San Francisco has one of the most complex residential transfer tax structures in California, with six rate tiers that create significant tax cliffs at key price points. Unlike a graduated (marginal) tax, San Francisco's transfer tax applies the rate to the ENTIRE sale price once a tier is reached — creating pricing pressure at each threshold.
CLIFF structure: the $5M threshold is the most impactful. A $5,000,000 sale generates $112,500 in tax (2.25%); a $4,999,999 sale generates $37,499 (0.75%) — a $75,001 difference from a $1 price change.
SF transfer tax is customarily paid by the SELLER but this is negotiable in the purchase contract.
The state of California has its own documentary transfer tax ($1.10/$1,000 = 0.11%) paid separately — this stacks on top of the city rate.
County of San Francisco and City of San Francisco are the same jurisdiction — there is no separate county transfer tax.
It is a cliff (step) tax, not graduated. Once the sale price crosses a threshold, the applicable rate applies to the ENTIRE sale price — not just the portion above the threshold. This creates significant incentive to price just below key thresholds like $5M and $10M.
By local convention, the seller pays. However, the purchase contract is the controlling document — buyer and seller can agree to any allocation.
Yes. California's documentary transfer tax ($1.10 per $1,000 = 0.11%) applies statewide and is separate from SF's city transfer tax. Both are typically paid by the seller.
Enter any address — we apply all applicable tax layers automatically.
Open the Calculator →