Deed Guides
How Florida Documentary Stamp Tax Works on a Deed
Direct answer
Florida documentary stamp tax on a deed is 70 cents for each $100, or portion of $100, of consideration in every county except Miami-Dade. Miami-Dade’s deed rate is 60 cents per $100, plus a 45-cent surtax that does not apply when the document transfers only a single-family residence. Consideration includes money, the discharge of an obligation, and the balance of a mortgage or other lien, whether or not anyone assumes the loan. All parties to the deed are liable for the tax, even when the contract picks who writes the check. Time to Close Title prepares the deed and will quote the stamp figure in writing. On a deed-only file, the client records it and pays the tax and the clerk’s recording fee.
Key takeaways
- Most Florida counties tax a deed at 70 cents per $100 of consideration, or any portion of $100.
- Miami-Dade uses 60 cents per $100, plus a 45-cent surtax that skips a document transferring only a single-family residence.
- An unpaid mortgage is consideration even when the new owner does not assume the loan.
- A homestead transfer between spouses, and a marital-home deed after divorce, can be exempt. A gift to a child is not the same rule.
- Stamp tax is not the clerk’s recording fee. We prepare the deed. On a deed-only file, the client records it.
What is documentary stamp tax on a Florida deed?
It is an excise tax on the document that transfers Florida real property. Section 201.02, Florida Statutes, sets the tax on deeds. The Florida Department of Revenue publishes the county rates. The tax follows the land in Florida even if the deed was signed somewhere else.
It is not title insurance, and it is not the clerk’s per-page recording fee. On a purchase we close, the stamp amount is a line on the settlement statement. On a deed we only prepare, you pay it when you record.
| Where the land sits | Rate on the deed | Tax on $100,000 |
|---|---|---|
| All Florida counties except Miami-Dade | 70 cents per $100, or any portion of $100 | $700 |
| Miami-Dade, document transfers only a single-family residence | 60 cents per $100; the surtax does not apply | $600 |
| Miami-Dade, anything else (a vacant lot, for example) | 60 cents plus a 45-cent surtax per $100 | $1,050 |
What counts as consideration?
Section 201.02 counts money paid or agreed to be paid, the discharge of an obligation, and the amount of any mortgage or other lien on the property, whether or not the debt is assumed. If the price is paid with other property instead of money, the tax base is presumed to be the fair market value of the real estate.
Round up any leftover dollars. The tax is on each $100 or portion of $100. A price of $100,001 is 1,001 units, not 1,000. A quitclaim deed does not skip this math. The deed type is not an exemption.
70¢
Per $100 of consideration in every county except Miami-Dade.
Mortgage
The unpaid balance can be consideration even with no cash.
All parties
Everyone on the deed is liable, even if the contract names one payer.
When is a Florida deed exempt?
Section 201.02(7) has two family rules people mix up. A deed between spouses or former spouses under a dissolution is not taxed when the property is or was their marital home, even if there is consideration. That is the divorce rule. Read removing a name after divorce. If the land was not the marital home, the tax is still figured on consideration, including mortgages.
A deed between spouses is also not taxed when the only consideration is a mortgage or other lien on homestead property, as homestead is defined for property-tax purposes in section 192.001. That covers one spouse to the other, one spouse to both, or both to one. It is not a free pass for every homestead signature. Joinder and stamp tax are different jobs. Adding a child, deeding to a trust, or signing a Lady Bird deed is not this spouse exemption.
How does Time to Close Title handle stamp tax?
Tell us the price, whether a mortgage remains, who is being added or removed, and whether the house is homestead or was the marital home. We do not guess a stamp figure in a blog. Hernando County deeds record with the clerk in Brooksville — see our Hernando County page.
A corrective deed that only restates the same transfer and adds no new consideration is not automatically a second full tax. A qualifying short sale excludes forgiven mortgage debt from taxable consideration under section 201.02(11). Both still need the file facts.
Name the transfer
Sale, gift, spouse, divorce, trust, Lady Bird, or a correction of a deed that already recorded.
List the consideration
Cash, other property, and any mortgage or lien balance, assumed or not.
We quote the tax in writing
County rate, any spouse or marital-home exemption, and the stamp line. Not a clerk recording fee.
You record a deed-only file
We prepare the deed. The client records it and pays the stamp tax and the clerk’s fee. On a closing we handle, that payment is part of settlement.
Can Time to Close Title quote the stamp tax?
Yes. Call (352) 792-1214 or contact us from 3087 Anderson Snow Road in Spring Hill. Bring the last deed, the mortgage balance if one remains, and who should be on the new deed. See quitclaim deed services when the transfer is a family deed rather than a sale.
Frequently asked questions
What is the documentary stamp tax rate on a Florida deed?
In every county except Miami-Dade, it is 70 cents per $100 of consideration, or any portion of $100, under section 201.02. Miami-Dade is 60 cents per $100, plus a 45-cent surtax that does not apply when the document transfers only a single-family residence.
Does a quitclaim or a gift avoid Florida documentary stamps?
No. A quitclaim deed is still a deed. If a mortgage remains, that balance is consideration whether or not the grantee assumes the loan.
Is adding a spouse to a Florida homestead deed exempt?
Often, when the only consideration is the mortgage or other lien on homestead and the deed is between spouses. Cash or other consideration on top of that lien can make the deed taxable. Homestead joinder is a separate signature rule.
Who pays documentary stamp tax in Florida?
Every party to the deed is liable. A purchase contract can still name the seller or the buyer as the one who pays. The clerk collects the tax when the deed is recorded.
Is documentary stamp tax the same as the recording fee?
No. Stamp tax is the state tax on consideration. The clerk charges a separate recording fee. Time to Close Title prepares the deed. On a deed-only file, the client records it and pays both.