Proration Calculation for the Florida Real Estate Exam (2026)

The math section is 10 questions out of 100 on the Florida Real Estate Sales Associate exam. Proration shows up in 3 to 5 of those 10. That is the highest single-topic frequency in the math section, higher than documentary stamps, commission, capitalization rate, or loan-to-value. Candidates who pass the math section did not memorize a harder formula than the candidates who failed. They drilled the four mechanics that decide which side gets the credit, how the day count works, and whether the seller owns the day of closing. The Florida real estate exam math formulas guide covers all 14 math topics; this post is the proration deep-dive.

The formula is one line. The mechanics are the part that takes practice.

This post covers the proration formula, three worked examples in realistic Florida price ranges (property tax in Orlando, rent in Tampa, HOA in Miami), the four traps that turn a 30-second calculation into a wrong answer, and the Florida-specific conventions DBPR tests. By the end you should be able to walk into the exam and treat proration questions as free points instead of land mines.

The proration formula

The formula is the same regardless of item type.

Daily rate = annual or monthly amount ÷ number of days in the period

Proration = daily rate × number of days owed

That is the entire formula. What changes from question to question is three variables.

Variable 1: the period. Annual items (property taxes, annual insurance) use 365 days. Monthly items (rent, HOA dues) use the actual number of days in the closing month (28, 29, 30, or 31). Mortgage interest on Florida closing statements is the lone exception that often uses a 360-day banker's year.

Variable 2: the day count. Count the days the responsible party owned (or used) the property. Under the standard Florida FAR/BAR contract, the seller owns the day of closing. That means for a closing on April 15, the seller's day count includes April 15 itself.

Variable 3: the direction of the credit. This is the one most candidates miss. Whether the proration shows up as a credit to the buyer or a credit to the seller depends entirely on whether the item was paid in advance or paid in arrears, and which party is currently holding money that belongs to the other.

The formula is arithmetic. The direction is where the points are won and lost.

What actually gets prorated at a Florida closing

Six items show up regularly on the exam.

• Property taxes (paid in arrears). Florida property taxes cover a calendar tax year (Jan 1 to Dec 31) per F.S. 192.011, with bills issued November 1 and payable through March 31 of the following year. Seller owes for the portion of the tax year they owned. Buyer receives the credit because the buyer will pay the full annual bill in November.
• Rent collected (paid in advance). Tenant paid the full month to the seller. Seller is now holding rent that covers days the buyer will own. Buyer receives the credit. Seller is debited.
• HOA or condo dues (paid in advance). Seller paid the full month or quarter forward. Buyer benefits from days the seller prepaid. Seller receives the credit. Buyer is debited.
• Mortgage interest (paid in arrears). Each month's mortgage payment covers the previous month's interest. Seller owes for the days in the closing month they held the loan. Sometimes calculated on a 360-day year, sometimes 365. Question wording will specify.
• Prepaid insurance. Treated like HOA dues. Seller paid the policy forward; buyer assumes the policy or the seller is credited for unused days.
• Special assessments. Treated like the underlying item (in arrears or advance) depending on how the association billed.

The exam almost always tests property tax, rent, or HOA proration. The other three appear less frequently but use the same formula.

Step 1: Property tax proration in Orlando (paid in arrears)

A buyer is closing on a $400,000 home in Orlando on April 15, 2026. Annual property taxes are $4,800. The closing uses a 365-day year and the seller owns the day of closing.

Step 1: daily rate. $4,800 ÷ 365 = $13.1507 per day.

Step 2: count the seller's days. January 1 through April 15, with the seller owning the closing day.

• January: 31 days
• February: 28 days
• March: 31 days
• April 1 through April 15: 15 days
• Total: 105 days

Step 3: multiply. 105 × $13.1507 = $1,380.82.

Step 4: direction. Florida property taxes are paid in arrears (F.S. 197.122). The seller hasn't paid 2026 taxes yet, but the buyer will receive the November 2026 tax bill for the full year. The seller's portion ($1,380.82) is therefore debited to the seller and credited to the buyer at closing.

