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California Documentary Transfer Taxes - What are they and how much do they cost? Here's the answer.....

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Metro Life Homes RS-78439 / BRE #01708344

California Documentary Transfer Taxes - What are they and how much do they cost?  Here's the answer.....

In any California escrow, usually around line numbers 1200-1205 of the HUD, you'll see a section for transfer taxes.

Ever wonder what those are and how they're calclulated?

Documentary transfer taxes are taxes that counties, cities, or both may charge on documents that grant, assign, transfer or convey real property when the consideration or value, excluding the value of any lien or encumbrance remaining at the time of sale, exceeds $100.  Some cities have, by ordinance, imposed a documentary transfer tax in addition to the county documentary transfer tax.

The authorized transfer tax rate in California is $1.10 for each $1,000 of the consideration or value of the property transferred, exclusive of the value of any lien or encumbrance remaining at the time of sale.  The documentary transfer tax may vary from city to city.  The following list will help you determine how much your documentary transfer taxes will be.  Keep in mind that even if your city does not appear on the list you will still pay the $1.10 per $1,000 for the County documentary transfer tax.

Chart courtesy of Greg Lane, Lawyers Title - 310/345-7801


Comments (10)

Ryan Dressel
Stage Right Design, Inc. - Roseville, CA
Sacramento Home Staging

Great post Ralph...thanks for sharing!

Jul 26, 2011 03:42 PM
Doug Anderson
Tucker Associates Real Estate Services - Danville, CA
Bay Area Real Estate Views

Great information Ralph. Berkeley, Oakland & Piedmont are all adjacent communities and boast the highest transfer taxes.

Jul 26, 2011 03:45 PM
Praful Thakkar
LAER Realty Partners - Andover, MA
Andover, MA: Andover Luxury Homes For Sale

Good for us in MA - we have just one standard transfer tax for all counties in the state - nothing for each city/town. (Though I have never worked in Suffolk county/Boston - and there it may be different...)

Jul 26, 2011 03:50 PM
Vickie Slade
Colorado Landmark, Realtors - Boulder, CO
Service You Can Trust ~ Someone You Can Depend On

Ralph, good information.  Always interesting for me to see the fees that are charged in other areas and compare them to what we do here in Colorado.  Very informative.

Jul 26, 2011 04:08 PM
Sidney Kutchuk - Realty Works Temecula Kutchuk - Realty Works Temecula
Realty Works Temecula - Temecula, CA
Realty Works Temecula

Ralph:  Thorough explanation, of the documentary transfer tax that must be paid here in CA.

Jul 26, 2011 04:23 PM
Barbara Todaro
RE/MAX Executive Realty - Happily Retired - Franklin, MA
Previously Affiliated with The Todaro Team

Good morning, Ralph....in MA, it's $4.56/k of sale price throughout the state for tax stamps....

Jul 26, 2011 11:53 PM
Lottie Kendall
Compass - San Francisco, CA
Helping make your real estate dreams a reality

Ralph, this is the first post about transfer taxes that I remember seeing here, and you did it well. Good info.

Jul 27, 2011 02:36 AM