Florida Documentary Stamp Tax on a Commercial Purchase: A Worked Example
On a $4,000,000 Florida commercial purchase with a $2,600,000 loan, the state taxes on the deed, the mortgage and the loan come to about $42,300 outside Miami-Dade County, roughly 1.06% of the price, and about $56,300 in Miami-Dade. Buyers who budget only for title and lender fees tend to miss this line.
By Ryan Solberg, Florida Real Estate Broker (BK3354351), MaxLife Commercial. General information, not tax or legal advice; confirm figures with your title agent and attorney.
The three taxes
Rates below are from the Florida Department of Revenue’s documentary stamp tax page and the statutes it cites, as of October 29, 2026. Rates are set by statute and can change.
| Tax | Rate | Basis | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deed stamps | $0.70 per $100 (or portion) | Total consideration, including any mortgage or lien on the property, assumed or not | F.S. 201.02(1)(a) |
| Deed stamps, Miami-Dade | $0.60 per $100, plus a $0.45 surtax | Consideration; the surtax does not apply to a document transferring only a single-family dwelling | F.S. 201.031 |
| Mortgage stamps | $0.35 per $100 (or portion) | Amount secured; no cap | F.S. 201.08 |
| Intangible tax | 2 mills ($2 per $1,000) | One-time tax on obligations secured by a mortgage on Florida real property | F.S. 199.133 |
A separate $2,450 cap applies to notes and other written obligations to pay money, but not to recorded mortgages, which are taxed on the full amount secured.
A worked example
Assumptions: purchase price $4,000,000; first mortgage $2,600,000 (65% loan to value); a commercial (not single-family) property; no assumed debt.
| Line | Calculation | Outside Miami-Dade | Miami-Dade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deed stamps | 40,000 hundreds × $0.70, or × $1.05 | $28,000 | $42,000 |
| Mortgage stamps | 26,000 hundreds × $0.35 | $9,100 | $9,100 |
| Intangible tax | $2,600,000 × 0.002 | $5,200 | $5,200 |
| Total | $42,300 | $56,300 |
As a share of the price, $42,300 is 1.06% and $56,300 is 1.41%. A cash purchase has only the deed line. The amounts do not include title insurance, recording fees, survey, lender fees, the buyer’s or seller’s brokerage fees, or prorations, which vary by deal.
Two details can move the number. The deed tax counts a mortgage on the property as consideration even when the buyer assumes it. And rates are charged on each $100 or portion of $100, so an amount that is not a round hundred rounds up.
Who pays
The Department of Revenue states that all parties to a taxable document are liable, whatever the parties agree between themselves. In practice the purchase contract allocates the cost. A common allocation in Florida contracts is that the seller pays deed stamps and the buyer pays the mortgage stamps and intangible tax on the buyer’s loan, but the contract controls, and commercial deals negotiate it. Check your contract and ask the title agent for a settlement statement draft before closing.
Using the number
- Add the full line to your cash-to-close, not only the down payment. The NNN deal analyzer and the deal analyzer let you set closing costs as a percentage.
- In Miami-Dade, expect the buyer-side or seller-side cost to be materially higher than the statewide rate suggests, and check which party the contract assigns the surtax to.
- Financing terms change the mortgage-side lines directly. See commercial financing in Florida and how to buy an NNN property in Florida.
- A property tax reset after closing is a separate cost to underwrite; see what a Florida commercial purchase does to the property tax bill.
Get Florida Commercial Investor Updates
Closing-cost and underwriting notes for Florida commercial investors, sent to those who ask. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.