Measure ULA adds 4 percent on Los Feliz sales above the threshold and 5.5 percent at the top tier. Here is what it actually costs, what it does not cover, and how the July 1 reset changes the math.
How much will Measure ULA cost on a Los Feliz home sale in 2026?
Measure ULA, the City of Los Angeles transfer tax often called the mansion tax, adds 4 percent to the sale price of any LA city home that closes between $5,300,000 and $10,599,999, and 5.5 percent on sales of $10,600,000 and up. The thresholds reset annually with inflation, and effective July 1, 2026 the new tiers are $5,400,000 and $10,900,000. The tax applies on top of the regular City of LA and Los Angeles County documentary transfer taxes, and the seller pays it at closing on the gross sale price, not on the gain.
If you own in Los Feliz Estates, Laughlin Park, the Oaks, Franklin Hills, or one of the architectural homes scattered through Los Feliz, there is a real chance an eventual sale will cross a Measure ULA threshold. And the difference between $5,399,999 and $5,400,001 is not a few hundred dollars. It is well over $200,000.
Most Los Feliz sellers Debbie Pisaro works with first hear about ULA from a neighbor, a CPA, or a Reddit thread, and the version they hear is usually a little wrong. The numbers move every July, the rules around what counts as consideration trip people up, and the planning moves a seller can actually make are narrower than most people assume. Here is the real picture for 2026, with a clean breakdown of what it costs, what it does not cover, and how to think about it before listing.
What Measure ULA actually is, in plain English
Measure ULA is a City of Los Angeles transfer tax that voters passed in November 2022 and that took effect April 1, 2023. It applies to any sale of real property within the City of Los Angeles above a dollar threshold. Los Feliz sits inside the City of LA, so every sale in the neighborhood is exposed.
It is layered on top of the transfer taxes a seller already pays at closing:
- Los Angeles County documentary transfer tax: $1.10 per $1,000 of sale price, or 0.11 percent.
- City of Los Angeles documentary transfer tax: $4.50 per $1,000 of sale price, or 0.45 percent.
- Measure ULA, only on sales above the threshold: 4 percent or 5.5 percent of the gross sale price, depending on tier.
The thresholds and rates index annually to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Chained Consumer Price Index, which is why the numbers shift every summer.
2026 thresholds, before and after July 1
Through June 30, 2026:
- 4 percent on sales from $5,300,000 to $10,599,999
- 5.5 percent on sales of $10,600,000 and up
Effective for any transaction recording on or after July 1, 2026:
- 4 percent on sales from $5,400,000 to $10,899,999
- 5.5 percent on sales of $10,900,000 and up
If a closing date straddles July 1, the recording date controls. Always confirm current tiers on the City of LA Office of Finance Measure ULA page before finalizing a strategy, because these are the current published figures and they will move again next summer.
What ULA costs on real Los Feliz sale prices
The cleanest way to understand the impact is to run it on prices that actually transact in Los Feliz. These are illustrative, not legal advice, and they assume the home is in the City of LA, which Los Feliz is, and that no exemption applies.
- $3,200,000 sale: ULA does not apply. The seller owes the regular city and county transfer taxes only, roughly $17,920 combined.
- $4,950,000 sale: Still under the threshold. No ULA. Regular transfer taxes total about $27,720.
- $5,500,000 sale, any 2026 closing: Above both the pre-July 1 threshold of $5.3M and the post-July 1 threshold of $5.4M, so ULA at 4 percent applies on the full $5.5M, or $220,000. Plus regular transfer taxes of about $30,800. Total transfer-tax bucket: roughly $250,800.
- $5,399,000 sale, closing before July 1, 2026: Above the pre-July 1 threshold of $5.3M, so ULA at 4 percent applies, about $215,960.
- $5,399,000 sale, closing on or after July 1, 2026: Below the new $5.4M threshold, so ULA does not apply. Total transfer taxes about $30,234. Same home, same price, but a closing-date difference of one day saves over $215,000.
- $8,000,000 sale: ULA at 4 percent on $8M is $320,000. Plus regular transfer taxes of $44,800. Total: $364,800.
- $11,000,000 sale, closing on or after July 1, 2026: ULA at 5.5 percent on $11M is $605,000. Plus regular transfer taxes of $61,600. Total: $666,600.
Two things should jump out. First, ULA applies to the gross sale price, not the portion above the threshold. There is no exclusion. A $5,400,001 sale owes 4 percent on the full $5,400,001, not 4 percent on $1. Second, the cliff is real, which is why Debbie Pisaro models the full closing math for Los Feliz sellers before a list price is ever set.
