Documentary transfer tax estimator

This tax applies to a deed or other instrument that transfers California real property when the local government has adopted the tax and the taxable consideration or value is more than $100. It is collected in connection with recording the transfer.

Title insurance, escrow fees, lender charges, recording fees, prepaid taxes, HOA charges, and property-tax prorations are separate. This estimate is not the total cost to close.

Revenue and Taxation Code section 11911 uses the consideration or value of the interest transferred, excluding the value of a lien or encumbrance that remains on the property at the time of sale. An exemption or unusual transfer can change the base or remove the tax.

Ask escrow or the recorder for the taxable base used on the deed. Do not guess from the down payment, loan amount, or cash handed over. The sale price field is a practical starting point only when it matches the taxable value.

Divide the taxable base by $500 and round up to a whole block. Multiply that block count by $0.55. A taxable base of $850,000 makes 1,700 blocks. At the common county rate, the result is $935.

The fraction rule matters at the edge. A taxable base of $850,001 makes 1,701 blocks, not 1,700. The calculator does that rounding for each per-$500 rate. A percent tax uses the taxable base directly instead.

A city that adopts the conforming tax under section 11911 can charge one-half of the county rate. The county must credit that city amount against its own tax. For the $850,000 example, the ordinary act still totals $935; the city share does not turn it into $1,402.50.

Some charter cities and other local measures impose separate rates, percent taxes, or tiers. Those can be added. Enter a city per-$500 rate or percent only after the official city schedule confirms that it sits on top of the county amount.

If the official city schedule adds $2.25 per $500, the $850,000 base creates a separate $3,825 city line. Added to the $935 county line, the rough total becomes $4,760 before any other valid city percent tax.

A tiered percent tax needs the rate that applies to the actual value and effective date. Some city rules tax the full base once a threshold is crossed. Others use different structures, exemptions, or rebates. The city's own calculator or schedule controls.

The recorder generally will not record a taxable deed until the tax is paid and the signed tax declaration is on the document. Escrow normally prepares that line from the deed facts, county rule, city rule, and any claimed exemption.

California does not place every closing charge on one party by a single statewide custom. The purchase contract and escrow instructions control the deal's allocation. Compare this estimate with the final settlement statement before signing.