What is the transfer tax in Florida?
Florida doesn’t call it a transfer tax. It’s the documentary stamp tax under section 201.02, Florida Statutes, an excise tax on deeds and other documents that convey an interest in Florida real property. The rate is 70 cents on each $100 of consideration, and when the full consideration isn’t shown on the deed, 70 cents for each $100 or fractional part.
Consideration is defined broadly. It includes 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 debt is assumed. If the buyer gives property other than money, consideration is presumed to equal the fair market value of the real property.
The tax is paid to the county clerk of court or recording official when the deed is recorded. If a taxable document isn’t recorded, the tax goes directly to the Florida Department of Revenue: registered taxpayers file Form DR-225, and nonregistered taxpayers use Form DR-228. Returns are due on the 20th day of the month after the transfer.
Miami-Dade’s higher rate on apartment buildings
Miami-Dade is the only county with a different deed rate. The Department of Revenue’s documentary stamp tax overview sets the Miami-Dade rate at 60 cents per $100, plus a discretionary surtax of 45 cents per $100 under section 201.031. The surtax doesn’t apply to a document that conveys only a single-family residence, which the statute defines to include a condominium unit, a cooperative unit and a detached dwelling.
An apartment building isn’t a single-family residence, so it pays both: $1.05 per $100, or 1.05% of the price. That makes a Miami-Dade multifamily sale about 50% more expensive in transfer tax than the same price in Broward, Palm Beach or Orange County.
Miami-Dade uses the surtax money for housing assistance, and section 201.031 currently schedules the surtax to be repealed effective October 1, 2031, unless the Legislature extends it.
Who pays transfer tax in Florida?
Legally, everyone. The Department of Revenue says all parties are liable for the tax regardless of which party agrees to pay it, unless a party is exempt by statute. If the stamps go unpaid, the state can pursue the buyer or the seller.
By contract, the seller usually pays. The Florida Realtors residential sale and purchase contract lists taxes and surtaxes on the deed as a seller cost and taxes on notes and mortgages as a buyer cost. Commercial contracts are negotiated, but sellers usually start from the same split. In practice, a Florida apartment seller should budget 0.70%, or 1.05% in Miami-Dade, as a seller closing cost.
What the buyer’s loan adds
Florida also taxes the buyer’s financing, which matters to you because it raises the buyer’s cash to close. Recorded mortgages pay documentary stamp tax of 35 cents per $100 of the obligation, with no cap, and the nonrecurring intangible tax under section 199.133 adds 2 mills, or 0.2%, on obligations secured by Florida real property.
On a $1,400,000 loan, that’s $4,900 in mortgage stamps and $2,800 in intangible tax, $7,700 in all, before title insurance. Buyers price those costs in, and the same taxes apply to a seller-carry note secured by a mortgage on the building.
LLCs, mortgages and the conduit entity rule
Deeding a building into your own LLC isn’t automatically tax-free in Florida. If the property carries a mortgage, the mortgage balance counts as consideration even though no cash changes hands. Deed a building with a $1,000,000 loan into your LLC and the deed owes $7,000 in stamps at 70 cents per $100. Have your title company confirm the figure before you record.
Selling the LLC after that can trigger tax too. Section 201.02(1)(b) defines a conduit entity as one that received real property without full consideration from a grantor who owns an interest in it. If any of the grantor’s interest in that entity is transferred for consideration within 3 years of the conveyance, the transfer is taxed at 70 cents per $100 of the price paid for the interest, prorated if the entity owns other assets. Gifts of interests without consideration, publicly traded shares and certain transfers to irrevocable grantor trusts are excluded.
Outside the 3-year window, and for an LLC that bought its building at full price, a sale of membership interests records no deed and isn’t taxed under that paragraph. Florida has no general controlling-interest tax like Connecticut’s.
Exemptions and special cases for investors
Florida’s exemptions are narrower than most states’, because almost any transfer with consideration, including assumed debt, is taxable. The rules apartment owners most often run into:
- Foreclosure: a clerk’s certificate of title after a judicial sale is taxed on the highest and best bid at the sale, under section 201.02(9).
