In Riverside County, a seller typically pays the documentary transfer tax, the owner's title insurance policy, half of the escrow fee, any HOA document fees, property taxes and Mello-Roos prorated through the closing date, and whatever commission they negotiated with their agent. Everything on that list is customary, not required by law.

That last sentence matters more than most sellers realize. In California, who pays what at closing is set by regional custom and then written into the purchase contract — which means it is negotiable. Below is what actually shows up on a Riverside County seller's settlement statement, what each line is, and where sellers in Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, Winchester and Wildomar most often get surprised.

How Much Is the Transfer Tax in Temecula and Murrieta?

The documentary transfer tax in Temecula and Murrieta is $1.10 per $1,000 of value — $0.55 per $1,000 to the city and $0.55 per $1,000 to Riverside County. On a $700,000 sale, that is $770. On a $1,200,000 estate sale, it is $1,320.

Both Temecula and Murrieta are general law cities, which is why the rate stays at the baseline set by California Revenue and Taxation Code sections 11911–11929. So do Menifee, Wildomar, Lake Elsinore, Canyon Lake, Hemet, San Jacinto and most of the rest of the county. The one Riverside County city that charges more is the City of Riverside, a charter city, at $2.20 per $1,000.

Source: California City Documentary and Property Transfer Tax Rates, CaliforniaCityFinance.com, effective December 1, 2025. In Riverside County, the seller customarily pays this tax.

Who Pays for Title Insurance and Escrow?

Riverside County follows the Southern California pattern:

• Owner's title policy — customarily paid by the seller. This is the policy that insures the buyer's ownership against title defects.
• Lender's title policy — customarily paid by the buyer, since it protects the buyer's lender.
• Escrow fee — customarily split 50/50 between buyer and seller.

Source: Old Republic Title, A Guide to Southern California Closing Costs. Escrow fees are set by each escrow company and generally scale with sale price, so ask for a written estimate rather than relying on a rule of thumb. Your escrow officer's estimated settlement statement is the authoritative number, and you can request it early in the transaction instead of waiting until the week of closing.

Is the Real Estate Commission a Fixed Cost?

No. Commission is fully negotiable and never set by law, and since the industry practice changes that took effect on August 17, 2024, that has to be disclosed in writing in every listing agreement and buyer agreement.

Two related changes affect how sellers budget. Offers of compensation to a buyer's broker can no longer be published on the MLS, and buyers now sign written agreements with their own agent before touring homes. Sellers may still negotiate compensation with a buyer's broker outside the MLS, and may still offer buyer concessions toward closing costs. What changed is that the arrangement is now an explicit negotiation rather than an assumption — which is a good reason to have the conversation with your listing agent before you go live, not after you have an offer in hand.

What Does an HOA Charge the Seller at Closing?

If your home is in a common interest development — and a large share of Temecula and Murrieta homes are — California Civil Code section 4525 requires the seller to provide the buyer with the association's governing documents, budget and reserve information, assessment and fee schedule, minutes and related disclosures.

Under Civil Code section 4530, the seller is responsible for compensating the association or its document provider for those documents, and the association must itemize the cost on the disclosure form described in section 4528. That fee is separate from any transfer fee the HOA charges to move the membership into the buyer's name, and separate again from prorated dues. Three different line items, all HOA-related, and sellers routinely budget for only one.

If your community has more than one association — a master association plus a sub-association — expect a set of these charges for each. Ask your listing agent to order the documents early; associations have ten days from the request to produce them, and a late order is a common cause of a delayed closing.

How Do Property Taxes and Mello-Roos Get Handled?

Property taxes are prorated to the day of closing. You pay for the portion of the fiscal year you owned the home; the buyer picks up the rest. If your taxes are impounded and you have already paid an installment covering time after closing, you get credited back for it.

The same proration applies to any Mello-Roos special tax on your parcel, which is collected on the same property tax bill. Newer master-planned communities in Temecula are more likely to carry one than older neighborhoods, and the amount varies parcel by parcel — we wrote a full breakdown in Mello-Roos in Temecula: which neighborhoods pay it. Verify your own parcel's special assessments on your current tax bill rather than assuming based on the neighborhood.

Will Escrow Withhold State Taxes From My Proceeds?

Sometimes. California requires real estate withholding of 3 1/3% of the total sale price on many transactions over $100,000, remitted to the Franchise Tax Board on Form 593. It is a prepayment of income tax, not an additional tax.

There are exemptions, and the most common one matters to most homeowners: if the property was last used as your principal residence within the meaning of IRC section 121, no withholding is required. You have to certify that on Form 593 before the close of escrow — escrow cannot fix it afterward. There is also an alternative election to withhold on the actual gain rather than the gross sale price, which can help sellers with a smaller gain.

Source: California Franchise Tax Board, 2026 Instructions for Form 593. Whether you owe tax on the gain itself is a separate question from withholding, and one for your CPA.

The Smaller Lines Sellers Forget

• Natural hazard disclosure report — customarily seller-paid in California, and relevant across much of Temecula Valley given fire and flood zone mapping.
• County recording and document fees — modest, but real.
• Loan payoff demand and any prepayment or reconveyance fees — your lender's, not escrow's.
• Home warranty for the buyer — a negotiated item that often lands on the seller.
• Repair credits or credits toward buyer closing costs — negotiated after inspections, and frequently the largest variable of all.
• Termite or Section 1 work — allocation depends entirely on what the contract says.

The Honest Summary

A Riverside County seller's costs are mostly predictable: transfer tax at a known rate, title and escrow at customary allocations, HOA charges that can be quoted in advance, and prorations that are simple arithmetic. The two genuinely variable pieces are the commission you negotiate and the concessions you agree to after inspections. Those are where planning actually changes the number at the bottom of the page.

Our team has closed 1,504 transactions representing $1,051,404,276 in sales volume across Temecula Valley (source: CRMLS, brokerage-wide), and the sellers who end up happiest with their net are the ones who asked for a written estimate before listing rather than after accepting an offer.

Your Next Step

If you are thinking about selling in Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, Winchester or Wildomar, ask us for a line-by-line seller net sheet for your specific property before you commit to anything. It takes us very little time and it removes essentially all of the guesswork.

• Phone: (951) 501-3700
• Office: 30070 Temecula Parkway, Suite 201, Temecula, CA 92592
• Request a free home valuation or a buyer consultation: start with selling your Temecula home with our team or request a free home valuation. Getting to know the area first? Browse our Temecula area guides.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not financial, tax, or legal advice. Closing cost customs, tax rates, withholding rules, HOA charges and market conditions change over time and vary by property and by contract. Confirm all figures with your escrow officer, CPA, and attorney, and independently verify anything specific to your transaction before relying on it.