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California Transfer Tax: County and City Rates in Northern California

By Matthew Martinez, Founder, CEO & Managing Broker, Diamond Real Estate Group. California DRE #01869679.

California counties charge a documentary transfer tax of $0.55 per $500 of value, which is $1.10 per $1,000, when real property sells, and some cities add their own tax on top: $2.00 per $1,000 in Santa Rosa, Petaluma and San Rafael, $2.75 in Sacramento, and tiered rates of 1% to 2.5% in Oakland and Berkeley. In Northern California the seller customarily pays the county tax, but who pays is negotiable and city customs vary, with several Bay Area cities splitting their tax between buyer and seller.

The authority for the county tax is Revenue and Taxation Code section 11911. It lets a county tax a sale when the consideration or value is over $100, at $0.55 for each $500 or fraction of $500, excluding any loan that stays on the property. A city in that county may levy half that rate, which is credited against the county’s tax, so in most cities the total stays at $1.10 per $1,000. Cities that charge more, such as Santa Rosa or Oakland, do so under their own ordinances and measures. San Francisco, as a combined city and county, charges a single tax of its own. This page puts the current rates for Diamond’s counties in one place, shows how to calculate the tax, and explains the main exemptions.

How the transfer tax is calculated

Start with the price, then apply each tax that applies to the property’s location. A few rules change the math:

Rounding. The county rate applies to each $500 “or fractional part,” so the value is rounded up to the next $500.
Assumed loans. The county tax excludes any lien that remains on the property, such as a loan the buyer assumes. Sonoma County says Santa Rosa’s and Petaluma’s taxes allow no deduction for assumed loans, Marin County says the same of San Rafael’s, and Alameda County applies its city taxes to full value.
Location, not mailing address. City taxes apply only inside city limits. Many unincorporated areas carry a city’s name in their mailing address.
Tiered city taxes. In cities such as Oakland and Berkeley, the county’s table assigns one rate to each full-value bracket. The examples below apply that rate to the whole price, as the table is laid out; confirm the exact figure with escrow.

To estimate your tax, divide the price by 1,000, multiply by $1.10 for the county tax, then multiply the price in thousands by the city rate if the property is inside a taxing city.

Example sale	County tax	City tax	Total
$900,000, unincorporated Sonoma County	$990	None	$990
$900,000, Santa Rosa	$990	$1,800 ($2.00 per $1,000)	$2,790
$1,400,000, San Rafael (current rate)	$1,540	$2,800 ($2.00 per $1,000)	$4,340
$600,000, City of Sacramento	$660	$1,650 ($2.75 per $1,000)	$2,310
$900,000, Oakland	$990	$13,500 ($15.00 per $1,000)	$14,490
$1,500,000, Berkeley	$1,650	$22,500 ($15.00 per $1,000)	$24,150

These are estimates for planning. Escrow calculates the final figure from the recorded deed, and our seller net sheet guide shows where transfer tax fits among your other costs.

North Bay, Sacramento region and Santa Cruz rates

County	County tax	City taxes (per $1,000 unless noted)	Source
Sonoma	$1.10 per $1,000	Santa Rosa $2.00; Petaluma $2.00. Cloverdale, Cotati, Healdsburg, Rohnert Park, Sebastopol, Sonoma and Windsor: county rate only	Sonoma County Clerk-Recorder
Marin	$1.10 per $1,000	San Rafael $2.00 (Measure W on the November 3, 2026 ballot would raise it to $10.00); no other city tax listed	Marin County Assessor-Recorder; Marin County Elections
Napa	$1.10 per $1,000	None; each city receives half of the county rate from the County Auditor	Napa County
Solano	$1.10 per $1,000	Vallejo $3.30	Ticor Title 2026 guide
Sacramento	$1.10 per $1,000	City of Sacramento $2.75 on the full purchase price (City Code chapter 3.16)	City of Sacramento
Yolo	$1.10 per $1,000	Woodland $1.10	Ticor Title 2026 guide
Placer, El Dorado, Nevada, Lake, Mendocino, Monterey	$1.10 per $1,000	None listed	Ticor Title 2026 guide
Santa Cruz	$1.10 per $1,000	City of Santa Cruz, from July 1, 2026, on sales over $1.8 million: 0.5% to $2.5 million, 1.0% to $3.5 million, 1.5% to $4.5 million, 2.0% above $4.5 million (capped at $200,000)	City of Santa Cruz; EY Tax News

