Taxes & Closing Costs

    Documentary Stamp Tax

    A Florida tax on deeds and on notes or mortgages, charged at 0.70 per 100 on deeds and 0.35 per 100 on the obligation.

    Documentary stamp tax is a Florida excise tax on documents that transfer interests in real property or that create debt obligations. On a deed, the rate is 0.70 dollars per 100 dollars of consideration, rounded up to the next 100. On a promissory note or mortgage, the rate is 0.35 dollars per 100 of the obligation.

    Miami-Dade County is the exception on deeds: the rate is 0.60 per 100 for a single-family residence and 1.05 per 100 (0.60 plus a 0.45 surtax) for any other property type.

    On the exam

    Identify the document first. A deed uses 0.70 per 100; a note or mortgage uses 0.35 per 100. Round the deed consideration up to the next 100 before multiplying.

    Worked example

    A 425,150 dollar deed in Orange County rounds up to 425,200. Then 425,200 divided by 100 equals 4,252 units, times 0.70 equals 2,976.40 dollars.

    Exam trap

    Do not apply the 0.70 deed rate to a note. The note rate is 0.35 per 100. Mixing the two is the most common doc-stamp error.

    Tested in

    Computations and Closing (6% of the exam)

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    This definition is Florida real estate exam-prep education, not legal, tax, or professional advice. Verify current rules against the official source before relying on them for a real transaction. Back to the full glossary.