A Florida closing can trigger three separate state taxes, and each one attaches to a different piece of paper. The deed carries documentary stamp tax at 70 cents per $100 of consideration. A recorded mortgage carries its own documentary stamp tax at 35 cents per $100. The obligation that mortgage secures carries nonrecurring intangible tax at 2 mills, which is $2.00 per $1,000. Pay cash and only the first one appears. Borrow, and the second and third together cost $5.50 for every $1,000 of loan.
Each tax attaches to a document, not to the sale
Florida Statutes section 201.01 levies documentary stamp tax on the documents themselves, reaching any person who makes, signs, executes, issues, assigns or records them, and it requires the tax be paid on a recordable instrument before recordation. The Florida Department of Revenue describes it the same way: an excise tax on documents executed, delivered or recorded in Florida, paid to the county clerk of court or a recording official when the document is recorded. Nonrecurring intangible tax runs on the same mechanism. Section 199.135 makes it due when the instrument is presented for recordation, and subsection (1) directs the person recording it to pay the clerk of the circuit court, who notes the amount received on the instrument.
The deed tax runs on consideration, which is wider than the price
Section 201.02(1)(a) sets the deed rate at 70 cents on each $100 of consideration, and the Department of Revenue states the operative version plainly: in all Florida counties except Miami-Dade, 70 cents on each $100 or portion thereof of the total consideration.
Consideration is defined broadly in that same paragraph. It includes money paid or agreed to be paid, the discharge of an obligation, and the amount of any mortgage, purchase money mortgage lien or other encumbrance, whether or not the underlying indebtedness is assumed. Where something other than money changes hands, the statute presumes the consideration equals the fair market value of the real property or interest transferred. A buyer who takes title subject to an existing loan is in that territory, and the deed tax on a subject-to transfer is computed on the full figure rather than the cash portion.
The phrase “or portion thereof” is not decoration. At a price of $450,250 the base divides into 4,502.5 hundreds, which bills as 4,503 units, so the tax is $3,152.10 instead of the $3,151.75 a straight percentage would produce. The rounding always runs upward, on every instrument.
Financing adds $5.50 in state tax per $1,000 borrowed
Section 201.08(1)(b) taxes mortgages, trust deeds and other evidences of indebtedness filed or recorded in Florida at 35 cents on each $100 or fraction thereof of the indebtedness secured. That is $3.50 per $1,000. Section 199.133(1) imposes a one-time nonrecurring tax of 2 mills on each dollar of the just valuation of obligations secured by a mortgage or lien on Florida real property, which the Department of Revenue computes by multiplying the secured obligation by 0.002. That is $2.00 per $1,000. Added together, every $1,000 of mortgage money carries $5.50 of Florida tax.
Both taxes run on the obligation rather than the purchase price, so a financed guarantee fee or mortgage insurance premium that raises the note raises both. The intangible tax has one ceiling worth knowing, stated on the Department’s own page: it will never be calculated on an amount greater than the fair market value of the Florida real property securing it. It also has one exemption that reaches a resale, at section 199.145(3), which charges no additional nonrecurring tax on the assumption of an obligation where the tax was previously paid and the amount of the indebtedness remains the same, whether or not the original obligor is released.
The $2,450 cap rarely reaches a purchase mortgage
Section 201.08(1)(a) taxes promissory notes at 35 cents per $100 or fraction thereof and caps the tax on any such document at $2,450. That cap is easy to find and easy to misapply, because a recorded purchase mortgage is taxed under a different paragraph. Section 201.08(1)(b) carries no cap, and the Department of Revenue says so directly for mortgages and liens: there is no cap on the amount of tax due.
The statute settles which paragraph governs. Where there is both a mortgage and a note, 201.08(1)(b) requires the tax be paid on the mortgage at the time of recordation, with a notation on the note that it was paid there. Since $2,450 corresponds to an obligation of $700,000, the cap looks protective above that figure and does not operate: a recorded mortgage of $900,000 carries $3,150.
Liability and the closing statement answer different questions
On documentary stamp tax, the Department of Revenue states the rule twice, once for deeds and once for notes and mortgages: all parties to the document are liable regardless of which party agrees to pay, and if one party is exempt the tax must be paid by a non-exempt party. Liability for the intangible tax sits elsewhere. The Department identifies the lender as the taxpayer liable, and section 199.135(4) makes that taxpayer solely liable while permitting it to pass the amount on to the borrower or mortgagor.
