Florida Documentary Stamp Tax: Rates, Who Pays, Exemptions and How to Calculate It
Florida taxes deeds at 70 cents per $100 of consideration (60 cents plus a surtax in Miami-Dade) and mortgages at 35 cents. How to calculate it and what is exempt.
Quick answer
Florida documentary stamp tax on a deed is 70 cents for each $100, or portion of $100, of the consideration, in every county except Miami-Dade. Consideration includes any mortgage on the property, assumed or not. Notes and recorded mortgages are taxed at 35 cents per $100. All parties are liable, whoever agrees to pay.
What is the Florida documentary stamp tax?
The tax comes from chapter 201 of the Florida Statutes. The Florida Department of Revenue, which administers it, says the tax is paid to the county clerk of court or other recording official when the document is recorded, and that a taxable document that is not recorded is paid directly to the Department (Florida Department of Revenue, Documentary Stamp Tax).
People call it doc stamps, deed stamps or the Florida transfer tax. The name comes from the era of physical stamps. Today it is a payment collected at recording, and the amount paid is part of the recording transaction.
Three different charges are often lumped together at a Florida closing: the documentary stamp tax on the deed, the documentary stamp tax on the note and mortgage, and the nonrecurring intangible tax on the mortgage. This article separates them, gives the statutory rate for each, and shows the arithmetic.
Definition
Documentary stamp tax (Florida) — An excise tax on certain documents executed, delivered or recorded in Florida. The two that matter for real estate are documents that transfer an interest in Florida real property, such as deeds, and written obligations to pay money, such as promissory notes and recorded mortgages.
Florida documentary stamp tax rates at a glance
Every rate below was read on the Florida Legislature or Department of Revenue page cited in the last column on 2026-10-04.
| Document | Rate | Cap | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deed or other transfer of Florida real property (all counties except Miami-Dade) | 70 cents per $100 or portion of $100 of consideration | None | Fla. Stat. 201.02(1)(a) |
| Deed in Miami-Dade County | 60 cents per $100, plus a 45 cent surtax per $100 unless the document transfers only a single-family dwelling | None | Fla. Stat. 201.031, per the Department of Revenue |
| Promissory note or other written obligation to pay money | 35 cents per $100 or fraction | $2,450 per document | Fla. Stat. 201.08(1)(a) |
| Mortgage, trust deed or security agreement filed or recorded in Florida | 35 cents per $100 or fraction of the indebtedness | None for the recorded mortgage | Fla. Stat. 201.08(1)(b) and Department of Revenue |
| Nonrecurring intangible tax on obligations secured by Florida real property | 2 mills (0.2 percent) of the obligation | Limited to the value of the Florida real property securing it | Fla. Stat. 199.133 |
What counts as consideration on a Florida deed?
The tax on a deed is measured by consideration, not by the assessed value. Section 201.02(1)(a) says consideration includes "the 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" (Fla. Stat. 201.02).
The mortgage rule surprises people most. The Department of Revenue puts it plainly: "If the property being transferred has a mortgage on it, the balance of the mortgage at the time of transfer is consideration for the transfer." A parent who deeds a mortgaged house to a child for nothing has still transferred property subject to a debt, and the debt balance is taxed.
When the price is paid in something other than money, the statute presumes the consideration equals the fair market value of the real property. The Department adds that a deed in lieu of foreclosure is taxed on the debt that is forgiven, even if the property is worth less (see our guide to the deed in lieu of foreclosure).
A gift of unencumbered property is the opposite case. The Department's examples show that when a deed of unencumbered property recites nominal consideration, such as "$10 or other good and valuable consideration," the tax due is $0.70.
How do you calculate Florida doc stamps on a deed?
The statute charges per $100 "or fractional part thereof," so any remainder rounds up to a full $100 unit. This is the same method the Department of Revenue uses in its worked examples.
Add up the consideration
Cash paid or promised, plus any mortgage or lien balance on the property at transfer (assumed or not), plus the value of anything else given in exchange.
