Malibu (California) tax and residence 2026 for a high earner

The numbers

What Malibu takes, and what it costs.

Effective tax at $1M43%$570K kept

Capital gains37%on a $1M gain

Cost index140Zurich = 100

Inheritance, children40%Children taxed

Supercar street index#56of 100

Safety8/10

Schools8/10international options

Sun hours a year3,000High tax, left leaning politics

United States net millionaire inflow 2025+7,500Henley, country level. California is a net exporter of high earners to Florida and Texas (IRS migration data)

Tax on your bracket.

Income	Tax	Effective	Kept
$300K	$98K	33%	$202K
$1M	$430K	43%	$570K
$3M	$1.4M	48%	$1.6M

Wealth and exit. California taxes capital gains as ordinary income, so an exit here can lose 37% between federal and state. The order of the move and the sale changes the charge more than any other variable on this board.

Simplified marginal model, indicative 2026 brackets, non-US single filer. Enter your own income, exit, passports, and family to see where Malibu ranks for you.

Where inside Malibu.

The 3 quarters buyers ask for first, Carbon Beach, Point Dume, Malibu Colony, all sit under City of Malibu, so the address inside Malibu does not move the property tax. On a home valued at $5,000,000, the yearly bill is $60,368, 1.207% of value (1.207354%, 2025).

Under Prop 13 the purchase price becomes the assessed value, and it rises at most 2% a year while you own it. Source: Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, FY 2025-26 tax rate resolution (adopted 2 September 2025): 1% base, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified district bonds 0.048664, School Facilities Improvement District No. 2 (Malibu) bonds 0.073068, Santa Monica Community College District bonds 0.078622, plus Metropolitan Water District 0.007. The City of Malibu levies no general obligation bond. Parcel taxes billed per parcel are not included. Federal and state income tax are the same at every address in Malibu, so property tax is what the quarter changes.

Rank Malibu on my numbers →

Who gets in

The residence route.

Same visa routes as the rest of California: E-2 treaty investor, L-1, O-1, or EB-5 from $800K. Malibu is its own incorporated city, outside the City of Los Angeles, so Measure ULA (4% above $5.4M, 5.5% above $10.9M since 1 July 2026) does not apply here: the Los Angeles Office of Finance levies it only on real property within the City of Los Angeles. A sale in Malibu pays the $1.10 per $1,000 county documentary transfer tax and nothing more. The 13.3% state rate does. Since the January 2025 Palisades fire destroyed hundreds of homes in the city, fire insurance is the first quote to get, not the last.

Residence by investmentFounder & talent

A United States passport scores 62.3 on the mobility index. The passport ladder on the engine compares 65 of them.

The life

An ordinary day in Malibu.

🇺🇸 California, United StatesMalibu

07:00
Carbon BeachSwim from the public stairway on the stretch locals call Billionaire's Beach. The eastern end burned in January 2025 and is coming back one house at a time.
10:00
Malibu Country MartThe California trust for the house, the LLC for the rental, and an estate attorney who drives in from Century City.
13:00
Nobu MalibuLunch on the deck over the water. Half the tables know each other and none of them say so.
18:30
Point DumeSunset from the bluff. LAX is an hour down Pacific Coast Highway on a good day, New York about 5 hours after that.

Flight times.

From	Hours
New York	5.9
London	11.7
Zurich	12.6
Dubai	17.2
Singapore	18.1
Tel Aviv	15.8

Questions

How much income tax does a $1M earner pay in Malibu?

About $430K a year, an effective 43%, which leaves $570K of $1,000,000 on Patrician.ch's 2026 model.

At $300K the effective rate is 33%, and at $3M it is 48%. Social contributions, deductions and treaties are not included.

Does Malibu tax capital gains?

Yes. A resident individual in Malibu pays about 37% on a capital gain, about $371K on a $1,000,000 gain.

The rate is modeled on a $1,000,000 gain on listed securities after the common exemptions. Holding periods and exemptions can lower it.

Does Malibu have a wealth tax?

No. United States levies no general annual wealth tax on a resident's net worth.

Exit rules apply: California taxes capital gains as ordinary income, so an exit here can lose 37% between federal and state. The order of the move and the sale changes the charge more than any other variable on this board.

Does Malibu have an inheritance tax?

Yes. The US taxes an estate at 40% above $15M per person in 2026. A US citizen spouse inherits free.

What a child pays: 40% above $15M. Source: IRS, One Big Beautiful Bill Act, current to September 2026. The heir's own residence and the location of the assets can bring another country's tax into play.

How does a foreigner get residence in Malibu?

Same visa routes as the rest of California: E-2 treaty investor, L-1, O-1, or EB-5 from $800K.

Malibu is its own incorporated city, outside the City of Los Angeles, so Measure ULA (4% above $5.4M, 5.5% above $10.9M since 1 July 2026) does not apply here: the Los Angeles Office of Finance levies it only on real property within the City of Los Angeles. A sale in Malibu pays the $1.10 per $1,000 county documentary transfer tax and nothing more. The 13.3% state rate does. Since the January 2025 Palisades fire destroyed hundreds of homes in the city, fire insurance is the first quote to get, not the last. Routes that matter for money: Residence by investment, Founder & talent.

What is the property tax on a $5M home in Malibu?

About $60,368 a year, 1.207% of value, on a home valued at $5,000,000, at 1.207354% for 2025.

Under Prop 13 the purchase price becomes the assessed value, and it rises at most 2% a year while you own it.

What does life in Malibu cost?

Malibu scores 140 on the Patrician.ch cost index, where Zurich is 100.

Safety scores 8 of 10 and schools 8 of 10, with 3,000 sun hours a year. Cost, safety and schools are Patrician.ch editorial indices, not published statistics. United States as a whole saw a net inflow of 7,500 millionaires in 2025 (Henley, country level). California is a net exporter of high earners to Florida and Texas (IRS migration data).

The Dossier on Malibu, on your numbers.Your top 3 modeled and compared on your income, exit, passports, and family. 10 chapters, written the moment you pay, usually ready within 2 minutes. The Dossier is $500. The founding price, $250, holds until 30 September. Refunded within 7 days if it does not change how you think.

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Tax figures use a simplified marginal model with indicative 2026 brackets for a non-US single filer, ignore social contributions, most deductions, wealth taxes, and treaties, and are not advice. Residence rules change often. Verify before acting.

Malibu, for a high earner.