Step 2: Rent proration in Tampa (paid in advance)

A buyer is closing on a Tampa investment property on March 18, 2026. The current tenant pays $2,500 per month, paid on the first. The seller collected March rent on March 1. Seller owns the day of closing.

Step 1: daily rate. March has 31 days. $2,500 ÷ 31 = $80.6452 per day.

Step 2: count the buyer's days. The seller owned March 1 through March 18 (18 days). The buyer owns March 19 through March 31 (13 days).

Step 3: multiply. 13 × $80.6452 = $1,048.39.

Step 4: direction. The seller has rent in hand that belongs to the buyer's portion of the month. The seller is debited $1,048.39. The buyer is credited $1,048.39.

Step 3: HOA dues proration on a Miami condo (paid in advance)

A buyer is closing on a Miami condo on July 20, 2026. Monthly HOA dues are $450. The seller paid the full July HOA on July 1. Seller owns the day of closing.

Step 1: daily rate. July has 31 days. $450 ÷ 31 = $14.5161 per day.

Step 2: count the buyer's days. Seller owned July 1 through July 20 (20 days). Buyer owns July 21 through July 31 (11 days).

Step 3: multiply. 11 × $14.5161 = $159.68.

Step 4: direction. This is where most candidates flip the credit. The seller already paid for July in full. The buyer benefits from 11 days the seller prepaid. The seller is therefore credited $159.68. The buyer is debited $159.68.

Notice the difference between Step 2 and Step 3. Rent collected by the seller flows toward the buyer. HOA prepaid by the seller flows toward the seller. The math is identical. The direction is opposite. That is where the trap lives.

The four traps that decide most fails

Trap 1: 365 days versus 360 days. Florida's default convention is a 365-day year for property tax, rent, HOA, and insurance prorations. Mortgage interest is the historical exception, often calculated on a 360-day banker's year (sometimes called the statutory year). The exam will specify which year to use. When the wording says "using a 360-day year" or "statutory year," the question is almost always about mortgage interest. When the wording says nothing, default to 365 days for everything other than mortgage interest. Candidates who pre-commit to one convention without reading the question carefully lose 1 to 2 math points reliably.

Trap 2: Who owns the day of closing. Under the standard Florida FAR/BAR residential contract, the seller owns the day of closing. The seller's day count includes the closing date itself. Some exam questions hand you a non-standard contract that gives the buyer the day of closing; when they do, they say so explicitly. When the question is silent, default to seller owns the day of closing. This is one of the highest-frequency traps on the test because the math is the same on both sides; the only thing that changes is whether you count 105 days or 104 days, which produces a different answer that is also among the multiple-choice options.

Trap 3: Paid in arrears versus paid in advance. The direction of the credit changes based on whether the item was prepaid by the seller or collected by the seller. For paid-in-arrears items (taxes, mortgage interest), the seller owes; credit goes to the buyer. For paid-in-advance items, the direction depends on which party currently has the other's money. Rent collected by the seller is the buyer's money; credit goes to the buyer. HOA dues paid forward by the seller benefit the buyer; credit goes to the seller. The exam question's phrasing ("the seller collected" versus "the seller paid") is the signal. Read it twice before picking a direction.

Trap 4: Tax year versus billing cycle. Florida property taxes cover a calendar tax year (Jan 1 to Dec 31) per F.S. 192.011. The bill comes out November 1 of that same year, with discounts of 4% in November, 3% December, 2% January, 1% February, and gross amount in March (F.S. 197.162). Candidates regularly confuse "tax year" with "billing cycle" and prorate against the wrong start date. For exam purposes: the proration always runs against the calendar tax year, regardless of when the bill is paid. If a closing happens in early 2026 before the 2026 bill has been certified, the exam will give you either the prior year's taxes or an estimated current-year amount and tell you which to use.

