How much is documentary stamp tax on a deed in Florida?

Seventy cents on each $100 of consideration, or part of $100, in every county except Miami-Dade. Miami-Dade charges 60 cents per $100 plus a 45 cent surtax, and the surtax does not apply to a single-family dwelling. These rates come from the Florida Department of Revenue.

Does the buyer or the seller pay deed stamps in Palm Beach County?

Customarily the seller pays the tax on the deed, and it appears as a seller line at closing. Florida law makes all parties liable regardless of who agreed to pay, so the closing agent collects it at closing. The contract can allocate it differently if both sides agree.

How do I calculate it on my sale price?

Divide the price by 100, round any remainder up to a whole unit, and multiply by 0.70. A $500,000 sale is 5,000 units, which is $3,500. A $612,400 sale is 6,124 units, which is $4,286.80.

Is documentary stamp tax the same as the mortgage tax the buyer pays?

No. Deed stamps are charged on the document that transfers the property. A buyer taking out a new loan separately pays documentary stamp tax and intangible tax on the mortgage itself. They are different charges on different documents and both can appear on the same settlement statement.

Do I pay it if I am gifting the property to a family member?

It depends on whether consideration changes hands. A gift of property with no mortgage is treated differently from a gift of property that still has a mortgage on it, because the mortgage counts as consideration. This is a question for a Florida attorney before the deed is drafted, not one to work out from an article.

Can I negotiate the documentary stamp tax down?

No. The rate is set by statute and the clerk collects it, so it is one of the few closing figures that is genuinely fixed. What can change is who the contract says pays it, though liability under Florida law still extends to all parties to the document.

Florida documentary stamp tax on deeds: how much sellers pay

Florida documentary stamp tax on deeds is charged at 70 cents on each $100 of the total consideration, or part of $100, everywhere in the state except Miami-Dade County. That figure comes from the Florida Department of Revenue. It is one of the few seller costs that is genuinely fixed, and knowing how it is calculated removes one unknown from your net.

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The rate, and where it comes from

Outside Miami-Dade County the rate is 70 cents on each $100 of consideration, and any part of $100 is rounded up to a full $100.

Palm Beach, Broward, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, Okeechobee and Highlands counties all use that rate, so it applies to almost every sale we handle.

Miami-Dade is the exception. It charges 60 cents per $100, plus a 45 cent surtax per $100 that does not apply to transfers of a single-family dwelling.

The Florida Department of Revenue publishes these figures, and it is worth re-checking them there rather than relying on any article, including this one.

The tax is on the transfer document itself, which is why it is called a documentary stamp rather than a sales tax.

Because the rate is set by statute, no amount of negotiation changes it. Only the consideration it is calculated on can change.

How the calculation actually works

Take the total consideration, divide it by 100, and round any remainder up to the next whole unit.

Multiply that number by 0.70 and you have the tax outside Miami-Dade.

On a $500,000 sale that is 5,000 units at 70 cents, which comes to $3,500.

On a $612,400 sale it is 6,124 units, so $4,286.80, and the rounding rule only matters when the price is not a round hundred.

Consideration includes more than cash. A mortgage the buyer assumes counts toward it, which catches people out on assumption deals.

If you want the exact figure for your property, the closing agent calculates it, and it appears as its own line on the settlement statement.

Who pays the documentary stamp tax on a sale

Florida law makes all parties to the document liable for the tax, regardless of who agreed to pay it.

In practice, on a Palm Beach County resale, the seller customarily pays the deed stamps and it is treated as a seller closing cost.

That is custom rather than law, so the contract can allocate it differently, and occasionally does in a competitive negotiation.

The buyer separately pays documentary stamp tax and intangible tax on any new mortgage, which is a different charge on a different document.

Those two are often confused. Deed stamps are on the transfer; mortgage stamps are on the financing.

Because liability is joint, an agreement that the other side will pay does not protect you if they do not. The closing agent collects it at closing for exactly that reason.

Transfers where the tax works differently

A deed between spouses, or a transfer incident to a divorce, can be treated differently, and the specifics depend on the facts.

Transfers into or out of a trust or an entity you control may or may not attract tax depending on whether consideration changes hands.

A gift of unencumbered property is not the same as a gift of property with a mortgage on it, because the mortgage is consideration.

An inherited property passing through an estate is a different transaction from a sale, with different treatment.

Deeds in lieu of foreclosure and short sales each have their own analysis, and the amount is not always what a simple price calculation suggests.

Every one of these belongs with a Florida attorney or your accountant before the deed is drafted. Getting it wrong is expensive and hard to unwind.

What the documentary stamp tax means for your net

It scales directly with price, so a higher offer carries a proportionally higher tax and the two move together.

It is predictable, which makes it one of the easier lines to plan around compared with repairs or association charges.

It is not affected by whether the buyer pays cash or finances, because it is charged on the transfer rather than the loan.

