Measure ULA in Studio City: What Home Sellers Need to Know
The short answer
Measure ULA is the biggest cost surprise for Studio City sellers in the five million dollar tier and above. It is a City of Los Angeles transfer tax charged on the entire sale price once you cross a threshold: for transactions closing after June 30, 2026, four percent above $5.4 million and five and a half percent at $10.9 million and above. The seller pays it, and on a high-value sale it moves the net by six figures, which is why it belongs in the pricing conversation before the sign goes in the yard.
Just Studio City · Studio City real estate
What is Measure ULA in Studio City?
Measure ULA in Studio City is the City of Los Angeles transfer tax that a seller pays on the entire recorded sale price once the price crosses a threshold, four percent above $5.4 million and five and a half percent at $10.9 million and above for transactions closing after June 30, 2026, and because Studio City sits inside the city limits every qualifying sale here is in scope.
If your home is likely to trade near or above the lower threshold, this is a number to understand before you list rather than 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 quietly redraws the net proceeds. It is one of the first figures Debbie Pisaro walks through with anyone thinking about selling a Studio City home, because getting the price band right depends on knowing exactly where these lines fall.
What the tax 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, so it is entirely in scope.
The tax has two tiers. The lower tier charges four percent on the gross sale price once the price crosses the lower threshold. The upper tier charges five and a half percent on the gross sale price once the price reaches the higher one. The thresholds started at $5 million and $10 million and adjust every July 1 for inflation using the Chained CPI. For transactions closing after June 30, 2026, plan around $5.4 million and $10.9 million, up from $5.3 million and $10.6 million the year before. The rates themselves have not changed since the tax took effect. The city publishes the current figures in its Office of Finance transfer tax FAQ, which is worth checking against whatever your escrow company quotes you.
Four features make it 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 four percent on the whole price, not four percent of the overage.
- The seller pays it, collected through escrow at closing and netted out of the proceeds.
- It stacks on the existing transfer taxes, the California documentary transfer tax and the standard City of Los Angeles transfer tax.
- It is owed regardless of equity. The tax follows the sale price, not what you walk away with, so a heavily mortgaged seller owes exactly what a free-and-clear one owes.
Every other closing cost scales with the price. This one does not. It waits at a line and then takes a step, and the step is six figures wide.
Debbie PisaroThe measure funds affordable housing and homelessness programs through the city's Housing Department, and it has raised well over a billion dollars since it took effect. Whatever you make of the policy, the practical reality for a seller is the same: above the threshold it is a real and sizable cost. Before setting a price it helps to look at the current Studio City market data and see where a home like yours is likely to land relative to these lines.
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Join the Just Studio City list or call (310) 362-6429Will Measure ULA still be here when you sell?
The tax has been politically contested since the day it passed, so it is worth knowing where things actually stand. A statewide ballot measure backed by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association would have capped local real estate transfer taxes and effectively curtailed the Los Angeles tax. On June 26, 2026 that measure was withdrawn from the November ballot in a deal with the governor and legislative leaders. The replacement the Legislature agreed to put before voters, ACA 22, raises the voter-approval threshold for certain local taxes and does not address real estate transfer taxes at all.
So as of September 2026 there is no live statewide measure repealing Measure ULA, and the tax stands unchanged. That could shift again, because this is an argument with money and organized interests on both sides, and the right posture for a seller is not to bet on it. Treat the tax as fully in effect, model it into the net, and confirm the current rules with your escrow officer and your tax advisor before you list.
What this looks like on a real Studio City sale
The percentages are easier to feel with real numbers. Three representative scenarios follow. Figures are rounded and illustrative, and your escrow company will confirm the exact charges for your transaction. The two underlying transfer taxes run at $1.10 per thousand for the California documentary transfer tax and $4.50 per thousand for the City of Los Angeles tax, so you can check the arithmetic yourself.
A $4.8 million home south of the boulevard
- California documentary transfer tax: about $5,280
- City of Los Angeles transfer tax: about $21,600
- Measure ULA: zero, because the price is under 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.
A $5.5 million home in Colfax Meadows
- California documentary transfer tax: about $6,050
- City of Los Angeles transfer tax: about $24,750
- Measure ULA, four percent of $5.5 million: $220,000
That single line is $220,000, and the seller nets closer to 88 or 89 percent before payoff. Look at the gap between this house and the last one. About $700,000 more in price, and a $220,000 tax the first seller never paid.
An $11 million architectural home in the hills
- California documentary transfer tax: about $12,100
- City of Los Angeles transfer tax: about $49,500
- Measure ULA, five and a half percent of $11 million: $605,000
At $11 million the sale clears the upper threshold, so the entire price is taxed at five and a half percent. That is $605,000 in ULA alone and a net in the range of 86 to 88 percent before payoff. For design-forward houses in this band the pricing conversation has to start from the right comparables, which is what the Studio City architectural homes page is for.
Off-market
A large share of the best Studio City houses trade quietly, before they reach the open market. Debbie keeps a running list for buyers and sellers who want the first look.
See the pocket listingsStrategy 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 works through with every seller sitting near a threshold.
- Threshold awareness. If the likely sale price is within roughly ten percent of either line, the gap matters enormously, and it changes how you price and how you negotiate. It also changes what a small concession is worth, because a seller who slides just over the line has paid for that last increment several times over.
