Blog > San Mateo Transfer Tax (2026): City Rate, Measure CC and Examples
The City of San Mateo charges its own transfer tax on top of the county’s: 0.5% of the price, and 1.5% at $10 million or more since Measure CC. Here’s what a San Mateo sale owes at common prices, what that comes to on a typical home, and who usually pays. To try your own price, open our transfer tax calculator.
The short answer
- County tax: $1.10 per $1,000 of the price.
- City of San Mateo tax: 0.5% of the price under $10 million; 1.5% at $10 million or more (Measure CC, approved November 8, 2022).
- On a typical home: $13,557 on the median house of the past 12 months ($2.22M) and $5,283 on the median condo or townhome ($866K).
- Higher than most neighbors on a typical home: 0.5% is more than the $3.30 per $1,000 (0.33%) San Jose and Palo Alto charge on most sales, and most San Mateo County cities charge no city tax.
- Who usually pays: by local custom, per a 2024 Bay Area title-company chart, the seller pays the county tax and the buyer and seller split any city tax 50/50. All of it is negotiable, and the purchase contract decides.
Run your own numbers
- Our transfer tax calculator figures the total and the usual split at any price for San Francisco and the 31 Silicon Valley and Peninsula cities we cover.
- The seller net sheet adds commission, escrow and title to see what you’d walk away with.
- Talk to a Property Nerd about your sale or purchase.
San Mateo transfer tax at common prices
| Sale price | County tax | City tax | Total | Buyer’s share* | Seller’s share* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $800,000 | $880 | $4,000 | $4,880 | $2,000 | $2,880 |
| $1,000,000 | $1,100 | $5,000 | $6,100 | $2,500 | $3,600 |
| $1,250,000 | $1,375 | $6,250 | $7,625 | $3,125 | $4,500 |
| $1,500,000 | $1,650 | $7,500 | $9,150 | $3,750 | $5,400 |
| $2,000,000 | $2,200 | $10,000 | $12,200 | $5,000 | $7,200 |
| $2,500,000 | $2,750 | $12,500 | $15,250 | $6,250 | $9,000 |
| $3,000,000 | $3,300 | $15,000 | $18,300 | $7,500 | $10,800 |
| $4,000,000 | $4,400 | $20,000 | $24,400 | $10,000 | $14,400 |
| $6,000,000 | $6,600 | $30,000 | $36,600 | $15,000 | $21,600 |
| $12,000,000 | $13,200 | $180,000 | $193,200 | $90,000 | $103,200 |
*By local custom; negotiable.
The $10 million line
At $10 million the city rate triples and applies to the whole price. In the two years to October 27, 2026, one of the 1,618 sales with a San Mateo address closed at $10 million or more.
Good to know
- Check the city limits. A mailing address isn’t always the city: some homes with a San Mateo address sit in unincorporated county land, where only the county tax applies. Your escrow officer confirms it from the parcel’s tax rate area.
- Neighbors differ: Burlingame, Foster City and Belmont charge only the county tax; Hillsborough adds $0.30 per $1,000. See the San Mateo County transfer tax by city.
- Escrow and title customs: in San Mateo County the buyer usually pays the escrow fee and the owner’s title policy, per the same 2024 chart; also negotiable.
How we figured it
Each tax is computed the way county and city tables state it: the county tax is $0.55 for each $500 of price or part of $500, and the city rates apply to the price as shown above. Sale counts are closed sales of houses, condos and townhomes reported to the MLS and read through the IDX feeds that power our home search, with repeat records removed (same MLS number and sale date); a sale is placed by the city in its MLS address. This is general information, not tax or legal advice; your escrow officer’s figures are the ones that count.
Sources
- San Mateo County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder: documentary transfer tax
- City of San Mateo: Ordinance 2022-15 (Measure CC)
Go deeper
See the transfer tax calculator, San Mateo housing market by the numbers and San Mateo vs. Burlingame.
Buying or selling? Ask a Property Nerd
We’ll walk you through every closing cost before you sign, including who pays which transfer tax in your contract. Call (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606, or book a strategy call. Commissions are negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.