What are documentary stamp taxes in Florida?
Doc stamps are Florida's transfer taxes: $0.70 per $100 of price on the deed (Miami-Dade differs), plus — when you finance — $0.35 per $100 on the note and a 2-mill intangible tax on the mortgage. Custom puts the deed tax on sellers, but it's negotiable in the contract.
Documentary stamp taxes — "doc stamps" — are Florida's taxes on real estate paperwork, and they show up as real line items at closing. Here's the current map (rates per the Florida Department of Revenue, verified August 2026).
The deed side
The deed carries tax of $0.70 per $100 of the sale price in most of Florida — $2,100 on a $300,000 sale. (Miami-Dade County runs its own structure: $0.60 per $100 plus a surtax that doesn't apply to single-family homes.) By custom, the seller usually pays the deed tax out of their proceeds — but like most Florida closing costs, who pays is ultimately whatever the contract says.
The financing side
Borrowing adds two more: documentary stamps of $0.35 per $100 on the note, and a one-time "nonrecurring intangible tax" of 2 mills — $2 per $1,000 — on the mortgage amount. On a $250,000 loan, that's $875 plus $500. These customarily land on the buyer's side, since they exist because of the buyer's loan, and they're part of why Florida closing costs run where they do.
Where you'll actually see them
As line items on your closing statement, calculated by the closing agent — no math required from you. They're also a quiet reason cash purchases close a bit cheaper: no note, no mortgage, no financing-side stamps. For sellers, the deed stamps belong in any net-proceeds estimate from day one — they're built into every one I prepare as part of your selling plan.
When we run your numbers — buying or selling — these taxes will already be in the estimate, at current rates. No closing-table surprises; that's the standing promise.
This answer is general education, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Your situation is unique — let's talk through the specifics together.