- Deeds in lieu of foreclosure: the debt discharged counts as consideration, so expect stamps on the amount of the obligation satisfied.
- Gifts: a deed with no consideration owes no stamps, but a mortgage on the property is consideration.
- Partnership distributions: a deed from a partnership to a partner is taxable under section 201.02(5) when the partner receiving it isn’t the one who contributed it, or when it’s subject to debt the partner wasn’t personally liable for.
- 1031 exchanges: no exemption. The relinquished deed and the replacement deed both pay stamps.
Worked example: Florida doc stamps on a $2M and $5M apartment building
Take a 20-unit building in Tampa selling for $2,000,000. Divide by $100 to get 20,000 units of $100, and multiply by 70 cents: $14,000 in documentary stamps on the deed. Under a standard contract, the seller pays it.
Move the same building to Miami-Dade. The base tax is 20,000 times 60 cents, or $12,000, and the surtax is 20,000 times 45 cents, or $9,000. The total is $21,000.
At $5,000,000, the statewide stamps are $35,000. In Miami-Dade, they’re $30,000 plus a $22,500 surtax, for $52,500.
If the buyer finances $1,400,000 of the $2,000,000 price, the buyer adds $4,900 in mortgage stamps and $2,800 in intangible tax. Those are the buyer’s costs, but they come out of the same deal.
| Scenario | Deed stamps | Miami-Dade surtax | Total on deed |
|---|---|---|---|
| $2,000,000, outside Miami-Dade | $14,000 | $0 | $14,000 |
| $2,000,000, Miami-Dade | $12,000 | $9,000 | $21,000 |
| $5,000,000, outside Miami-Dade | $35,000 | $0 | $35,000 |
| $5,000,000, Miami-Dade | $30,000 | $22,500 | $52,500 |
| Buyer’s $1,400,000 loan: mortgage stamps plus intangible tax | $4,900 | n/a | $7,700 with $2,800 intangible tax |
Florida transfer tax compared with neighboring states
Florida’s 0.70% is seven times the rate in both neighbors. Georgia charges $1 for the first $1,000 and 10 cents for each additional $100, or 0.1%. Alabama’s deed tax is 50 cents per $500, also 0.1%. On a $2,000,000 sale, those come to $2,000 each, against Florida’s $14,000 and Miami-Dade’s $21,000.
Florida has no state income tax on individuals, though, so for many owners the total tax on a sale still compares well once capital gains are counted.
| State | Deed tax rate | On a $2,000,000 sale |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | 70 cents per $100 (0.70%) | $14,000 |
| Florida, Miami-Dade (not single-family) | $1.05 per $100 (1.05%) | $21,000 |
| Georgia | $1 per $1,000 (0.1%) | $2,000 |
| Alabama | 50 cents per $500 (0.1%) | $2,000 |
How doc stamps fit into your Florida selling costs
For a long-held apartment building, the doc stamps are rarely the biggest number. Federal capital gains tax, depreciation recapture taxed at up to 25% and the 3.8% net investment income tax usually dwarf them, and Florida doesn’t add a state income tax for individuals. An LLC taxed as a C corporation is a different matter, so check with your CPA how your entity is taxed.
A 1031 exchange can defer the federal tax. It can’t defer the stamps, which are due when the deed records, so budget 0.70% or 1.05% in cash. If you’re thinking about restructuring ownership before a sale, map the 3-year conduit entity window first, because a rushed LLC transfer can cost stamps twice.
Selling your Florida apartment building to Skyline
Skyline Capital Investments buys apartment buildings with five or more units across Florida, from Miami-Dade to Jacksonville and the Panhandle. We buy directly, can offer seller-carry terms, and can work within your 1031 exchange deadlines.
Send the property address and unit count with the form on this page, or call (469) 660-2977. We typically respond within 48 hours, and our offer will show the documentary stamps and your other closing costs so you can see your net.