Florida-specific rules that show up on the exam

Florida property taxes are paid in arrears. This single fact decides the direction of the credit on most property-tax proration questions. The seller has not yet paid the current year's taxes at closing; the buyer will receive the bill in November and pay for the full year, including the months the seller owned.

The calendar tax year runs January 1 to December 31. Not July to June. Not the buyer's fiscal year. Calendar.

The standard FAR/BAR residential contract gives the seller the day of closing. The standard CRSP-15 commercial contract uses the same convention. Some attorney-drafted contracts give the buyer the day of closing; the exam will tell you when that applies.

Florida property tax discounts apply only to the taxpayer who pays the bill. The discount does not change the proration math at closing. The seller's proration is calculated against the full annual tax amount, not the discounted amount, regardless of when the buyer eventually pays.

The Save Our Homes 3% cap and the just/assessed/taxable value hierarchy affect the dollar amount of the annual tax bill, not the proration formula. Once you know the annual tax, the proration math is the same as any other state. We covered the value hierarchy and the homestead split rule in the millage rate calculation post.

Documentary stamps and intangible tax are not prorated. They are transactional taxes paid in full at closing by the responsible party. Candidates occasionally try to prorate them. They don't.

How to drill this for the exam

Five to ten hours of focused proration practice raises a typical candidate's math score from "miss two or three proration questions" to "miss zero." That is often the difference between a 73% (failing) and a 76% (passing). The leverage on this single sub-topic is higher than on any other math area because the frequency on the exam is the highest in the section.

The drilling pattern that works:

Set the period and the daily rate first. Always.

Then count days on a calendar. Not in your head. The exam allows scratch paper and gives you a basic calculator. Use both.

Then identify the direction (in arrears or in advance) and ask the question the exam is really asking: who currently has whose money? That is the credit. The other party is the debit.

Then re-read the question once before bubbling your answer. The wrong-answer choices on proration questions are almost always (a) the right number with the direction reversed, (b) the right direction with a 360/365 swap, or (c) the right number with one day added or subtracted (the closing day trap). Two of the four answer choices on most proration questions are deliberately the right magnitude with one variable flipped. Read the question twice.

The Pass Florida Math Coach is built specifically for this gap. Proration drills with varied closing dates (January, February with leap-year handling, end of month, mid-month), all six item types (property tax, rent, HOA, mortgage interest, insurance, special assessments), and both directions. Each question shows the full worked solution after you answer, so you see exactly which variable you flipped if you missed.

Ready to drill the Florida exam math?

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FAQ

How many proration questions are on the Florida real estate exam?

Roughly 3 to 5 of the 10 math questions on the Florida Real Estate Sales Associate exam involve proration in some form. That is the highest single-topic frequency in the math section. Most candidates underweight it in their study time relative to its actual exam frequency.

Does the seller or the buyer own the day of closing in Florida?

The seller owns the day of closing under the standard FAR/BAR Florida residential real estate contract. When the exam question is silent on the matter, default to seller owns the day of closing. When the question specifies a non-standard contract that gives the buyer the closing day, the question will say so explicitly.

Are Florida property taxes paid in arrears or in advance?

In arrears. Florida property taxes cover a calendar tax year (Jan 1 to Dec 31) per F.S. 192.011, with bills issued November 1 of that year and payable through March 31 of the following year. Discounts apply for early payment: 4% in November, 3% December, 2% January, 1% February, and gross in March (F.S. 197.162). For proration purposes, the buyer is almost always credited for the seller's portion of the year because the buyer will pay the full annual bill after closing.

Should I use a 365-day year or a 360-day year for proration?

Default to 365 days for property tax, rent, HOA, and insurance prorations on the Florida exam. Use a 360-day banker's year when the question specifies "360-day year," "statutory year," or is asking about mortgage interest specifically. The exam almost always tells you which to use; when it doesn't, default to 365.

What's the difference between rent proration and HOA proration if both are paid monthly in advance?

