California Transfer Tax Calculator

California Transfer Tax Calculator: What to Expect

This calculator can help home sellers in California estimate their transfer taxes. To get a ballpark idea of the transfer tax fees you might pay in the Golden State, enter your home’s estimated selling price above.

Need an estimated selling price? Try HomeLight’s free Home Value Estimator to see what your property might be worth. To receive a more accurate listing price, contact a top California real estate agent and request a Comparative Market Analysis that will compare your house against nearby listed and recently sold homes.

How the California Transfer Tax is Calculated

In California, the state transfer tax, known as the Documentary Transfer Tax, is 0.11%, or $1.10 per $1,000 of the home’s selling price. For example, if you sold your home for $900,000 (California’s approximate median home price), you could expect to pay a state transfer tax of $990.

However, many California cities charge an extra transfer tax on top of the standard 0.11% state tax. The additional local fees range from as low as 0.11% in cities like Riverside to as high as 6% if you have an extremely high-value property in a city like San Francisco. On a home worth $900,000, the average city transfer tax rate is 0.75%, or about $6,750.

HomeLight’s California Transfer Tax Calculator above can provide city fee estimates for 26 municipalities that charge this extra tax. Check if your city is on the dropdown list.

Does the Seller Always Pay the California Transfer Tax?

In California, home sellers are generally responsible for paying the transfer taxes. However, these fees and other closing costs can be negotiated between the buyer and seller during the sale process.

Exemptions to the Documentary Transfer Tax might be found in these scenarios:

• Gift transfers: When a property is given as a gift, and the person receiving it doesn’t take on any debt or obligations associated with the property.
• Trust transfers (Revocable living trusts): Transferring property into or out of a revocable living trust where the original owner is still the beneficiary of the trust.
• Changing how title is held (No change in ownership): If the same people own the property, but they’re just changing the way their ownership is recorded (e.g., changing from joint tenancy to community property).
• Transfers between spouses (Divorce/separation): Property transfers between spouses as part of a divorce settlement or legal separation.
• Confirming a name change: If the name of the person or entity on the title changes (e.g., due to marriage or a legal name change), but the actual ownership doesn’t.
• New construction sales: Some California builders pass the Documentary Transfer Tax responsibility directly to the buyer.

More Resources to Plan Your California Home Sale

Here are some additional tools to help you plan your California home sale:

• Net Proceeds Calculator
• Map of recently sold homes in California 
• Listing Agent Match platform
• Home Value Estimator
• Best Time to Sell Calculator
• Agent Commission Calculator

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With HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform, you can receive a no-obligation, all-cash offer for your California home in 24 hours. If you like the offer, you can close in as few as 10 days. Answer a short questionnaire about your California property to get started. Along with your cash offer, you’ll also receive an expert estimate of what a top California agent might be able to get for your home. Receive both selling options with one tool.

As you look ahead to your next home purchase, here are some helpful buyer tools:

• Home Affordability Calculator
• Down Payment Calculator
• Buyer’s Closing Cost Calculator
• Buyer’s Agent Match platform