No More Hidden Documentary Transfer Tax

Effective Jan. 1, 2015, will be a new disclosure requirement important to understand. Here’s a brief summary.

• The amount of documentary transfer tax and the location of the property will be required to be shown on the face of all recorded documents that are transferring property.
• AB 1888 deletes the requirement that, upon request, the amount of tax due be shown on a separate paper affixed to the document, and would make a conforming change to the signed declaration requirement.

Revenue and Taxation Code, Section 11932

This section of the code will read as follows:

If a county has imposed a tax pursuant to this part, every document subject to tax that is submitted for recordation shall show on the face of the document the amount of tax due and the incorporated or unincorporated location of the lands, tenements, or other realty described in the document.

Revenue and Taxation Code, Section 11933

This section of the code will read as follows:

If a county has imposed a tax pursuant to this part, the recorder shall not record any deed, instrument, or writing subject to the tax imposed pursuant to this part, unless the tax is paid at the time of recording. A declaration of the amount of tax due, signed by the party determining the tax or his or her agent, shall appear on the face of the document in compliance with Section 11932, and the recorder may rely on that declaration if the recorder has no reason to believe that the full amount of the tax due has not been paid. The declaration shall include a statement that the consideration or value on which the tax due was computed either was, or was not, exclusive of the value of a lien or encumbrance remaining on the interest or property conveyed at the time of sale. Failure to collect the tax due shall not affect the constructive notice otherwise imparted by recording a deed, instrument, or writing.