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- Measure ULA is a City of Los Angeles transfer tax, in effect since April 1, 2023, and it applies to apartment buildings as well as houses.
- For transfers on or after July 1, 2026, it is 4 percent of the entire price above $5,400,000 and 5.5 percent of the entire price at $10,900,000 or more.
- Because it taxes the whole price, a $5,500,000 sale leaves the seller $120,560 less after the three transfer taxes than a $5,400,000 sale, and it takes $5,626,322 to come out even.
- It applies only inside City of LA limits, and the exemptions depend on who the buyer is.
Measure ULA is the City of Los Angeles tax on sales above a price threshold, and for an apartment owner the nickname "mansion tax" is misleading. It reaches apartment buildings and commercial property as well as houses, whenever the price of a property inside City limits is above the threshold, and because it taxes the entire price rather than the part above the line, one dollar over the line can cost more than $200,000.
What is Measure ULA?
City voters approved Measure ULA, short for United to House Los Angeles, in November 2022, and it took effect on April 1, 2023. It is charged in addition to the City's regular transfer tax of $4.50 per $1,000 and the county's $1.10 per $1,000, and the county Registrar-Recorder collects it with them when the deed records. The revenue is earmarked for affordable housing and homelessness prevention programs, which the Los Angeles Housing Department describes on its ULA page.
The rule that matters most to a seller is how the rate attaches. Once the price crosses a threshold, the rate applies to every dollar of it. Nothing is phased in. That is what makes ULA a cliff rather than a bracket, and it is why pricing near a threshold takes arithmetic, not instinct.
Which sales does it apply to?
ULA applies to property inside the limits of the City of Los Angeles. It does not apply in Santa Monica, Culver City or any other city in the county, or in unincorporated county areas. A mailing address that reads Los Angeles does not settle the question, so ask your title company to confirm from the parcel before you price the building.
The exemptions turn on the buyer, not the seller. According to LAHD's ULA exemptions page and its eligibility guidelines, the categories include 501(c)(3) nonprofits with a history of developing or managing affordable housing, and community land trusts and limited-equity housing cooperatives with that kind of experience. A land trust can also qualify by partnering with an experienced nonprofit or by recording an affordability covenant on the property it buys. LAHD handles exemption requests from affordable housing buyers on conveyances over $5 million, and the Office of Finance handles exemptions for certain other nonprofits.
If your buyer expects an exemption, the exemption is theirs to obtain, and your contract should say what happens if it is not granted.
The thresholds for transfers on or after July 1, 2026
| Sale price | ULA on the entire price |
|---|---|
| $5,400,000 or less | None |
| More than $5,400,000 and less than $10,900,000 | 4 percent |
| $10,900,000 or more | 5.5 percent |
These are the figures the Office of Finance gives for transfers on or after July 1, 2026. The thresholds adjust every July 1. In the period before this one they were $5,300,000 and $10,600,000. If your price sits near a threshold and escrow could record after June 30, 2027, look up the new figures when the City publishes them.
How the cliff works, with the numbers
The table below prices one building inside the City at three points. Each column adds the county tax of $0.55 per $500 of price or fraction of $500, the City's $2.25 per $500 or fraction, and ULA as a straight percentage of the whole price.
| Line | $5,400,000 | $5,500,000 | $5,626,322 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steps of $500, fractions counted up | 10,800 | 11,000 | 11,253 |
| County tax | $5,940.00 | $6,050.00 | $6,189.15 |
| City of LA tax | $24,300.00 | $24,750.00 | $25,319.25 |
| Measure ULA | $0.00 | $220,000.00 | $225,052.88 |
| All three taxes | $30,240.00 | $250,800.00 | $256,561.28 |
| Price less the three taxes | $5,369,760.00 | $5,249,200.00 | $5,369,760.72 |
Raising the price $100,000, from $5,400,000 to $5,500,000, leaves you $120,560 less, because ULA of 4 percent lands on all $5,500,000. The first whole-dollar price that leaves you as much as $5,400,000 does is $5,626,322. Every price from $5,400,001 through $5,626,321 leaves you with less.
The upper threshold works the same way. At $10,899,999 the three taxes come to $497,039.96, with ULA at 4 percent, and you keep $10,402,959.04. At $10,900,000 ULA jumps to 5.5 percent, $599,500, and you keep $10,239,460. One more dollar of price costs you $163,499.04, and it takes $11,074,049 to come out even.
These examples assume you pay all three taxes, the whole price is taxable and no exemption applies. They stop before the commission and other selling costs. Any cost figured as a percentage of price, such as a commission, pushes the break-even price a little higher still, so run the final figure with your own numbers.
What sellers can do about the cliff
- Know which side of the line you are on before you list. A list price in the dead zone invites offers in the dead zone. Price at or below $5,400,000, or high enough that the price you expect to accept after negotiating still clears $5,626,322.
- Do the arithmetic on every offer near a threshold. Compare offers by what you keep after the three taxes, not by price.
- Negotiate who pays. The purchase agreement assigns each transfer tax. A buyer who agrees to carry part of ULA changes every figure above.
- Watch the calendar. The thresholds move each July 1, so the same price can land on different sides of the line depending on the transfer date.
Any structure meant to lower the ULA bill, whether that means splitting the sale, selling an entity or allocating price among parcels, is a question for a tax attorney before you sign. Shaya is not an attorney or a CPA, and a structure that fails after closing can leave you owing the tax anyway, plus the cost of the attempt.
Is Measure ULA changing in 2026?
As of this writing, ULA is in effect at the thresholds above. It has survived its legal and political tests so far, according to news reports:
- A California Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's ruling upholding ULA against the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association's challenge, as Courthouse News reported.
- In June 2026, a statewide initiative that would have nullified ULA was withdrawn from the November 2026 ballot, in exchange for a substitute that would not apply its higher vote requirement to taxes already in place, as CalMatters reported.
- In July 2026, the City Council dropped its own proposal to put changes to ULA before voters, as The Real Deal reported.
One proposal's outcome is not confirmed here. AB 736 proposed capping transfer taxes at 1.5 percent on every sale other than a single-family home above the threshold, which would include apartment buildings. Check the bill's status and the Office of Finance's current thresholds before you set a price near a threshold.