Cambrian San Jose Measure E Transfer Tax: The $2.3M Line

Picture two Cambrian homes that close a cent apart, one at $2,300,000 and one at $2,300,000.01. In the City of San Jose, the second sale owes about $17,250 more in transfer tax. The Measure E rate applies to the entire price once a sale passes the threshold, so that one cent turns on 0.75% of the full amount.

Across a nearby lot line, a home that also goes by "Cambrian" may be in the City of Campbell or in unincorporated Santa Clara County. Neither one charges Measure E, and neither charges San Jose's base city conveyance tax. That leaves two things deciding a Cambrian seller's tax bill: where the parcel sits and where the final bid lands. The neighborhood name and the ZIP code decide neither.

The math at three sale prices

The County Clerk-Recorder says the county documentary transfer tax is due on all changes of ownership in Santa Clara County unless a statutory exemption applies. The rate is $0.55 per $500, which works out to $1.10 per $1,000. Properties inside San Jose also pay the city's conveyance tax of $1.65 per $500, or $3.30 per $1,000, according to the County's recording fee page. The County Clerk-Recorder's list of cities with their own conveyance tax includes San Jose, Palo Alto and Mountain View. Campbell isn't on it.

San Jose voters passed Measure E on March 3, 2020, and it stacks on top of those two taxes. According to the County Clerk-Recorder's Measure E page, the threshold has been $2,300,000 since July 1, 2025. Sales from $2,300,000.01 to $5,000,000 pay 0.75%, sales from $5,000,000.01 to $10,000,000 pay 1%, and sales over $10,000,000 pay 1.5%. Each rate applies to the full value of the sale.

Here is what those rates add up to at three prices close to the line:

These figures are computed from the published rates. They are not estimates of any specific closing.

Read across the bottom row. A San Jose sale at $2,350,000 records almost $28,000 in transfer taxes, while the same price on a Campbell or unincorporated parcel records less than $2,600. Most of that gap appears in the last dollar before the price passes $2,300,000.

Why a median near $2 million still reaches the line

In September 2026, ZIP 95124 had a single-family median sale price of $2,003,500 on 28 closed sales, according to MLSListings data. That is roughly $296,500 under the Measure E threshold. On that number alone, the tax looks like a problem only for the top of the market.

How those homes sold tells a different story. Homes in 95124 sold at 102% of list price in September, with a median of 8 days on market. A home listed at $2,260,000 that sells at that ratio closes near $2,305,000. That is over the line, and it adds roughly $17,300 in Measure E to the closing math. The sale price, not the list price, decides whether the tax applies, and in a market that bids above asking, competition can push the price past the line.

Nearby ZIPs sit further from the threshold. In September 2026, the single-family median was $1,520,000 in San Jose's 95118 and $1,900,000 in Campbell's 95008, and both sold at 102% of list. Countywide, the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors reported a September single-family median of $1,880,000 on 726 sales. Of the ZIPs that include Cambrian, 95124 has the median closest to $2.3 million. Its larger 3 to 5 bedroom homes and updated mid-century houses are the ones most likely to be priced near the line.

Which Cambrian is the parcel in?

Even a price above the line doesn't trigger Measure E unless the parcel is inside the City of San Jose. In Cambrian, that can't be assumed.

The pocket known as Cambrian No. 36 sits between Campbell and San Jose along Union, Bascom and Camden avenues and McGlincey Drive, as Patch described it in 2013. It went to Campbell, not San Jose. The Mercury News reported that Campbell's council authorized the 103-acre annexation, with completion set for May 1, 2013. Campbell's budget documents say the Cambrian 36 and Central Park annexations together added 428 parcels to the city.

Other land around San Jose is still unincorporated. Santa Clara LAFCO calls these areas "islands." They sit inside a city's urban service area but remain under county land-use authority, and LAFCO says many of them still exist. Boundaries in this area also move one parcel group at a time. In September 2022, the San Jose City Council voted to annex the Cambrian Park Plaza parcels, as San José Spotlight reported.

To check a specific address before setting a list price:

1. Look up the parcel in the County's Property Explorer, available through the Santa Clara County geographic information services page.
2. Open the County's Cities and Special Districts map from the same page to see whether the parcel falls in San Jose, Campbell or unincorporated territory.
3. Confirm the result with your escrow officer once escrow opens. The County's Measure E page applies the tax to real property located in the City of San Jose.

The June headline that no longer applies

In June, San Jose homeowners saw reports that a statewide measure could wipe out Measure E. San José Spotlight reported that the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association initiative, then called initiative No. 1983, would have limited transfer taxes to the 0.11% cap set by Proposition 13 and would have applied retroactively. The Mercury News reported that city documents put $55 million to $70 million a year in Measure E revenue at risk.

That initiative is not the measure on the November 3 ballot. Proposition 43 appears on the Secretary of State's list of Qualified Statewide Ballot Measures. CalMatters reports that it is a narrower compromise, written as ACA 22 by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks. It covers only vote thresholds and is not retroactive. In a social media post quoted by CalMatters, Wicks described the choice the Legislature faced:

"The clock was running out, and we had a choice to make: Leave a retroactive measure on the ballot that threatened billions in local funding, or accept a much narrower constitutional amendment that I still believed was bad policy."

According to the Legislative Analyst's Office, Proposition 43 would require a two-thirds vote, beginning January 1, 2027, for new, increased or extended local special taxes proposed by voters. The analysis says nothing about capping transfer taxes or repealing existing ones. If Proposition 43 passes, the $2.3 million line and the full-price rate stay in place for Cambrian sales in San Jose.

Frequently Asked Questions

I've seen $2 million listed as the Measure E threshold. Which is right? The County's dedicated Measure E page lists $2,300,000, effective July 1, 2025, and says the exemption threshold adjusts for inflation every five years. The County's general fee schedule still shows the original $2 million figure.

Does Measure E apply only to the part of the price above $2.3 million? No. The County's example is an $11,000,000 sale taxed at 1.5% on the entire amount, which comes to $165,000.

My mailing address says San Jose. Does that settle it? Not necessarily. The tax depends on the parcel's legal jurisdiction, and the County's mapping tools show whether a parcel is in San Jose, Campbell or unincorporated territory.

This post is general information, not legal or tax advice. Please confirm how these taxes apply to your sale with your escrow officer, tax professional or attorney.

If your Cambrian home may sell near $2.3 million, it helps to know its likely value and its jurisdiction before you set a list price. DeTar Team can review recent comparable sales and your parcel's jurisdiction with you before you list. Get your instant home valuation.