What is the transfer tax when you sell a home in San Francisco?

San Francisco has the steepest documentary transfer tax of any city in the Bay Area, and it is structured in a way that surprises sellers: the rate for your price bracket applies to the entire sale price, not just the portion above the threshold. Crossing a bracket line by a dollar can cost real money.

Here are the current rates published by the Office of the Assessor-Recorder, expressed as the city states them and as a percentage:

• More than $100 up to $250,000: $2.50 per $500, which is 0.50 percent
• More than $250,000 and less than $1,000,000: $3.40 per $500, or 0.68 percent
• $1,000,000 up to less than $5,000,000: $3.75 per $500, or 0.75 percent
• $5,000,000 up to less than $10,000,000: $11.25 per $500, or 2.25 percent
• $10,000,000 up to less than $25,000,000: $27.50 per $500, or 5.50 percent
• $25,000,000 and above: $30.00 per $500, or 6.00 percent

What that means in practice. Most San Francisco home sales fall in the third bracket. Redfin reported a citywide median sale price of $1.725 million in June 2026, which at 0.75 percent works out to about $12,940 in transfer tax on a median sale. A $4.9 million sale owes roughly $36,750. A $5.0 million sale owes $112,500, because the entire price is now taxed at 2.25 percent. That $100,000 of extra price costs about $75,750 in additional tax. If your home is priced near $5 million or $10 million, run the math on both sides of the line before you set a list price.

Who pays is a matter of local custom rather than law. In San Francisco residential transactions the seller customarily pays the transfer tax, but it is negotiable and should be spelled out in the purchase agreement.

The tax is due at recording. Along with the deed you will submit a Transfer Tax Affidavit and a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report. The affidavit is also where exemptions are claimed, and the city requires written documentation such as trust or entity formation documents at the time of recording if you are claiming one. The authority and the full exemption list sit in Article 12C of the Business and Tax Regulations Code. Note that the tax reaches beyond ordinary deeds: leaseholds of 35 years or more and changes of control in entities that own San Francisco property are also taxable.

If you want help comparing specific numbers against your situation, reach me through the contact page or at hello@homesbypaarth.com.

What is the transfer tax when you sell a home in San Francisco?

San Francisco charges a graduated documentary transfer tax ranging from 0.50 percent to 6.00 percent, with most home sales taxed at 0.75 percent for prices from $1 million to just under $5 million. The bracket rate applies to the full sale price, and the seller customarily pays.

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Sources

• City and County of San Francisco, "Transfer tax"
• Redfin, "OpenAI, Anthropic Employees Could Buy Nearly One-Third of All Homes in San Francisco With IPO Earnings" (June 2026 median sale price)

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