Who Pays Closing Costs in Florida? Buyer vs. Seller, by County

Who pays closing costs in Florida is one of the most misunderstood questions in a real estate deal. The short answer: almost everything is set by local custom and negotiable by contract, and a few items even change based on which county you're in. Here's how the costs split between buyer and seller.

Key Takeaways

• Florida has no law fixing who pays closing costs; custom and your contract decide.
• The documentary stamp tax on the deed ($0.70 per $100; $0.60 in Miami-Dade) is customarily the seller's.
• The buyer/borrower customarily pays the mortgage doc stamps and intangible tax.
• Who pays owner's title insurance flips by county: seller in most of Florida, but the buyer in Miami-Dade, Broward, Sarasota, and Collier.

Costs the seller customarily pays

The big one is the documentary stamp tax on the deed: $0.70 per $100 of the sale price statewide, or $0.60 per $100 in Miami-Dade on a single-family home (Florida Department of Revenue). On a $500,000 sale that's $3,500 ($3,000 in Miami-Dade). Sellers also typically cover the real estate commission, which is negotiable and not fixed by any rule, plus any unpaid taxes and association dues through closing.

Costs the buyer customarily pays

Buyers with a mortgage pay the financing-side taxes: documentary stamp tax on the note ($0.35 per $100) and the nonrecurring intangible tax on a new mortgage ($2 per $1,000, or 0.2%) (Florida Department of Revenue). On a $400,000 loan that's $1,400 plus $800, or $2,200. Buyers also generally pay their lender fees, appraisal, inspections, and prepaid items like insurance and tax escrows.

The title insurance question, by county

This is where Florida gets local. Florida sets title insurance rates by regulation, so the premium is the same everywhere ($5.75 per $1,000 on the first $100,000, then $5.00 per $1,000 up to $1 million per the Florida CFO). What changes is who pays it, and that party also gets to choose the closing agent. In most Florida counties the seller pays and picks; but in Miami-Dade, Broward, Sarasota, and Collier, the buyer customarily pays and picks. For South Florida buyers and sellers, that single difference can swing several thousand dollars, so confirm it in your contract.

A worked example: $500,000 home, $400,000 loan

• Deed doc stamps (seller): $3,500 ($3,000 in Miami-Dade)
• Mortgage doc stamps + intangible tax (buyer): $2,200
• Owner's title premium: roughly $2,575 base, paid by seller in most counties, buyer in Miami-Dade and Broward
• Plus lender, appraisal, inspection, recording, and prepaid items

As a rule of thumb, buyers see total closing costs of about 2 to 5% of the price, and sellers about 6 to 8% including commission. Estimate your side with our home sale calculator and mortgage calculator.

Want a clear net-proceeds or cash-to-close number for your South Florida deal? Pure Equity will walk you through it line by line. Talk to us, or start at our sell page.

Frequently asked questions

Who pays closing costs in Florida, the buyer or the seller?

Both pay different items, set by local custom and your contract. Sellers customarily cover the deed doc stamp tax and commission; buyers cover financing taxes and lender costs. Owner's title insurance is seller-paid in most counties but buyer-paid in Miami-Dade, Broward, Sarasota, and Collier.

Are closing costs negotiable in Florida?

Yes. No Florida law fixes who pays what, so any cost can be shifted by agreement. Buyers sometimes ask sellers for a closing-cost credit, especially in a slower market.

How much are closing costs in Florida?

Buyers typically pay about 2 to 5% of the price and sellers about 6 to 8% including the real estate commission. The exact figure depends on price, loan size, and county custom.

The number that actually matters to a seller

Closing costs are usually explained as a percentage, which is not much use when you are deciding whether to sell. What you want is a net sheet: sale price, minus payoff, minus every cost, equals the wire that reaches your account.

Build it in that order and the percentage stops mattering. A seller in Palm Beach County looking at the county median list price of $480,000 can work the whole thing out on one page, and the exercise takes about fifteen minutes.