What ULA does not apply to, and the limited exemptions
A few important carve-outs, current as of this writing:
- Sales of property outside City of LA limits do not owe ULA. Burbank, Glendale, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and unincorporated LA County are not subject to it. Los Feliz is fully inside the city, so this rarely matters here.
- Certain transfers to qualified affordable housing organizations and certain governmental transfers are exempt.
- The tax is owed by the seller, although the contract can technically allocate it. In practice, on Los Feliz luxury sales, the seller pays.
- ULA is not deductible against capital gains. It is a transfer tax, not a cost that reduces basis the way commissions and certain fees do, though a CPA may treat it as a selling expense for federal capital gains purposes. Always run that through a tax advisor with the actual closing statement.
People ask whether they can split a sale, sell a partial interest, or roll into a 1031 to avoid ULA. Short version: 1031 exchanges of investment property may avoid ULA in some structures, but a primary residence does not qualify for 1031 at all. Splitting a sale into multiple parcels rarely works, because the City looks at the underlying transaction and the assessor groups related transfers. Talk to a real estate attorney before getting creative.
How ULA should change your pricing and timing decisions
For a Los Feliz seller in 2026, ULA mostly affects three decisions.
Where to price near the threshold. If a home would naturally land at $5.4M to $5.6M, the seller and agent need to look hard at whether the upper end of the range is worth the ULA hit. A list at $5,395,000 that closes within 1 percent of ask nets significantly more than a list at $5,495,000 that gives back $30,000 in negotiation and eats $220,000 in tax. The right answer depends on actual recent comps in Los Feliz Estates, the Oaks, Laughlin Park, or a specific submarket. This is exactly the kind of question Debbie Pisaro works through with clients before a list price is set, and it is a core reason to work with the best real estate agent in Los Feliz.
Whether to close before or after July 1. The threshold moves up roughly $100,000 each summer. If a home is right at the prior cap, closing after the July 1 reset can save the tax outright. But the calendar move only helps if the transaction can wait, the buyer can wait, and interim carrying costs do not eat the savings. For most Los Feliz sellers, the question of selling now or waiting matters less than getting priced and presented correctly in the first place.
How ULA interacts with the true net. Sellers anchor on list price. What actually matters is what hits the account. A $7M list, $6.6M close, 5 percent commission, $28,000 in transfer tax, $264,000 in ULA, plus a mortgage payoff, prep, escrow, and capital gains, is a very different number from $7M. For a real net rather than a Zestimate or a Redfin estimate, it is worth seeing how much a Los Feliz sale actually nets and what a Los Feliz home is genuinely worth in today's market.
What else you need to plan for alongside ULA
ULA is the line item people fixate on, but it is rarely the largest one. On a typical Los Feliz luxury sale, the seller-side costs usually break down something like this:
- Real estate commissions, post-NAR settlement, often 4 percent to 5 percent combined, sometimes lower
- City of LA plus County documentary transfer taxes, about 0.56 percent combined
- Measure ULA where applicable, 4 percent or 5.5 percent on gross
- Owner's title insurance, a Southern California convention where the seller pays
- Escrow fees, typically split or seller-paid by custom
- Mortgage payoff plus any prepayment items
- HOA transfer fees, statement fees, county recording fees
- Pre-listing prep: paint, staging, light landscaping, photography, sometimes deferred maintenance
- Federal and California capital gains on the gain above the $250,000 or $500,000 primary-residence exclusion, where it applies
If the home is an architectural property or a designated Historic-Cultural Monument, there may be additional considerations, especially with a Mills Act contract. The Mills Act passes to the buyer at sale, and selling a Mills Act or HCM home carries its own disclosures to handle cleanly.
For sellers in the Oaks, Laughlin Park, and Los Feliz Estates, ULA exposure is the rule, not the exception. For sellers in the flats below Franklin or in smaller Franklin Hills cottages, a sale may never come near it. Sellers who value privacy can also sell quietly, off the public market, and anyone tracking the top of the market saw the stakes in the recent Laughlin Park listing.
ULA is not unique to Los Feliz either. Sellers across the city run the same math, and Debbie Pisaro covers it for other LA submarkets too, including Measure ULA in Studio City. For a full closing-math valuation and seller net sheet from the brokerage, sellers can also request a Coastline 840 valuation. Whatever the price point, an experienced Los Feliz real estate agent runs the full net, ULA included, before the home is listed, not after an offer is already on the table.