The direction of the credit. Rent is collected by the seller on the first of the month; the seller is holding the buyer's money for the buyer's portion of the month, so the buyer gets the credit. HOA dues are paid by the seller on the first of the month; the seller has prepaid for the buyer's benefit, so the seller gets the credit. The math is the same. The direction is opposite. This is the single most-missed direction question in the section.

Are documentary stamps or intangible tax prorated at closing?

No. Documentary stamps on the deed ($0.70 per $100 of consideration statewide, $0.60 plus $0.45 surtax in Miami-Dade), documentary stamps on the note ($0.35 per $100), and the intangible tax on new mortgages ($0.002 per dollar) are all transactional taxes paid in full at closing by the statutorily responsible party. They are not prorated. Candidates occasionally try to prorate them by mistake; the wrong-answer choices on documentary stamp questions sometimes include prorated dollar amounts to catch this.

How do I count days correctly when the closing falls in February?

The 28-or-29-day question only matters for monthly prorations (rent, HOA). For annual prorations like property taxes, you're always dividing by 365 (or 366 in a leap year if the question specifies). For monthly prorations in February, divide by 28 in non-leap years and 29 in leap years. 2024 was a leap year. 2026 is not. 2028 will be. The exam may include a leap-year February closing specifically to test this.

What if the question doesn't tell me whether the seller or buyer owns the day of closing?

Default to seller owns the day of closing. This is the Florida FAR/BAR convention and the assumption the exam uses when silent. If you're stuck on a question and the day-of-closing variable would change your answer, the seller-owns-closing-day version is the one DBPR is testing.

Methodology

What this post covers. The proration formula as tested on the Florida Real Estate Sales Associate exam, with three worked examples (property tax, rent, HOA), the four traps that determine most direction errors, and the Florida-specific conventions DBPR uses on the math portion of the state exam. Current as of May 2026.

Why proration was prioritized in this math series. Proration is the highest-frequency single sub-topic on the math section (3 to 5 of 10 math questions on a typical sitting). The other math posts in this series (LTV and millage rate) cover lower-frequency but still-tested topics. The frequency weighting tracks the DBPR math content outline, not subjective difficulty.

Why three examples and not ten. Three worked examples cover the three direction scenarios (in arrears, in advance with seller holding buyer's money, in advance with seller having prepaid). Once a candidate can solve those three patterns cleanly, additional examples are pattern repetition with different dollar amounts and closing dates. The leverage is in scenario variety, not example count.

Day-count conventions. All examples use the seller-owns-the-day-of-closing convention from the standard FAR/BAR residential real estate contract. All annual prorations use a 365-day year. Monthly prorations use the actual number of days in the closing month. These are the conventions DBPR uses on the exam absent contrary instructions in the question.

Tax year and tax bill mechanics. Florida's calendar tax year and November-to-March billing cycle are codified at F.S. 192.011 and F.S. 197.162. Discounts and delinquency dates are codified at F.S. 197.122 and F.S. 197.162. The 2026 tax year and bill schedule are reflected in the examples.

What this post does not cover. Mortgage interest proration is mentioned but not worked through with an example. We cover mortgage payment math separately. Closing cost mechanics beyond proration (title insurance, documentary stamps, intangible tax, surveys) are covered in the closing cost post.

Sources

• Florida Statutes Chapter 192 (assessments and tax year)
• Florida Statutes Chapter 197 (tax collections, discounts, delinquency)
• Florida Administrative Code, Rule 12D (tax assessment and collection rules)
• DBPR Division of Real Estate, Florida Real Estate Sales Associate Candidate Handbook (2025)
• Florida Realtors / Florida Bar FAR/BAR Residential Contract (Comprehensive Rider Set, 2024 edition)
• Florida Department of Revenue, Property Tax Oversight guidance (2025)
• Pearson VUE Florida Real Estate Sales Associate exam content outline (current)
• Pass Florida internal data on math section question frequency by sub-topic across 1,002 questions

All information verified May 2026.