Documentary stamp tax, worked out

Florida charges a documentary stamp tax on the deed. Outside Miami-Dade the rate is $0.70 per $100 of the sale price, so a $480,000 sale costs $3,360. The arithmetic is simply the price divided by 100, then multiplied by 0.70.

Miami-Dade works differently. It charges $0.60 per $100 on a single-family residence, plus a surtax on property that is not single-family. That surtax catches condo and multi-family sellers who budgeted using the statewide figure, so check which category your property falls into before you rely on a number.

Title insurance and the county custom split

Florida promulgates title insurance rates, which means the premium is set rather than shopped. On the standard schedule the first $100,000 of coverage runs $5.75 per $1,000, and the portion above that up to $1 million runs $5.00 per $1,000.

On our $480,000 sale that is $575 on the first hundred thousand and $1,900 on the remaining $380,000, so $2,475 in total. Who pays it is a county custom rather than a law. Sellers customarily pay in Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, Okeechobee and Highlands, while buyers customarily pay in Broward and Miami-Dade. Custom is only a starting point, though, and the contract is what binds.

The costs sellers forget

• Estoppel fees. Selling in an association means paying for an estoppel certificate stating what you owe. Florida caps that fee by statute, but the cap has been amended more than once, so ask your association for the current figure rather than assuming.
• Prorated taxes. Florida property taxes are paid in arrears, so you owe the buyer your share of the year up to closing. On a $3,600 median Palm Beach tax bill, a June closing means roughly half.
• Payoff interest and recording. Your lender charges interest through the payoff date, not the closing date, and there are small recording and lien search fees on top.
• Repairs agreed after inspection. These land as credits at closing and are genuinely part of your cost, even though nobody lists them as a closing cost.

Concessions, and the trap inside them

Buyers frequently ask sellers to cover part of their costs. That is normal and often worth agreeing to, because a concession is usually cheaper than a price reduction of the same size.

There is a catch worth understanding. A concession is typically paired with a higher contract price, and the appraisal still has to support that price. If it does not, the deal renegotiates anyway and you have lost time. Price the home correctly first, then treat concessions as a closing tool rather than a pricing one.

Protect the wire

Real estate wire fraud is a genuine risk in Florida, and sellers are targeted as often as buyers. Criminals monitor email, then send altered wire instructions that look legitimate.

The defence is simple and it works. Call the title company on a number you looked up yourself, never one from the email, and confirm the instructions verbally before anyone sends anything. Do that every time, including on instructions that appear to come from people you know.

Selling to a cash buyer changes the list

A cash sale removes an entire category of cost, though not the ones people expect. Lender fees, appraisal and the intangible tax on a new mortgage all disappear, because there is no new mortgage.

What does not disappear is the documentary stamp tax on the deed, the title work, the prorated taxes or the association estoppel. Those attach to the transfer itself rather than to the financing.

So a cash offer saves the buyer money more than it saves you money. Weigh it on certainty and speed instead, which are real advantages, and compare the net figure rather than the headline price. A cash offer at $455,000 and a financed offer at $480,000 are not close, and the faster closing rarely bridges a gap that size.

More common questions

What is a realistic total for a Florida seller?

Excluding commission, roughly $6,000 to $7,000 on a $480,000 sale where the seller pays title. Commission is negotiable and separate, and it is the largest single line by a wide margin.

Do I pay closing costs if my home does not sell?

No. Nearly every cost here is triggered by closing. What you spend before that point is preparation, such as photography, repairs or staging.

Can closing costs be paid from the sale proceeds?

Yes, and they usually are. Sellers rarely bring money to closing unless the payoff exceeds the sale price, which is worth checking early if you bought recently.

Will you prepare a net sheet before I list?

Yes, and it costs nothing. Knowing your realistic net before you commit is the single most useful number in the whole process, and it sometimes changes the decision entirely.

Sources

• Florida Department of Revenue (documentary stamp and intangible tax); Florida CFO (title insurance rates).

Published June 20, 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice; confirm current rates and county custom with your closing agent.