Get a real net, ULA included, from Debbie
Twenty-four years in the Los Feliz market, a 2025 Inman Luxury Leader, and a seller net sheet that models ULA at both tiers, transfer taxes, commission, and capital gains. No Zestimate, no obligation.
debbie@coastline840.com
DRE #01369110 · 160 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026
Common questions about Measure ULA in Los Feliz
Does Measure ULA apply to all of Los Feliz?
Yes. Los Feliz lies entirely within the City of Los Angeles, so every sale in the neighborhood is potentially subject to Measure ULA if it crosses the dollar threshold. Adjacent areas like Glendale, Burbank, and West Hollywood are different cities and not subject to ULA, but those are not Los Feliz.
Is Measure ULA paid on the gain or the sale price?
The gross sale price. ULA is a transfer tax, not an income tax, so basis, improvements, and mortgage payoff do not reduce the calculation. A $6,000,000 sale owes 4 percent of $6,000,000, regardless of what the owner paid for the home or what is still owed on it.
Can a buyer agree to pay Measure ULA?
Technically a contract can allocate it, but in practice on Los Feliz luxury sales, sellers pay. Buyers in this market have plenty of inventory to choose from in 2026 and rarely accept a ULA shift. Pricing strategy, not contract gymnastics, is where the real planning happens.
If I sell my Los Feliz home for $5.39M, do I owe ULA?
Under the thresholds in effect through June 30, 2026, yes. The lower tier kicks in at $5,300,000, so a $5.39M sale would owe 4 percent, about $215,600. After July 1, 2026, the lower tier moves up to $5,400,000, and the same $5.39M sale would not owe ULA. This is exactly the kind of timing decision worth modeling on a specific situation before listing.
Does Measure ULA apply if I sell a Los Feliz HCM property with a Mills Act contract?
Yes. Measure ULA applies regardless of HCM designation or Mills Act status. The Mills Act reduces the buyer's ongoing property tax obligation, not the seller's transfer-tax obligation at closing. Los Feliz has more than fifty designated Historic-Cultural Monuments, many carrying Mills Act contracts, and ULA applies to those sales the same as any other City of LA sale above the threshold. The contract passes to the new owner and continues, but it does not change the seller's ULA exposure.
Can I avoid Measure ULA with a 1031 exchange?
Sometimes, for investment property, but never for a primary residence. 1031 exchanges only apply to investment or business real estate, not to a home someone lives in. For Los Feliz investment property held as a rental, a properly structured 1031 may defer the transaction in a way that avoids ULA, but the structure matters and the City has been tightening interpretation. This is a conversation for a real estate attorney and a 1031 qualified intermediary, not a general agent.
Has Measure ULA been changed or repealed?
Not as of April 2026. There has been ongoing political and legal pressure, and various reform proposals have been floated, but the tax is in effect and revenue has crossed $1 billion. Plan for it as a real cost, not a temporary one.
Do Los Feliz homes in different submarkets face different ULA exposure?
Yes, significantly. Laughlin Park, Los Feliz Estates, and the upper Los Feliz Oaks routinely transact above the 4 percent threshold, so ULA exposure is the rule, not the exception. Franklin Hills cottages and smaller Los Feliz Square homes often transact in the $2M to $4M range and may never come near the threshold. The architectural premium on documented Lloyd Wright-adjacent or HCM-designated Los Feliz historic homes can push a sale across the cliff at the marketing stage, so submarket and architectural status drive the strategy as much as the address does.
Where do I get a real Los Feliz net-of-ULA valuation?
Debbie Pisaro of Coastline 840 provides Los Feliz home valuations that model the full closing math, including ULA exposure at the current and post-July 1 thresholds, traditional transfer taxes, projected commission, and capital gains where applicable. The seller net sheet is built on actual recent Los Feliz comps, not generic AVM estimates, and can be requested at debbie@coastline840.com or (310) 362-6429.
Who is a good full-service real estate agent in Los Feliz?
Debbie Pisaro is a 24-year veteran, founder of Coastline 840, and a 2025 Inman Luxury Leader. As a Los Feliz luxury real estate agent, she represents buyers and sellers across Los Feliz and the surrounding neighborhoods, specializing in architectural, historic, and design-forward homes, and handles the full transaction from pricing and net-of-ULA modeling through closing.
Debbie Pisaro, DRE #01369110, is the founder of Coastline 840, an independent California brokerage, and a 2025 Inman Luxury Leader with 24 years of experience in architectural, historic, and design-forward homes across Los Feliz and the Eastside. She writes about California real estate at debbiepisaro.com, losfelizliving.com, and coastline840.com. Published April 30, 2026, updated July 3, 2026.