Measure ULA in Studio City: What Home Sellers Need to Know

Studio City · Selling your home

For Studio City homes selling above $5 million, Measure ULA is the line item that catches sellers off guard. Here is how the Los Angeles mansion tax works, and how to plan around its threshold cliff.

By Debbie Pisaro · DRE #01369110 · Coastline 840

The short answer

Measure ULA is the biggest cost surprise for Studio City sellers in the $5M-plus tier. It is a City of Los Angeles transfer tax charged on the entire sale price once you cross a threshold, effective July 1, 2026, at 4 percent above $5.4 million and 5.5 percent above $10.9 million. It changes the math on every high-value sale, sometimes by six figures, which is why Debbie Pisaro models it before a home ever reaches the market.

If your Studio City home is likely to trade above the lower threshold, you need to understand Measure ULA before you list, not at the closing table. It is not a rounding error. It is a large, seller-paid line item that turns on a single dollar of sale price, and it can quietly redraw your net proceeds. This is one of the first numbers Debbie Pisaro walks through with sellers when they talk about selling a Studio City home, because getting the price band right depends on knowing exactly where these lines fall.

What Measure ULA actually is

Measure ULA is a documentary transfer tax that Los Angeles voters passed in November 2022 and that took effect on April 1, 2023. It applies to most residential and commercial real estate sales inside the City of Los Angeles above certain price thresholds. Studio City sits fully within the City of LA, so it is entirely in scope.

The tax has two tiers. The lower tier charges 4 percent on the gross sale price once the price crosses the lower threshold. The upper tier charges 5.5 percent on the gross sale price once the price crosses the higher threshold.

The thresholds started at $5 million and $10 million and adjust every July 1 for inflation using the Chained CPI. For the current fiscal year, effective July 1, 2026, plan around $5.4 million and $10.9 million, up from $5.3 million and $10.6 million the prior year, and confirm the exact figures with your escrow company before you list. The 4 percent and 5.5 percent rates themselves have not changed since the tax took effect.

A few features make Measure ULA especially costly for sellers:

• It applies to the entire sale price, not just the amount above the threshold. Cross the lower line by a single dollar and you owe the full 4 percent on the whole price, not 4 percent of the overage.
• It is paid by the seller, collected through escrow at closing and netted out of your proceeds.
• It stacks on top of existing transfer taxes, including the California Documentary Transfer Tax and the standard City of Los Angeles transfer tax.
• It is owed regardless of your equity. The tax is based on sale price, not on how much you actually walk away with, so a highly leveraged seller can owe the same amount as a free-and-clear one.

The measure was designed to fund affordable housing and homelessness programs through the city's Housing Department. Whatever you think of the policy, the practical reality for sellers is the same: above the threshold, it is a real and sizable cost. Before you set a price, it helps to look at the current Studio City market data and see where your home is likely to land relative to these lines.

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Will Measure ULA still be here when you sell

The future of Measure ULA has been politically contested, and it is worth knowing where things stand. In April 2026 there was reporting, including from CalMatters, that a statewide ballot measure backed by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association could have capped local real estate transfer taxes and effectively curtailed the LA mansion tax. In a June 2026 compromise, however, that measure was pulled from the November 2026 ballot, and transfer taxes were reportedly left out of the replacement measure that lawmakers agreed to put before voters instead.

In other words, as of this update there is no live statewide ballot measure repealing Measure ULA, but the tax remains a subject of ongoing legal and political debate. Because that landscape can shift, Debbie Pisaro treats ULA as fully in effect today and encourages sellers to confirm the current rules with their escrow and tax advisors before they list.

What this looks like on a real Studio City sale

The abstract percentages are easier to feel with real numbers. Here are three representative Studio City scenarios. Figures are rounded and illustrative, and your escrow company will confirm the exact charges for your transaction.

