Measure ULA Thresholds Move Every July 1. What That Means for Timing a Los Feliz Sale

The Measure ULA thresholds change every year on July 1. The tax began on April 1, 2023. At first it applied to sales over $5 million, with a higher rate at $10 million. For sales closing after June 30, 2026, those lines are $5,400,000 and $10,900,000. The rates stay the same: 4% above the first line and 5.5% at the second.

The line a Los Feliz seller plans around moves once a year, and the closing date decides which line applies. At Rooster Homes, we build that date into the plan for any home priced near the threshold. This guide covers how the City sets the numbers, what the tax comes to at each price, and how to pick a closing date with the line in view.

Measure ULA is a City of Los Angeles tax on documents that convey real property in the City. It took effect for conveyances on or after April 1, 2023. The City's Office of Finance ULA page is the official source for the rules and the current thresholds.

ULA sits on top of the regular city transfer tax. That base tax is $2.25 for every $500 of value, or 0.45%. Together the total rates for sales closing after June 30, 2026 are:

• Up to $5,400,000: 0.45%, the base tax only.
• Over $5,400,000 and under $10,900,000: 4.45%, the base tax plus 4% ULA.
• $10,900,000 or more: 5.95%, the base tax plus 5.5% ULA.

The money from ULA funds affordable housing and resources for tenants at risk of homelessness. Los Feliz is inside the City of Los Angeles, so a Los Feliz sale follows these rules.

For a full walk-through of the tax itself, read What Is Measure ULA? This article focuses on one part of it: the yearly reset.

The City of Los Angeles adjusts both thresholds every year using a federal inflation index. That index is the Bureau of Labor Statistics Chained Consumer Price Index. Only the dollar lines move. The 4% and 5.5% rates stay where they are.

The City posts each year's thresholds by closing date. The 2026 figures apply to "transactions closing after June 30, 2026." That wording is the key to timing a sale. The date that counts is the day the sale closes, not the day the home is listed or the day the contract is signed.

The next year's numbers depend on the index, so we never guess them. We read the City's page before every pricing conversation and again before a closing date is set.

• April 1, 2023: ULA begins. The first line is $5,000,000 and the second is $10,000,000.
• Closings after June 30, 2026: the first line is $5,400,000 and the second is $10,900,000.

The first line has risen $400,000 since the tax began. The second has risen $900,000. For a home that would have been just over the line in 2023, the same price can sit under it today.

An old article or a neighbor's memory of the numbers is a starting point at most, for that reason. The figure that applies to your sale is the one in effect on your closing date.

Here is the City's tax at several prices, using the published rates for sales closing after June 30, 2026. The figures come straight from the rates on the City of Los Angeles ULA page.

• $2,000,000: base tax $9,000. No ULA.
• $4,000,000: base tax $18,000. No ULA.
• $5,400,000: base tax $24,300. No ULA.
• $5,400,001: base tax $24,302.25 plus ULA of $216,000.04.
• $5,500,000: base tax $24,750 plus ULA of $220,000. Total $244,750.
• $5,600,000: base tax $25,200 plus ULA of $224,000. Total $249,200.

The jump at the line is large because ULA is charged on the whole value. It is not charged only on the part above $5,400,000. One dollar over the line brings about $216,000 in ULA.

A few more rules shape the math:

• Gross value: ULA is figured on gross value, which includes liens and assumed loans. The base tax is figured on net value.
• Property partly inside the City: the tax applies in proportion to the value inside the City.
• Exemptions: the City lists exemptions for qualified affordable housing organizations and certain 501(c)(3) organizations that meet set tests. Public agencies and transactions exempt from the base tax are also on the list.

This article explains how the tax works. It is not tax or legal advice. For your own situation, talk with your CPA or attorney as well.

Because the thresholds are set by closing date, two sales at the same price can land on different sides of the line. A sale that closes on June 30 uses one year's numbers. A sale that closes on July 1 uses the next year's.

For a home priced well below the line, this never changes the tax. For a home priced close to it, the date can matter a great deal. A price that sits just over one year's line might sit under the next year's line. The new figure depends on the index, so we confirm it before counting on it.