Divide by 100 and round up
This gives the number of taxable units. $325,050 becomes 3,250.5, which rounds up to 3,251 units.
Multiply by the county rate
Use $0.70 everywhere except Miami-Dade, where the base rate is $0.60 and the 45 cent surtax may also apply. 3,251 units times $0.70 is $2,275.70.
Check for an exemption before paying
Some transfers between spouses, divorce deeds for the marital home and a personal representative's deed under a probated will are not taxed. The next section lists them.
Worked examples at the statutory rates
The figures below are our own arithmetic at the rates in the statutes cited above, using the round-up rule. They are illustrations, not a quote for a specific closing. Recording fees, title charges and county-specific items are separate.
| Transaction (outside Miami-Dade unless noted) | Taxable base | Tax |
|---|---|---|
| Sale for $250,000 | 2,500 units | $1,750.00 deed stamps |
| Sale for $325,050 | 3,251 units (rounded up) | $2,275.70 deed stamps |
| Single-family home in Miami-Dade sold for $400,000 | 4,000 units at $0.60, no surtax for a single-family dwelling | $2,400.00 deed stamps |
| New $300,000 mortgage recorded with the purchase | 3,000 units at $0.35 for doc stamps; $300,000 times 0.002 for intangible tax | $1,050.00 doc stamps on the mortgage plus $600.00 intangible tax |
| Gift deed of unencumbered property reciting $10 | Nominal consideration | $0.70, per the Department of Revenue examples |
Florida documentary stamp tax exemptions
The Department of Revenue lists these examples of documents generally not subject to the deed tax. Its page also points to Rule 12B-4.014 of the Florida Administrative Code for the full list.
- Marriage deeds: no tax on a deed between spouses when the property is homestead and the only consideration is a mortgage or other lien on it (section 201.02(7)).
- Divorce deeds: no tax on a deed between spouses or former spouses under a dissolution of marriage when the property was their marital home at the time of the divorce. The Department says tax paid on such a deed can be refunded if the refund is sought within one year of the dissolution.
- A deed from an agent to the principal, when the agent bought the property for the principal with the principal's money.
- A transfer made under threat of eminent domain or condemnation.
- A personal representative's deed given under a duly probated will.
There is no estate-planning exemption
Who pays documentary stamp tax in Florida, buyer or seller?
The statute does not assign the cost to the buyer or the seller. The Department of Revenue says: "All parties to the document are liable for the tax regardless of which party agrees to pay the tax." If one party is exempt, a non-exempt party must pay.
Who actually writes the check is a term of the sale contract, and practice varies. Read the settlement statement, where deed stamps, mortgage stamps and intangible tax appear as separate lines. Our article on closing costs for sellers compares Florida with New York and Pennsylvania.
The mortgage taxes follow the same liability rule. In practice they belong to the borrower's loan, because they exist only because a note and mortgage are signed and recorded.
When is the tax due, and what if a deed is never recorded?
Mortgages and other liens are taxed when recorded. Deeds are different. The Department says: "Deeds are taxable whether recorded or not." If a deed is not recorded by the 20th day of the month after the month it was delivered, the tax must be sent to the Department as an unrecorded document using its returns for unrecorded documents.
Late payment carries a penalty of 10 percent of the unpaid tax for each 30 days or fraction, up to 50 percent, with a $10 minimum, plus interest at a floating rate, according to the same Department page.
Recording itself has separate fees. Under Fla. Stat. 28.24, the clerk charges $5.00 for the first page and $4.00 for each additional page, plus a Public Records Modernization Trust Fund charge of $1.00 for the first page and $0.50 for each additional page, plus a $4 per page court technology service charge. Added together, that is $10.00 for the first page and $8.50 for each additional page of a standard-size instrument.
What doc stamps tell you in a Florida title search
Because the deed rate is fixed, the tax paid on a recorded deed works as a rough price signal. Where the recording information shows the deed tax, divide it by 0.70 and multiply by 100 to get the upper end of the consideration. A deed carrying $2,100 in tax reflects 3,000 taxable units, so consideration of more than $299,900 and no more than $300,000.
