In Oakland, the single dollar that moves a sale from $2,000,000 to $2,000,001 costs about $5,000 in city transfer tax. No other dollar in a Crocker Highlands negotiation costs that much. It also doesn't appear on any listing page, any estimate, or any median-price chart. It's in the city's tax schedule, and once a sale passes that line, the higher rate applies to the whole price.
The rate applies to every dollar, not just the dollars above the line
Since January 2019, the City of Oakland's real property transfer tax has been tiered by sale price. The rate is 1.00% at $300,000 or less, 1.50% from $300,001 to $2,000,000, 1.75% from $2,000,001 to $5,000,000, and 2.50% above $5,000,000.
The Alameda County Clerk-Recorder lists Oakland's rates as dollars per thousand "on full value." City taxes are calculated on the full price, rounded up to the nearest $500 before the rate is applied. Once a sale crosses $2,000,000, the 1.75% rate applies to the entire price, not just the amount above the threshold.
Here's what that looks like at prices around the line, using Oakland's city tax only:
| Sale price | Oakland rate | Oakland city transfer tax |
|---|---|---|
| $1,925,000 | 1.50% | $28,875 |
| $2,000,000 | 1.50% | $30,000 |
| $2,000,500 | 1.75% | $35,008.75 |
| $2,050,000 | 1.75% | $35,875 |
| $2,800,000 | 1.75% | $49,000 |
The county's documentary transfer tax is added on top of that. It's $0.55 per $500 of value, about $2,200 on a $2,000,000 sale. The county tax rises smoothly with price. All of the jump at $2,000,000 comes from Oakland's schedule.
Where the threshold falls in this neighborhood
The line matters because of where Crocker Highlands prices fall. According to the California Association of Realtors' September 2026 report, the Alameda County median for existing single-family homes was $1,265,000 that month, up 1.2% from September 2025. Most county sales never come near $2,000,000.
This part of Oakland is different. The Mercury News reported a Trestle Glen Road home that sold for $1,925,000 on February 20, 2026, and a Lakeshore Avenue home that sold for $2,800,000 three days later. Those two sales fall on either side of the threshold. For a seller near the top of Crocker Highlands, a bidding war can push the price past $2,000,000.
The few thousand dollars above the line that don't pay off
The jump creates a narrow price band where a higher sale price leaves the seller with less money.
Take a seller who pays all of the city tax. The math works like this:
- At $2,000,000, the city tax is $30,000, and the seller keeps $1,970,000 before other costs.
- At $2,002,000, the city tax is $35,035, and the seller keeps $1,966,965. That's about $3,000 less than at $2,000,000.
- The seller doesn't come out ahead of the $2,000,000 result until the price reaches roughly $2,005,100.
If buyer and seller split the city tax evenly, the band is narrower. The seller's half breaks even at about $2,002,500. The buyer, meanwhile, pays a little over $2,500 more in tax than at $2,000,000 for a house that's only $2,500 more expensive.
So an offer of $2,001,000 isn't necessarily better than $2,000,000. Depending on how the contract divides the cost of the tax, it can be worse for the seller, the buyer, or both. Between about $2,000,001 and the low $2,005,000s, the extra price mostly goes to Oakland.
How the cost is split is a contract term
Oakland's rules say that "the seller and buyer are jointly and severally liable for payment of the tax." Both parties remain liable to the city. How the cost is divided between them is set in the purchase contract.
In Oakland, the custom is usually to split the city tax between buyer and seller. The East Bay Times described it that way in March 2025. But custom isn't a rule, and how the tax is split can be negotiated like any other term. Near $2,000,000, that makes the split one of the most important terms in an offer. A buyer who's willing to pay the seller's share of the tax can sometimes give the seller more money than a buyer offering a few thousand dollars more in price. A seller comparing two offers near the line should compare what each one nets, not just the headline prices.
Appraisal and lending can also come into play. A price set just under the line has to be supported in the same way as any other price, and on a property near $2,000,000, the transfer tax is one of several costs that change as the price changes.
Piedmont, next door, has a flat rate
Crocker Highlands borders Piedmont, and families comparing homes often look at both. The tax schedules are very different. Piedmont's city transfer tax is $13 per $1,000 of value, or 1.3%, at every price. The county lists it as one flat rate under Ordinance No. 546 NS.
On a $2,000,000 sale, Piedmont's city tax is $26,000, compared with Oakland's $30,000. At $2,050,000, it's $26,650, compared with Oakland's $35,875. On homes priced near each other, the gap between the two cities widens sharply at $2,000,000. Below the line, a Crocker Highlands home and a Piedmont home at the same price differ by 0.2 percentage points in city tax. Above it, the difference is 0.45 points. The county's 0.11% applies in both cities.
Berkeley has its own threshold at a different price. The county lists Berkeley's rate at $15 per $1,000 up to $1,700,000 and $25 per $1,000 above that. East Bay buyers comparing cities are comparing different tax schedules, not just different prices.
What happened in Los Angeles at a similar threshold
Los Angeles offers a comparison. A July 2026 Pepperdine and Beacon Economics report on Measure ULA found that sale prices in the City of Los Angeles "became increasingly concentrated just below the applicable ULA threshold, particularly near the $5 million cutoff." It found the same pattern for single-family homes and commercial or multifamily properties, and saw no such pattern in the rest of Los Angeles County.
The authors call this "notching." They explain that crossing the threshold raises the tax "applied to the full transaction value rather than only the portion above the threshold," so "relatively small changes in negotiated sale price can produce very large differences in total taxes owed." Measure ULA's rates and thresholds are different from Oakland's, but its whole-price structure is the same. That's why Oakland's $2,000,000 line affects negotiations in the same way.
Why Oakland's schedule matters to the city
The transfer tax is a major source of money for Oakland. The Oaklandside puts it at between $50 million and $70 million a year recently, and it goes into the general fund. It also swings widely. Oakland's adopted FY 2025–27 budget says it fell from $138 million in FY 2021–22 to $57.61 million in FY 2023–24, as higher interest rates reduced demand for property.
The one proposed change on the November 3 ballot would widen the tax rather than lower it. As described before the election, Measure FF would remove the general exemption for foreclosures and leave the rate tiers as they are. For a Crocker Highlands sale, the 1.50% and 1.75% rates and the $2,000,000 threshold are the ones to plan around.
Questions about the $2 million line
Does the 1.75% rate apply only to the amount above $2,000,000?
No. The county applies Oakland's rate to the full value, rounded up to the nearest $500. A sale of $2,000,001 is taxed at 1.75% on the whole price.
Can a buyer's discount offset the higher rate?
Oakland offers a 0.5-point discount to qualifying low- and moderate-income first-time buyers, but only in the two lowest tiers. It doesn't apply above $2,000,000.
Is the county tax different in Oakland and Piedmont?
No. Alameda County's documentary transfer tax of $0.55 per $500 applies in both cities. The difference comes from each city's own transfer tax.
This post is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Buyers and sellers should confirm how these rules apply to their own sale with an escrow officer, tax professional, or attorney.
If you're pricing a Crocker Highlands home near $2,000,000, or writing an offer on one, the transfer tax split can matter as much as the price. Robert Jones can calculate what each offer nets after city and county tax, so you can compare them clearly. Let's Connect.