Cotati is a common point of confusion. Ticor’s 2026 guide lists a $1.90 per $1,000 city tax there, but the Sonoma County Clerk-Recorder lists Cotati at the county rate only, and Cotati Municipal Code section 3.08.020 imposes $0.55 per $1,000, the city share the recorder collects within the county’s $1.10. This page follows the recorder and the city code.

The Santa Cruz tax, approved by voters as Measure C in November 2025, applies its rate to the entire price, not just the amount over each threshold, and does not exclude loans that stay on the property. A $2,000,000 sale in the city would owe $10,000 under it, plus the county tax.

Bay Area rates

County	County tax	City taxes (per $1,000 of full value unless noted)	Source
Alameda	$1.10 per $1,000	Alameda $12.00; Albany $15.00; Berkeley $15.00 up to $1,700,000 and $25.00 above; Emeryville $12.00 under $1 million, $15.00 to $2 million, $25.00 above; Hayward $8.50; Oakland $10.00 up to $300,000, $15.00 to $2 million, $17.50 to $5 million, $25.00 above; Piedmont $13.00; San Leandro $11.00	Alameda County Clerk-Recorder
Contra Costa	$1.10 per $1,000	Richmond 0.7% under $1 million, 1.25% to $3 million, 2.5% to $10 million, 3% above; El Cerrito $12.00	Ticor Title 2026 guide
Santa Clara	$1.10 per $1,000	San Jose $3.30, plus 0.75%, 1.0% or 1.5% on sales over a threshold Ticor lists at $2.3 million; Mountain View $3.30, or $15.00 over $6 million; Palo Alto $3.30	Ticor Title 2026 guide
San Mateo	$1.10 per $1,000	City of San Mateo $5.00, or $15.00 over $10 million; Hillsborough $0.30	Ticor Title 2026 guide
San Francisco	Combined city and county tax	Tiered by price, from $5.00 per $1,000 under $250,000 up to $60.00 per $1,000 at $25 million and above	Ticor Title 2026 guide

For more detail, see our pages on Alameda County city transfer taxes and the San Francisco transfer tax. Rates in the Ticor column come from a title company’s January 2026 summary rather than the city’s own code, so confirm them with the city or your escrow officer before you rely on them.

Who pays the transfer tax

No statute assigns the tax to the buyer or the seller; the purchase agreement does. Napa County notes that in Northern California the seller customarily pays during escrow, and Ticor’s 2026 guide lists the county tax as a seller cost in every county shown above except San Francisco, which has only its own combined tax. In Diamond’s North Bay markets the seller customarily pays, but it is negotiable and local custom varies.

City taxes follow their own customs. Ticor lists the seller as paying in Santa Rosa, Petaluma, San Rafael and Vallejo, and the buyer and seller splitting the tax in Sacramento, the Santa Clara and San Mateo cities shown above, and the Alameda and Contra Costa cities. Where the custom is a split, the contract should say exactly how. Our guide to who pays closing costs in California covers the other line items.