Example A: a $4.8 million home south of the boulevard

A well-renovated home priced at $4.8 million, below the lower threshold:

• California Documentary Transfer Tax: about $5,280
• City of LA transfer tax: about $21,600
• Measure ULA: $0, because the price is below the threshold

Total transfer taxes land in the tens of thousands, and the seller nets roughly 93 to 94 percent of the sale price before mortgage payoff. No ULA applies.

Example B: a $5.5 million home in Colfax Meadows

A larger family home selling at $5.5 million, just over the lower threshold:

• California Documentary Transfer Tax: about $6,050
• City of LA transfer tax: about $24,750
• Measure ULA, 4 percent of $5.5M: $220,000

That single ULA line item is $220,000, and the seller nets closer to 88 to 89 percent before payoff. Notice the cliff between Example A and Example B: a difference of about $700,000 in price triggers a $220,000 tax that the sub-threshold seller never paid.

Example C: an $11 million architectural home in Studio City Hills

A trophy architectural property selling at $11 million, above the top threshold:

• California Documentary Transfer Tax: about $12,100
• City of LA transfer tax: about $49,500
• Measure ULA, 5.5 percent of $11M: $605,000

At $11 million the sale clears the $10.9 million top threshold, so the entire price is taxed at 5.5 percent. That is $605,000 in ULA alone, and the seller nets in the range of 86 to 88 percent before payoff. For sellers of design-forward houses like these, Debbie Pisaro maps the higher-value clusters on her Studio City architectural homes map, so the pricing conversation starts from the right comparables.

Off-market

A large share of the best Studio City houses trade quietly, before they ever hit the open market. Debbie keeps a running list of pocket listings for buyers who want the first look.

See the pocket listings

Strategy to weigh before you list

You cannot wish Measure ULA away, but you can plan around it. Three things matter most, and they are the levers Debbie Pisaro works through with every seller near a threshold.

1. Threshold awareness. If your likely sale price is within roughly 10 percent of either threshold, the gap matters enormously. A home that closes at $5,390,000 pays no ULA, and a home that closes at $5,410,000 pays 4 percent on the entire price, roughly $216,000. Knowing exactly where you sit relative to the current $5.4 million and $10.9 million lines shapes how you price and how you negotiate.
2. Timing. The thresholds adjust each July, historically by about 2 to 3 percent per year based on CPI. If you are selling near a threshold and near the calendar turn, it is worth modeling both scenarios, the current-year threshold and the likely next-year one, so you understand how the line may move under you. Debbie covers this tradeoff in her guide to the best time to sell a home in Studio City.
3. Exclusions and exemptions. There are narrow exemptions for certain affordable-housing, nonprofit, and qualifying intra-family transfers. They are limited and fact-specific, so confirm eligibility with your escrow officer, title company, and a tax professional rather than assuming they apply.

This is exactly the kind of number that belongs in your pricing conversation from day one. Your Studio City listing strategy should account for ULA before the sign goes in the yard, not after an offer comes in, and it should sit alongside the other decisions covered in Debbie's read on whether to sell your Studio City home now or wait.

What is it worth

Want a real number for your street, built from your net and the current ULA thresholds rather than a zip-wide average? Ask Debbie for a Studio City net sheet.

Request a Studio City net sheet

What Measure ULA means across Studio City submarkets

Measure ULA does not hit every part of Studio City the same way, because pricing varies widely across the neighborhood's distinct submarkets.

• Footbridge Square and much of south of the boulevard still sit mostly under the lower threshold. Plenty of excellent homes here trade below $5.4 million, so ULA simply does not come up for many of these sellers. You can see the pocket in depth on the Footbridge Square guide.
• Colfax Meadows and the Silver Triangle now have a meaningful slice of inventory at or above the lower threshold. This is where threshold-edge strategy matters most, because a strong market can push a sale from just under to just over the line.
• Studio City Hills, Fryman Canyon, and the Laurel Canyon corridor regularly trade above $5 million, and some homes clear the top threshold. Up here, ULA is a routine line item rather than an occasional surprise. A $28 million architectural compound on a street like Viewcrest Road would carry roughly $1.54 million in ULA at the 5.5 percent rate, a number that has to be part of the pricing math from the start.

