Los Angeles Measure ULA Transfer Tax

What Measure ULA taxes

Measure ULA is an additional City of Los Angeles documentary transfer tax on qualifying transfers of real property. It sits on top of the City's ordinary transfer tax rather than replacing it.

The location boundary is important. A Los Angeles mailing address does not by itself decide whether the tax applies. The property must be within the City of Los Angeles; property elsewhere in Los Angeles County is outside the City's Measure ULA jurisdiction.

The date that controls is the date the transfer closes. Because the thresholds adjust annually, a figure from an older article or an earlier contract draft may no longer be the operative figure at closing.

Rates for closings after June 30, 2026

For a transfer closing after June 30, 2026, the additional Measure ULA rate is 4% when the consideration or value exceeds $5.4 million but is less than $10.9 million. The additional rate is 5.5% when the consideration or value is $10.9 million or more.

Those are threshold rates, not marginal brackets. Once a taxable transfer crosses the applicable threshold, the rate applies to the full taxable value used for Measure ULA, subject to any exemption that actually applies.

The City also imposes its ordinary documentary transfer tax. The two taxes should be modeled separately on a closing statement so the parties can see the Measure ULA amount rather than burying it in one transfer-tax line.

Gross value is the important number

Measure ULA is generally calculated from the gross consideration or value of the transferred property. Liens remaining on the property and debt assumed by the buyer are included when the value is determined.

That differs from the City's ordinary transfer tax, which is generally calculated on value after liens and encumbrances remaining at the time of sale. Applying the ordinary-tax method to Measure ULA can materially understate the amount due.

Related documents or interests can also be treated together when they are part of one transaction. Splitting a transfer into documents does not necessarily keep each document below the threshold.

Exemptions are specific

Measure ULA is broad, but it is not universal. The Los Angeles Municipal Code contains exemptions for specified transfers and entities, and the City has procedures for claiming them.

An exemption should be tied to the exact ordinance provision and supported before closing. A party's nonprofit status, family relationship or internal restructuring does not by itself establish that the recorded transfer is exempt.

Where the exemption depends on facts or a City determination, the closing calendar needs enough time for the required documentation. Treating the issue as a last-day recording question creates avoidable tax and title risk.

What to settle before closing

Confirm that the parcel is inside the City of Los Angeles, identify the current threshold for the actual closing date, and calculate the Measure ULA amount from gross value rather than net proceeds.

The purchase agreement should state who bears the tax. The City may collect the tax at recording, but the contract decides the economic allocation between the parties, and a silent or ambiguous allocation can become a seven-figure dispute on a large transfer.

If an exemption may apply, determine the authority and filing path early. Escrow, title and tax counsel should be working from the same value, the same closing date and the same exemption position before documents are signed.

This article is general information about California law and is not legal advice for any specific situation. If you are dealing with this issue, the facts of your matter will change the analysis.