the tax amount to be stated on the first page of the deed, county and city listed separately, and the Recorder collects it when the deed records (LA County Registrar-Recorder).
4. Exempt transfers need a reason on the deed. If no tax is due, the document has to say why. The county keeps a list of accepted exemption statements. Your escrow officer or attorney will know which applies.

What's happening right now

Two things matter this fall. First, the July 1, 2026 threshold bump means a sale between $5.3M and $5.4M that would have triggered ULA last year doesn't now (LA Office of Finance). Second, SRAR's October numbers weren't posted yet when I wrote this, so September 2026 is the latest official local data. In the SFV, that showed a median single-family price down 4.3% from a year earlier, with a 4.8-month supply of homes (SRAR SFV, September 2026). With buyers having more choices, negotiations over who pays which closing costs come up more often. That's one more reason to know your numbers before the offers come in.

Practical next steps

1. Pull your property tax bill and confirm which city you're in.
2. Multiply your likely price by $1.10 per $1,000 for the county. If you're in the City of LA, add 0.45%.
3. If your price could land above $5.4M in the City of LA, check the current ULA thresholds on the Office of Finance page and get tax advice before pricing.
4. Ask for a seller net sheet that lists transfer tax as its own line, so there are no surprises at closing.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rates and thresholds change. Confirm current figures with escrow, a California real estate attorney or your tax professional.

Randy Plaice & Associates | Real Broker · Randy Plaice, Broker, DRE #01863252 · Real Broker DRE #02022092. Equal Housing Opportunity. We are committed to the Fair Housing Act and do not discriminate. Information is general, believed reliable but not guaranteed, and is not legal, tax or lending advice; consult the appropriate professional. Market data is cited with its source and date. If your home is currently listed with another broker, this is not a solicitation.