Santa Monica Transfer Tax Calculator

Published on July 14th, 2025

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Santa Monica Transfer Tax Calculator: What to Expect

This simple calculator can help home sellers in Santa Monica estimate their transfer taxes. To get a ballpark idea of the transfer fees you might pay in the City by the Sea, enter your home’s estimated selling price above.

Need a selling price? Try HomeLight’s free Home Value Estimator to see what your house might be worth. To receive a more accurate listing price, contact a top Santa Monica real estate agent and request a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA), a report that will compare your home against nearby listed and recently sold properties.

A top real estate agent can provide you with a Seller’s Net Sheet that breaks down all the costs of selling your home, along with an estimate of the proceeds you can expect. Use HomeLight’s free Agent Match platform to find a trusted local agent with excellent reviews and a proven track record.

How the Santa Monica Transfer Tax is Calculated

Santa Monica’s transfer tax, known as a Documentary Transfer Tax, has multiple tiers, depending on the amount the property is sold for.

Below is a table showing Santa Monica’s transfer tax tiers:

Home sale price	Tax rate applied
$5,000,000 or less	$3.00 per $1,000
$5,000,000 to $7,999,000	$6.00 per $1,000
$8,000,000 or more	$56.00 per $000

Source: City of Santa Monica Finance Department

For example, if you sold your home for $829,260 (Santa Monica’s median home price), you could expect to pay $2,487.78 in Santa Monica transfer taxes.

Another Transfer Tax Santa Monica Sellers Typically Pay

Many counties and local governments also charge home sellers a real estate transfer tax. In Santa Monica, you are responsible for the state and county taxes. The state of California levies a transfer tax of $1.10 per $1,000, and Los Angeles County levies a transfer tax of $0.55 per $500 of the home’s value.

»Learn more: Understanding Santa Monica’s Transfer Tax: A Quick Guide

See the bigger home sale picture: To see what your entire home sale might cost, try HomeLight’s Santa Monica Seller Closing Cost Calculator. You’ll also get a preliminary look at your estimated net proceeds.

Does the Seller Always Pay the Santa Monica Transfer Tax?

While it’s customary for the seller to pay the Santa Monica transfer tax, who pays can sometimes be a point of negotiation between the buyer and seller during the closing process.

Some Santa Monica home sales may be exempt, such as:

Transfers confirming title in the grantee
Transfers related to divorce proceedings
Transfers securing or reconveying a debt
Transfers involving living trusts
Court-ordered transfers not involving a sale
Transfers between spouses or to confirm community property interests
Transfers of easements or leases valued under $100
Transfers where liens equal or exceed the property’s value
Transfers between the same parties, maintaining the same ownership proportion.

Make Buying and Selling Easier: Most Santa Monica sellers are also buyers looking to purchase a new home. With HomeLight’s Buy Before You Sell program, you can make a non-contingent offer on your new home and only move once. Watch this short video to learn more.

More Resources to Plan Your Santa Monica Home Sale

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

Sell fast without paying fees or commissions: Get a cash offer today.

With HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform, you can receive a no-obligation, all-cash offer for your Santa Monica home in 24 hours. If you accept the offer, you can close in as few as 10 days. Answer a few questions about your Santa Monica home to get started. Along with your cash offer, you’ll also receive an expert estimate of what a top Santa Monica 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:

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