A deed taxed at $0.70 is the signature of a nominal transfer: a gift, a family deed, a deed into a trust or an entity with no mortgage on the property. In a chain of title review, those deeds deserve a second look, because they often mark a change in how title is held rather than a sale, and they are where problems such as a missing spouse's signature or an unprobated estate tend to sit.
Remember what consideration includes. A deed of mortgaged property to a relative can carry real tax even though no cash changed hands, because the mortgage balance counts. A large tax on a so-called gift deed is often a sign that a mortgage was still open at the time.
HeritageDeed reports for Florida counties, such as Duval and Hillsborough, list the recorded deeds and mortgages from the Clerk's official records. A records search is not tax advice and does not compute tax due on a future transfer; ask the closing agent or the Department of Revenue for that.
Key takeaways
Key takeaways
- Florida deed stamps are 70 cents per $100 of consideration, rounded up to the next $100, everywhere except Miami-Dade.
- Consideration includes any mortgage on the property, assumed or not, so a "gift" of mortgaged property is taxed on the balance.
- Notes and mortgages are taxed at 35 cents per $100; the note tax caps at $2,450, the recorded mortgage tax has no cap, and a 2 mill intangible tax applies to loans secured by Florida real property.
- All parties are liable for the tax. The contract only decides who pays.
- Spousal homestead deeds, divorce deeds for the marital home and personal representative's deeds under a probated will are among the listed exemptions. Estate planning alone is not one.
Frequently asked questions
- How much are doc stamps on a $300,000 house in Florida?
- Outside Miami-Dade, a $300,000 price is 3,000 taxable units at $0.70, or $2,100 in deed stamps. If the buyer also records a mortgage, that adds 35 cents per $100 of the loan in doc stamps and 0.2 percent of the loan in intangible tax.
- Is there a cap on Florida documentary stamp tax?
- Only for notes and similar written obligations to pay money, which cap at $2,450 per document under section 201.08(1)(a). The Department of Revenue says there is no cap on the tax for a recorded mortgage, and the deed tax has no cap either.
- Do I pay documentary stamp tax on a quitclaim deed in Florida?
- Yes, if there is consideration. The Department of Revenue lists quit claim deeds among taxable documents. A quitclaim of unencumbered property for nominal consideration is taxed $0.70, but a quitclaim of mortgaged property is taxed on the mortgage balance for the share transferred unless an exemption, such as the spousal homestead exemption, applies.
- What is the Florida intangible tax on a mortgage?
- It is a one-time nonrecurring tax of 2 mills, meaning $2 per $1,000, on notes and other obligations secured by a mortgage or lien on Florida real property, under section 199.133. It is separate from the documentary stamp tax on the same mortgage.
- Is a UCC financing statement subject to Florida documentary stamp tax?
- The Department of Revenue says filing the State of Florida UCC-1 in its original form is not taxable, but a notation must be placed on it indicating whether tax was properly paid on the obligation that caused the filing.
- Does Miami-Dade County use a different documentary stamp tax rate?
- Yes. Miami-Dade uses 60 cents per $100 plus a 45 cent surtax per $100. The surtax is not due on a document that transfers only a single-family dwelling, according to the Department of Revenue.
Sources
Primary records and official documentation cited in this article.
- 1Florida Department of Revenue, Documentary Stamp Tax
- 2Florida Legislature, Online Sunshine, Fla. Stat. 201.02, Tax on deeds and other instruments relating to real property
- 3Florida Legislature, Online Sunshine, Fla. Stat. 201.08, Tax on promissory notes, written obligations and mortgages
- 4Florida Legislature, Online Sunshine, Fla. Stat. 199.133, Levy of nonrecurring tax
- 5Florida Legislature, Online Sunshine, Fla. Stat. 28.24, Service charges by clerk of the circuit court
HeritageDeed provides public-record search reports only. Reports do not constitute title insurance, an attorney opinion of title, or a title insurance commitment.