The calendar makes this a spring question. A home that goes under contract in May or June can close on either side of July 1. We know which year's numbers apply before a date is written into the contract.

On this site, a luxury home in Los Feliz starts at about $2 million. A sale at $2,000,000 or $4,000,000 pays the base tax only, under both the 2023 and the 2026 numbers. For those sales, July 1 is a date like any other.

The reset matters for a home whose likely price sits near $5,400,000, or near $10,900,000 at the second line. In that range, the closing date belongs in the plan from the first pricing conversation.

Rooster Homes is a Los Feliz, Los Angeles real estate team led by Brandon and Sarah Arlington (DRE #02051216) helping buyers and sellers of luxury homes. We run the threshold math with every seller whose comparable sales point anywhere near the line.

1. Place your likely price against the current line. Start with the comparable sales. Then set that price range next to $5,400,000.
2. Read the City's current figures. Confirm the thresholds on the Office of Finance page for the closing date you expect.
3. Map the likely closing window. Count forward from the week you expect to accept an offer. Note whether that window crosses July 1.
4. Run the tax at both dates. If the window crosses July 1, work out the tax under each year's numbers once the City posts them.
5. Write the date into the offer terms with care. The closing date is a term like price. Near the line, choose it with the math in front of you.
6. Check the math before any date change. If a buyer asks for an earlier or later closing, rerun the numbers before anyone agrees.

Our guide to pricing a Los Feliz home near the $5.4 million line covers the list price side of the same plan.

A few habits keep the July 1 reset from becoming a surprise:

• Use the City's current page. Treat any figure from a past year as history. The number that applies is the one posted for your closing date.
• Plan on the whole value. ULA applies to the full price once it passes the line. Do the math on the whole number.
• Count gross value. ULA is figured on gross value, including liens and assumed loans. Bring those figures to the pricing conversation.
• Know the break-even point. Under the 2026 numbers, a price has to reach $5,626,062 before the price minus city transfer tax matches a sale at exactly $5,400,000.
• Treat the closing date as a pricing term. Near the line, a move of a few days can change the tax.
• Bring your CPA or attorney in early. They can speak to your own tax picture while we handle the sale plan.

Here are three hypothetical examples. None describes a real client or a real home.

A seller in Laughlin Park whose comparable sales point to a price near $5.4 million. The home goes under contract in early June. A closing in late June and a closing in mid-July fall under different years' numbers. The plan compares the tax under each before the contract sets a date.

A seller in the Los Feliz Hills whose home is likely to sell near $4 million. The Los Feliz Hills is this site's name for the hillside above Los Feliz Boulevard. The City's SurveyLA calls the heart of it Los Feliz Heights. At $4,000,000 the tax is the base $18,000 in 2026, with no ULA. July 1 has no effect on the tax here, so the closing date is chosen for the seller's move alone.

A seller whose buyer asks to move the closing past July 1. The agreed price sits close to the line. Before anyone agrees to the new date, the numbers are rerun under the year that would now apply. The answer to the request comes after the math.

When a home could sell near the threshold, we look at three things together. We look at where the comparable sales point, where the current line sits, and when the sale is likely to close. We map both sides of July 1 with you before the home goes on the market, so the list price and the timeline work together.

From day one on, we stay involved. The kickoff starts the same day you sign. Escrow, HOA documents, and disclosures move within hours. You get a real, specific update after every showing and open house. Weekly progress updates continue through closing, so you always know where the closing date stands.

Rooster Homes is a Los Feliz, Los Angeles real estate team led by Brandon and Sarah Arlington (DRE #02051216) helping buyers and sellers of luxury homes. Brandon has been licensed since 2015. If you own in Laughlin Park or the Los Feliz Hills, our guide to selling a luxury home in Los Feliz covers the rest of the plan.

This article explains how the tax works. It is not tax or legal advice. For your own situation, talk with your CPA or attorney as well.

If your home could sell near $5.4 million, we will map the numbers for both sides of July 1 with your comparable sales in front of us. The pricing step of how we sell a home is where that work starts.

Talk with Rooster Homes about your timing and let us know what works best for you. We will coordinate our schedule around yours.