Common exemptions

Recorders require a transfer tax declaration on the deed. Sonoma County’s, for example, asks for a declaration signed by the grantor showing how the tax was computed and whether the property is in a city or unincorporated area, and if no tax is due, the legal reason must be stated on the face of the document. The exemptions buyers and sellers ask about most often are in Revenue and Taxation Code sections 11921 to 11930:

Transfer	Section	Key condition
Deed of trust or other document securing a loan	11921	The document secures a debt
Bankruptcy plan or a mere change in identity or form of an entity	11923	Made or filed within five years of the plan confirmation or change
Transfers of interests in a continuing partnership, or changes in how title is held	11925	The partnership continues, or proportional ownership stays the same after the transfer
Deed to the lender in foreclosure or in lieu of foreclosure	11926	Tax is still due on any consideration above the unpaid debt and costs
Division of property between spouses in a divorce or legal separation	11927	Required by a judgment, order or written agreement; the deed must recite the exemption
Gift or transfer at death	11930	The transfer is by gift or because of a death

Taxable events are broader than a deed. Napa County, for example, applies its tax to changes in control of legal entities and to leases of more than 35 years, including options. City taxes can differ from the county’s exemptions, and Santa Cruz’s new tax drops the exclusion for loans that remain on the property, so read the city ordinance for any transfer that isn’t a straight sale.

Changes to watch in 2026

San Rafael Measure W, on the November 3, 2026 ballot, would raise the city’s tax from 0.2% to 1% of value, or from $2.00 to $10.00 per $1,000, and is projected to raise about $7.5 million a year. It needs a simple majority and would take effect ten days after the City Council certifies the election results. On the $1,400,000 example above, the city tax would rise from $2,800 to $14,000.
Santa Cruz Measure C took effect July 1, 2026 for city sales over $1.8 million.
Berkeley’s threshold for its higher rate is listed at $1,700,000 on Alameda County’s current table. Older rate sheets may show a lower figure, so use the county’s current table.

Transfer tax is not property tax

The transfer tax is a one-time charge at recording. It is separate from annual property taxes and from the supplemental property tax bill a buyer may receive after closing; see our guide to the supplemental tax bill. Counties also charge recording fees; Marin, for example, adds a $10 survey monument preservation fee on transfer documents and a $20 fee when no Preliminary Change of Ownership Report is filed.

Questions people ask

Who pays transfer tax in Sonoma County?

By custom, the seller pays the county’s $1.10 per $1,000, and the seller also customarily pays the $2.00 per $1,000 city tax in Santa Rosa and Petaluma. It is negotiable in the purchase agreement.

What is the Marin County transfer tax?

$0.55 per $500 of value, or $1.10 per $1,000, less any loans the buyer assumes. Inside San Rafael’s city limits, add the city’s $2.00 per $1,000, which Measure W would raise to $10.00 if voters approve it.

What is the Napa County transfer tax?

$0.55 per $500, or $1.10 per $1,000. Napa County’s cities don’t add a separate tax; they receive half of the county’s rate.

Do Santa Rosa and Petaluma have a city transfer tax?

Yes. Each charges $2.00 per $1,000 in addition to the county tax, with no deduction for assumed loans, according to the Sonoma County Clerk-Recorder.

How do I calculate transfer tax in California?

Divide the price by 1,000 and multiply by $1.10 for the county tax. If the property is in a city with its own tax, multiply the price in thousands by that city’s rate and add it. A $900,000 Santa Rosa sale works out to $990 plus $1,800, or $2,790.

Do assumed loans reduce the transfer tax?

For the county tax, yes: a loan that stays on the property is excluded. Several city taxes, including Santa Rosa’s, Petaluma’s, San Rafael’s and Santa Cruz’s new tax, are charged on full value.

Is a transfer between spouses in a divorce exempt?

Yes, under Revenue and Taxation Code section 11927, when the division is required by a dissolution or legal separation judgment, a court order or a written agreement, and the deed recites the exemption.

Is transfer tax the same as property tax?

No. It is a one-time tax paid when the deed records. Property tax is billed separately every year, and a buyer may also receive a supplemental property tax bill after closing.

If you’re planning a sale and want a net estimate that uses the right county and city rates for your address, see our home selling services or browse the rest of the selling process guides.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice; talk to a California real estate attorney or tax adviser about your situation.

Sources & notes

Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.