Almost every state taxes real estate once at closing. Florida taxes it twice.
Buy a house here with a mortgage and the deed gets stamped, then the loan gets stamped. The deed carries a documentary stamp tax of 0.7% of the sale price. The loan carries a separate 0.35% stamp on the promissory note, plus a third charge on top: the nonrecurring intangible tax, 0.2% of the amount financed. Only one other state, Georgia, taxes both sides of the deal this way.
On Florida's $425,000 statewide median single-family sale price with 20% down, that's $2,975 stamped on the deed and $1,870 stamped on the $340,000 loan. Combined, $4,845 goes to the Florida Department of Revenue before anyone pays for an appraisal, a survey, or a title search — roughly a third of the $14,875 midpoint of the entire closing-cost range.
None of it is negotiable, and most of it never surfaces when you look up "Florida transfer tax," because the loan-side taxes aren't a transfer tax at all. For how the ordinary fees work, start with our line-by-line breakdown of every closing cost.
A note before you start: this is general education, not financial, legal, or tax advice. Every figure below is a statewide number from CalculatorByState's sourced dataset, and your county, lender, title company, and contract will all move the total. Florida customs change from one county line to the next. Your Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure are authoritative; use this to sanity-check them, not to replace them.
1. What closing costs actually run in Florida
A 2-5% range against Florida's $425,000 median sale price gives you roughly $8,500 to $21,250, with a midpoint around $14,875. On a more modest $350,000 purchase the same range works out to about $7,000 to $17,500.
That spread is wide, but in Florida it's driven by things you can identify before making an offer: how big your loan is (two of the three stamp taxes scale with it), which county you're buying in, and whether a closing attorney is involved.
Closing costs are separate from your down payment, and both are due the same day. On a $425,000 purchase with 20% down you finance $340,000 and put down $85,000. Add the $14,875 midpoint and you need about $99,875 in cash.
See your all-in Florida closing costs2. The deed stamp: 0.7% of the sale price
Florida's documentary stamp tax on deeds is $0.70 per $100 of consideration, which is simply 0.7% of the price. It's collected when the deed is recorded, and it's calculated on the full purchase price regardless of how much you borrow. On the $425,000 median that's $2,975; on $350,000, $2,450.
Miami-Dade works differently. Its base deed rate is $0.60 per $100 rather than $0.70, plus a $0.45 per $100 discretionary surtax that does not apply to single-family residential transfers. So most Miami-Dade house sales are effectively stamped at 0.6%, or $2,550 on a $425,000 sale instead of $2,975 — a $425 difference on an identically priced home.
By custom the seller pays the deed stamps. That's a contract default, not a statute, and it moves in negotiation; see section 5.
3. The loan stamps: 0.35% plus 0.2%, and only one of them is capped
This is the part that catches people: two taxes, two rules, and neither is the "transfer tax" you read about.
Documentary stamp tax on the note — 0.35%. Florida stamps the promissory note at $0.35 per $100 of the loan amount. On a $340,000 loan that's $1,190. It's capped at $2,450 per note, and $2,450 ÷ 0.0035 is $700,000, so the cap only binds above roughly that loan size.
Nonrecurring intangible tax on the mortgage — 0.2%. The mortgage lien is separately taxed at 2 mills, or $0.002 per $1 financed. On $340,000 that's $680. This one has no cap.
Together: $1,190 + $680 = $1,870, about 0.55% of the amount financed. That shorthand holds for any loan under $700,000. Above it, only the intangible tax keeps climbing, so the effective rate falls — on a $1,000,000 loan you'd pay the capped $2,450 plus $2,000 of intangible tax, $4,450 total, or 0.445%.
Two consequences matter more than the arithmetic. These taxes hit refinances, HELOCs, and home equity loans too — at today's 6.65% on a 30-year fixed and 5.95% on a 15-year, a Florida refinance means budgeting roughly 0.55% of the new loan in stamps before any lender fee. And a bigger down payment cuts a real tax, not just interest: every $10,000 you don't borrow saves $55 in stamps.
By custom the buyer pays the loan-side stamps, since the buyer signs the note.
4. Who actually closes your loan in Florida
Florida is a title and escrow state. No attorney is legally required, and title companies conduct closings statewide.
Custom splits sharply by region, though. North and Central Florida closings are overwhelmingly title-company-run. In South Florida — Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach — attorney-run closings are the local norm even though no law requires it. Two buyers at the same price, one in Jacksonville and one in Fort Lauderdale, can see different settlement-side line items for that reason alone.
- Title company only: title insurance, a settlement or closing fee, and recording charges, with no separate attorney line.