Who funds each line at the table is a contract question. On the FloridaRealtors/FloridaBar AS IS Residential Contract For Sale And Purchase, form ASIS-7x Rev. 12/26, Paragraph 9(a) lists “Documentary stamp taxes and surtax on deed, if any” among the costs to be paid by Seller. Paragraph 9(b) lists “Taxes and recording fees on notes and mortgages” among the costs to be paid by Buyer, alongside a separate line for “Recording fees for deed and financing statements.” The seller pays the tax on the deed while the buyer pays the charge to record it, and that single buyer line carries two state taxes plus recording charges. None of it changes who the state can pursue.
A $450,000 purchase, financed and all cash
| Tax | Rate and base | 80% financed | All cash | Contract line |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Documentary stamp, deed | 70c per $100 of $450,000 consideration | $3,150.00 | $3,150.00 | Seller, 9(a) |
| Documentary stamp, recorded mortgage | 35c per $100 of a $360,000 mortgage | $1,260.00 | none | Buyer, 9(b) |
| Nonrecurring intangible | 2 mills on a $360,000 obligation | $720.00 | none | Buyer, 9(b) |
| Total state tax | $5,130.00 | $3,150.00 |
Recording charges sit outside all three figures and are far smaller: section 28.24(13) caps the clerk’s charge at $5.00 for the first page or fraction and $4.00 for each additional page, plus a smaller per-page charge to the Public Records Modernization Trust Fund, so a twelve-page mortgage tops out at $55.50 against $1,980.00 of tax on the same instrument.
What to settle before you sign
- Ask for the two buyer taxes as separate figures, so each can be checked against the loan amount instead of taken on faith as one line.
- Check both against the note amount. Anything financed into the loan raises them at $5.50 per $1,000.
- Where an existing loan is assumed or taken subject to, confirm the deed tax is computed on the whole consideration and not on the cash price.
- Where the new loan comes from your current lender or its assignee, ask whether section 199.145(4) applies, because that one question is worth $2.00 per $1,000.
Frequently asked questions
Does the seller always pay the Florida deed tax?
No statute assigns it to a side. Section 201.01 reaches every person who makes, signs, executes or records the document, and the Department of Revenue states that all parties to the document are liable regardless of which party agrees to pay. Paragraph 9(a) of the AS IS contract assigns the deed stamps to Seller as printed, which is a contract term the parties can change in writing. Changing it moves who funds the line and leaves the state’s reach alone.
Is there tax on a deed that transfers a house for nothing?
Usually a token amount, sometimes more. The Department of Revenue’s published examples show that where unencumbered property passes with no other consideration and the deed recites nominal consideration such as “$10 or other good and valuable consideration,” 70 cents of tax is due. Where the property carries a mortgage, that balance is consideration and the tax follows it. Section 201.02(7) exempts certain deeds between spouses of homestead property where the only consideration is a mortgage or lien.
Do I pay the intangible tax again when I refinance?
It depends on who the new lender is. Under section 199.145(4), a refinance with the original obligee or its assignee carries no additional nonrecurring tax where the new principal balance is at or below the unpaid principal plus accrued but unpaid interest, and tax is due on any excess. Refinancing with a different lender is not covered by that provision, so the 2 mills runs on the new obligation and the new mortgage draws its own documentary stamp tax when recorded.
Where to go from here
All three sit separate from the annual property tax bill, which is divided between the parties under its own contract provision. For that side of the closing statement, see who pays the Florida property tax bill at closing. Sellers working backward from a sale price should start with what you actually net selling a house in Florida.
When you want these figures run against a real price and a real loan amount, book a strategy session with our team at mvphomegroup.com/nelsoncruz. We price the taxes, the credits and the offer together, because they settle on the same page.
Nelson Cruz, P.A.
Founder & CEO
MVP Home Group, Real Broker LLC
Nelson brings nearly two decades in law enforcement to his work in real estate. View Nelson’s profile or contact our team at 407-901-9939 or [email protected].
Featured image: AI-generated editorial illustration of a heavy brass seal embosser clamped on the corner of a folded legal document, with a wooden-handled rubber stamp, an open ink pad and a small stack of blank pages on a dark slate desk. No readable text. Not a particular property, document or recording office.