- Timing. The thresholds move each July, historically by about two to three percent a year with CPI. If you are selling near a line and near the calendar turn, model both, the current threshold and the likely next one, so you know how the line may move under you. That question sits alongside everything in the piece on the best time to sell in Studio City.
- Exemptions. There are narrow carve-outs for certain qualifying affordable-housing organizations, nonprofits and some intra-family transfers. They are limited and fact-specific, so confirm eligibility with your escrow officer, your title company and a tax professional rather than assuming they reach your sale.
This belongs in the pricing conversation from day one. Your Studio City listing strategy should account for ULA before the sign goes in the yard rather than after an offer arrives, and it sits alongside the other decisions covered in the note on selling a Studio City house fast.
What is it worth
Want a real number for your street, built from your net and the current thresholds rather than a zip-wide average? Start with the honest version of the question.
What is my Studio City home worth? or call (310) 362-6429What Measure ULA means across Studio City submarkets
The tax does not land on 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 never enters the conversation for those sellers. The pocket itself is covered in the piece on Footbridge Square.
- Colfax Meadows and the Silver Triangle now carry a meaningful slice of inventory at or above the lower line. This is where threshold-edge strategy matters most, because a strong week of showings can push a sale from just under to just over.
- The hillside streets, Fryman Canyon and the Laurel Canyon corridor regularly trade above $5 million and some clear the upper threshold. Here ULA is a routine line item rather than an occasional surprise, and at the top of that band a single sale can carry seven figures of tax.
Boundary lines matter here too, since a house a block outside the city limits can sit entirely outside ULA, a point covered in the piece on the Carpenter Community Charter boundary. If you are weighing a sale, this belongs squarely in that decision, and it is one Debbie Pisaro is glad to walk through in detail. For background reading, the Studio City resources page collects the city and county references sellers ask about most.
What to do next
Measure ULA can be a six-figure swing in the proceeds, so it deserves a place in the very first pricing conversation rather than a footnote at closing. The useful move is to understand where the likely sale price sits relative to the current thresholds, then model the net accordingly, including every other line item that comes out of the proceeds. Debbie builds that number from the seller's net backward, so the threshold stops being an abstraction and becomes a figure for your specific property. When you are ready to talk it through, the contact page is the quickest way to reach her, and the wider practice is at Coastline 840.
Frequently asked questions
Does Measure ULA apply to homes in Studio City?
Yes. Studio City sits inside the City of Los Angeles, so Measure ULA applies to qualifying sales here. The tax follows the city limits rather than the neighborhood name, so it does not reach unincorporated Los Angeles County areas or separate cities that are not part of the City of LA.
Is Measure ULA paid by the buyer or the seller?
The seller pays it. Measure ULA is collected at closing through escrow, calculated on the gross recorded sale price, and netted out of the seller's proceeds before the mortgage is paid off. A buyer never sees it as a line on their side of the settlement statement.
What are the current Measure ULA thresholds?
For transactions closing after June 30, 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 year before. Thresholds move every July 1 with the Chained CPI. The rates themselves have not changed.
Does Measure ULA apply to the entire sale price or only the amount above the threshold?
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. That is why the tax behaves like a cliff rather than a step, and why the band just under a threshold matters so much.
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 a threshold and competition pushes the final number above it, the full 4 percent applies to the entire sale price, and the extra you won on price can be smaller than the tax you triggered.
How much is Measure ULA on a $5.5 million Studio City home?
A 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, all paid by the seller.
Are there exemptions for typical Studio City sellers?
Most standard residential sales are not exempt. Narrow exemptions exist for certain qualifying affordable-housing organizations, nonprofits and some intra-family transfers, but they are limited and fact-specific. Verify eligibility with your escrow company and a tax professional rather than assuming an exemption applies to your sale.
Is Measure ULA going to be repealed?
Not as things stand in September 2026. A Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association measure that would have capped local transfer taxes was withdrawn from the November 2026 ballot in a June deal, and the replacement, ACA 22, does not touch transfer taxes. Treat the tax as fully in effect.
Who is a good full-service real estate agent in Studio City?
Debbie Pisaro is a full-service Studio City listing agent, a 24-year veteran of the California market and the founder of Coastline 840, DRE #01369110. She models the seller's net, Measure ULA included, before a home reaches the market, so the threshold is a number rather than a surprise.
Coastline 840
Work with Debbie Pisaro
Selling a Studio City home near the Measure ULA thresholds, and want an agent who prices to the block and models the tax before you list? Reach Debbie directly.
Phone(310) 362-6429
OfficeCoastline 840 · 160 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026
LicenseDRE #01369110
Written by Debbie Pisaro. Debbie is a 24-year veteran of the California market, a 2025 Inman Luxury Leader, and the founder of Coastline 840, a boutique California practice. Coastline 840 is a fictitious business name of Side, Inc., CA DRE #02014153, the responsible broker. DRE #01369110. This article is general information for Studio City home sellers and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Measure ULA thresholds are set by the City of Los Angeles and adjust every July, so confirm the current thresholds, rates and any exemptions with your escrow company and a qualified tax professional before you list. More about Debbie and Just Studio City. Coastline 840 · Studio City