- Attorney-run: add a legal fee. On a condo with a messy association or an estate sale, that fee often earns itself back.
Neither model changes what the state charges in stamps. Title insurance works the same way here as everywhere, and what an owner's policy actually protects you against is worth reading first.
5. Who pays what and what actually moves
The Florida default split is clean in principle:
- Seller: documentary stamps on the deed — $2,975 at the median price.
- Buyer: documentary stamps on the note plus the intangible tax on the mortgage — $1,870 on a $340,000 loan.
Title insurance is where Florida stops being uniform. In most of the state the seller pays for and chooses it. In Miami-Dade, Broward, Sarasota, and Collier counties, the buyer traditionally pays for and selects it. Comparing an offer in Tampa to one in Fort Lauderdale flips that item across the table with no change in price.
These are contract customs, not laws, and any can be reassigned in the purchase agreement. In a slow market, asking the seller to absorb your loan stamps is a smaller ask than a price cut of the same size. Otherwise the negotiating picture is the same as anywhere: lender fees have room, shoppable services are genuinely shoppable, government charges are fixed. Our guide to which closing fees you can push back on sorts them out.
6. How to lower the bill before you sign
- Price the stamps before you write the offer. Deed stamps at 0.7% (0.6% in Miami-Dade for a single-family home) plus 0.55% on the loan is fully knowable the day you pick a price.
- Check who pays for title insurance in that county. It's the largest custom that changes across Florida county lines.
- Shop lenders, not just rates. Origination and underwriting charges differ between lenders on an identical loan. The stamps don't.
- Consider borrowing slightly less. Because 0.55% of the loan is tax, a bigger down payment pencils out a little better here than in states without loan-side stamps.
- Compare your Loan Estimate to your Closing Disclosure. Some line items may change between the two and some may not; how the Loan Estimate tolerances work explains which is which.
Don't forget prepaids. Florida property taxes and homeowners insurance both fund at closing, and here the insurance piece can be large — see how escrow accounts get funded upfront.
Frequently asked questions
How much are closing costs in Florida?
At the $425,000 statewide median single-family sale price, a 2-5% range works out to roughly $8,500 to $21,250, midpoint near $14,875. On a $350,000 purchase the same range is about $7,000 to $17,500.
Does Florida have a transfer tax?
Yes, called the documentary stamp tax on deeds: $0.70 per $100 of the sale price, or 0.7%, which is $2,975 on a $425,000 home. Miami-Dade uses a $0.60 per $100 base rate, and its $0.45 surtax doesn't apply to single-family residential sales, so most houses there are stamped at 0.6% — $2,550 at the same price.
What is Florida's intangible tax on a mortgage?
A one-time tax on the mortgage lien of 2 mills, or $0.002 per $1 financed, which is 0.2%. On a $340,000 loan that's $680. It has no cap, so it keeps scaling with loan size.
Is the $2,450 cap a cap on all Florida closing taxes?
No, and it's a common misreading. The $2,450 cap applies only to the documentary stamp tax on the promissory note, per note. The 0.2% intangible tax and the 0.7% deed stamp have no cap at all.
Do I need a lawyer to close on a house in Florida?
Not legally. Florida is a title and escrow state and title companies close loans statewide. Attorney-run closings are customary in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach, so budget that fee if you're buying in South Florida.
Do Florida's stamp taxes apply to a refinance?
Yes, on the loan side. There's no deed stamp because there's no sale, but the 0.35% note stamp and the 0.2% intangible tax both apply to the new mortgage — roughly 0.55% of the new loan, subject to the $2,450 note cap.
Are closing costs part of my down payment?
No, they're separate and both are due at closing. On a $425,000 Florida home with 20% down you finance $340,000, bring $85,000 down, and add about $14,875 at the midpoint, for roughly $99,875 in cash. See also ways to reduce what you bring to the table.
What to do next
Run your actual purchase price through Florida's payment calculator, which builds in the state's property tax and insurance averages so you get an all-in monthly number rather than just principal and interest. Then add 0.7% of the price and 0.55% of the loan to your cash estimate and see if the deal still works.
- Florida mortgage payment calculator
- Florida affordability calculator
- Florida first-time buyer calculator
- How to buy a home in Florida
- First-time home buyer programs explained
Every figure on this site is sourced and dated, and you can see exactly where each one comes from on our methodology page.
The figures above are illustrations drawn from CalculatorByState's sourced dataset. They are statewide numbers, not county-level quotes, and Florida customs around title insurance and attorney involvement vary by county. Your own costs depend on your address, lender, title company, and contract. For advice specific to your situation, consult a licensed real estate professional, lender, or attorney in Florida.