San Francisco County closing costs
The county-specific transfer tax and deed recording fees for San Francisco County, California - the local details that change your total beyond the statewide rate.
- Effective transfer tax
- 0.68%
- ≈ $2,720 on a $400,000 home
- Typical lender + 3rd-party fees
- $7,180
- median of 3,087 purchase loans · HMDA 2023
San Francisco County compared with California counties
In the verified California county records we have, San Francisco County's effective transfer-tax rate ranks #1 of 18 by highest rate. At $400,000, the county-specific transfer tax is $2,720, which is $2,280 above the state-level calculation before city surtaxes.
- County rank
- #1 of 18
- within verified California county pages
- Tax at $400,000
- $2,720
- state baseline $440
- HMDA fee sample
- 3,087
- purchase loans in 2023
San Francisco County transfer-tax data: official source linked on this page, reviewed 2026-Q2.
Transfer tax in San Francisco County
Seller customarily pays. SF imposes a single combined city-and-county transfer tax (no separate county DTT applies within the city).
Recording fees in San Francisco County
San Francisco's transfer tax is graduated: roughly $6.80/$1,000 up to $1M, rising to 5.50%–6.00% on sales above $10M. Recording fee first page ~$26 plus per-page charges.
Official recorder: San Francisco County recorder ↗ — the authoritative source for the current recording fee schedule.
What lenders actually charge in San Francisco County
Across 3,087 home-purchase mortgages originated in San Francisco County in 2023, the median total loan costs — lender fees plus third-party services such as appraisal and title, excluding prepaids and escrow — were $7,180, of which about $1,860 was the lender’s own origination charges. That is reported loan-level data from every lender under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act — not a national average — so it reflects what buyers in this county actually paid. Lender fees vary widely, so comparing a few rate quotes is the single biggest lever on your closing total.
Source: FFIEC HMDA Data Browser ↗ (2023 purchase originations, FIPS 06075, ODC-BY 1.0). Median total loan costs exclude prepaids and escrow.
Estimate your San Francisco County closing costs
Pre-set to California. County-level taxes above may add to this estimate.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the transfer tax in San Francisco County?
San Francisco County (California): the applicable real-estate transfer tax works out to about 0.68%. Seller customarily pays. SF imposes a single combined city-and-county transfer tax (no separate county DTT applies within the city).
What are recording fees in San Francisco County?
San Francisco's transfer tax is graduated: roughly $6.80/$1,000 up to $1M, rising to 5.50%–6.00% on sales above $10M. Recording fee first page ~$26 plus per-page charges.
How much are closing costs in San Francisco County?
Closing costs in San Francisco County follow California's structure plus this county's specific transfer-tax and recording fees. Use the calculator below for an estimate; for the exact recording schedule, the county recorder is the authoritative source.
What do lenders charge in fees in San Francisco County?
In 2023, the median total loan costs — lender fees plus third-party services like appraisal and title, excluding prepaids and escrow — across 3,087 home-purchase mortgages in San Francisco County were about $7,180, of which roughly $1,860 was the lender's own origination charges. This is reported loan-level data under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act; actual fees vary by lender, so comparing quotes matters.
Closest California county comparisons
Sibling links are ordered by nearby verified effective transfer-tax rate, so each county page connects to genuinely comparable counties.