On a typical Palm Beach County sale it is a smaller line than brokerage compensation and a larger one than most administrative fees.

It appears on the settlement statement as its own entry, so you can check the arithmetic yourself before you sign.

We include it in every net sheet at the correct rate for the county the property is in, which matters when a seller owns in both Palm Beach and Miami-Dade.

Checking the figure before you close

Confirm the closing agent used the right county rate, since Miami-Dade differs and our service area covers both.

Confirm the consideration used matches the contract price plus anything else that counts, such as an assumed mortgage.

Check the rounding, because a price that is not a round hundred rounds up rather than down.

Ask which line is deed stamps and which is mortgage stamps, so you are not looking at the buyer's charge and wondering why it differs.

If the number looks wrong, ask before signing rather than after. Corrections after recording are far more trouble.

The Florida Department of Revenue page on documentary stamp tax is the authority, and it is public, so you can verify the rate in a minute.

Why the tax is charged on consideration, not value

The tax is calculated on consideration, which is what is actually given for the property, rather than on what the property is worth. Those are usually the same figure on an arm's length sale, and occasionally they are not.

A sale below market value to a family member is taxed on what was paid, not on what a stranger would have paid. The county property appraiser's assessed value does not enter into the calculation at all.

Where it gets less intuitive is debt. If the buyer takes over an existing mortgage, the outstanding balance counts as consideration even though no cash changed hands for it.

That catches people on transfers that feel like gifts. Handing a mortgaged property to a relative for no money is still a taxable transfer, measured by the mortgage balance.

It also means a nominal price on a deed does not produce a nominal tax if there is debt attached. The clerk and the Department of Revenue both look at the substance.

If your transfer is anything other than a straightforward sale for cash or new financing, get the deed reviewed before it is recorded. Correcting a recorded deed is slower and more expensive than drafting it correctly.

Where the stamp tax sits among your other costs

On a typical Palm Beach County resale the stamp tax is a mid-sized line. It is larger than the settlement fee and the recording charges, and smaller than brokerage compensation or a mortgage payoff.

Unlike most of the others it is completely predictable from the moment you have a contract price, which makes it a useful anchor when you are sanity-checking an estimate.

It does not vary with the buyer's financing, the closing agent you choose, or how long the property sat on the market. Very few lines on the statement can claim that.

It also does not vary with condition, association status or anything about the property itself. The state is taxing the transfer, not the asset.

Because it scales cleanly, it is one of the first numbers to recalculate when a price is renegotiated. A price reduction reduces this line proportionally.

When we prepare a net sheet we calculate it at the rate for the county the property sits in, which matters for owners who hold property in both Palm Beach and Miami-Dade.

This page explains how the money side of a Florida sale works so you can plan around it. It is not legal or tax advice. Tax on your sale belongs with an accountant, and the legal effect of your contract belongs with a Florida attorney. What we can give you is an accurate figure for what your home is worth and what you would net, which is the input both of those conversations need.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is documentary stamp tax on a deed in Florida?: Seventy cents on each $100 of consideration, or part of $100, in every county except Miami-Dade. Miami-Dade charges 60 cents per $100 plus a 45 cent surtax, and the surtax does not apply to a single-family dwelling. These rates come from the Florida Department of Revenue.
Does the buyer or the seller pay deed stamps in Palm Beach County?: Customarily the seller pays the tax on the deed, and it appears as a seller line at closing. Florida law makes all parties liable regardless of who agreed to pay, so the closing agent collects it at closing. The contract can allocate it differently if both sides agree.
How do I calculate it on my sale price?: Divide the price by 100, round any remainder up to a whole unit, and multiply by 0.70. A $500,000 sale is 5,000 units, which is $3,500. A $612,400 sale is 6,124 units, which is $4,286.80.
Is documentary stamp tax the same as the mortgage tax the buyer pays?: No. Deed stamps are charged on the document that transfers the property. A buyer taking out a new loan separately pays documentary stamp tax and intangible tax on the mortgage itself. They are different charges on different documents and both can appear on the same settlement statement.
Do I pay it if I am gifting the property to a family member?: It depends on whether consideration changes hands. A gift of property with no mortgage is treated differently from a gift of property that still has a mortgage on it, because the mortgage counts as consideration. This is a question for a Florida attorney before the deed is drafted, not one to work out from an article.
Can I negotiate the documentary stamp tax down?: No. The rate is set by statute and the clerk collects it, so it is one of the few closing figures that is genuinely fixed. What can change is who the contract says pays it, though liability under Florida law still extends to all parties to the document.

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Work out your numbers

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A valuation built from closed sales in your own community, with the comparables named.

Estimate your net proceeds

Work the commission, documentary stamps and closing costs against your own number.

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Prices, days on market and inventory for the counties we cover, updated monthly.

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What we do between the listing agreement and the closing table, phase by phase.

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