Boundary lines matter here too, since a home a block outside the city limits may sit entirely outside ULA, a point Debbie unpacks in her piece on the Carpenter Community Charter boundary. If you are weighing a sale this year, ULA belongs squarely in that decision, and it is one Debbie Pisaro is glad to walk through in detail. For background reading, her Studio City resources page collects the city and county references sellers ask about most.

Frequently asked questions

Does Measure ULA apply to homes in Studio City?

Yes. Studio City is part of the City of Los Angeles, so Measure ULA applies to qualifying sales here. The tax applies to property inside the city limits; it does not apply in unincorporated Los Angeles County areas or in separate cities that are not part of the City of LA.

Is Measure ULA paid by the buyer or the seller?

The seller pays Measure ULA. It is collected at closing through escrow, calculated on the gross sale price, and netted out of the seller's proceeds before the mortgage is paid off.

What are the current Measure ULA thresholds?

Effective July 1, 2026, the thresholds are $5,400,000 for the 4 percent tier and $10,900,000 for the 5.5 percent tier, up from $5,300,000 and $10,600,000 the prior year. The thresholds adjust every July 1 for inflation using the Chained CPI, while the 4 percent and 5.5 percent rates have stayed the same. Always confirm the exact current figures with your escrow company before you list.

Does Measure ULA apply to the entire sale price or only the amount above the threshold?

Measure ULA applies to the entire recorded sale price, not just the amount over the line. Cross the lower threshold by a single dollar and the full 4 percent is owed on the whole price, which is why the tax behaves like a cliff rather than a gradual step.

Can I avoid Measure ULA by pricing below the threshold?

Not reliably. The tax is calculated on the actual recorded sale price, not the list price. If you list below the threshold but a bidding war pushes the final price above it, the full 4 percent applies to the entire sale price, not just the amount over the line.

How much is Measure ULA on a $5.5 million Studio City home?

A Studio City home that records at $5.5 million sits just over the lower threshold, so the 4 percent tier applies to the whole price. That is $220,000 in Measure ULA alone, on top of the California Documentary Transfer Tax and the standard City of Los Angeles transfer tax.

Are there exemptions for typical Studio City sellers?

Most standard residential sales are not exempt. There are narrow exemptions for certain qualifying nonprofit, affordable-housing, and qualifying intra-family transfers, but they are limited and fact-specific. Verify eligibility with your escrow company and a tax professional before assuming any exemption applies.

Is Measure ULA going to be repealed?

As of this update there is no live statewide ballot measure repealing Measure ULA. A measure backed by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association that could have curtailed local transfer taxes was pulled from the November 2026 ballot in a June 2026 compromise, and transfer taxes were left out of the replacement measure. The tax remains contested, so treat it as fully in effect today and confirm the current rules with your escrow and tax advisors before you list.

What to do next

Measure ULA can be a six-figure swing in your net proceeds, so it deserves a place in your very first pricing conversation, not a footnote at closing. The most useful thing you can do is understand where your likely sale price sits relative to the current thresholds, then model your net accordingly, including every other line item that comes out of your proceeds. Debbie Pisaro builds that number from the seller's net backward, so the threshold stops being an abstract worry and becomes a concrete figure for your specific property. When you are ready to talk it through, her contact page is the quickest way to reach her.

Coastline 840

Work with Debbie Pisaro

Selling a Studio City home near the Measure ULA thresholds, and want the agent who prices to the block and models the tax before you list? Reach Debbie directly.

Phone(310) 362-6429

Emaildebbie@coastline840.com

LicenseDRE #01369110

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Written by Debbie Pisaro, a 24-year California luxury agent and the founder of Coastline 840, DRE #01369110. This article is general information for Studio City home sellers and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Measure ULA thresholds and rates are set by the City of Los Angeles and adjust annually; the figures above are current as of July 8, 2026. Confirm the current thresholds, rates, and any exemptions with your escrow company and a qualified tax professional before you list. Coastline 840 · Studio City