All 67 counties
Florida closing costs, county by county
The short answer
On a $500,000 sale with a $400,000 loan, the charges set by law come to $6,075 for the seller and $2,441 for the buyer in the 46 counties where the seller customarily pays for the owner’s policy, and $3,500 for the seller and $5,016 for the buyer in 8 counties where the buyer customarily pays for the owner’s policy. Only two things change from one county to the next: who pays the owner’s policy, $2,575 on this sale in every county, and Miami-Dade’s lower deed rate. Everything else is set by statute or by rule, the same in all 67. None of it is a title agency’s own fee, the commission, the lender’s charges or the prorations.
- Seller
- $3,500where the buyer pays the policy
- Buyer
- $5,016where the buyer pays the policy
- Seller
- $6,075where the seller pays the policy
- Buyer
- $2,441where the seller pays the policy
- Buyer pays9 counties
- Seller pays46 counties
- Varies within the county12 counties
Custom, not law: the purchase contract decides it on every sale. County lines: U.S. Census Bureau.
What each county comes to
The charges set by law on a $500,000 sale with a $400,000 loan, added up on the side of the closing each falls on. The owner’s policy is $2,575 in every county; what differs is whose side it is on. Each county links to its own page: the recording office, the deed stamp rate and who pays there. The same figures, a row per county, are a CSV download.
The buyer pays the policy
in 8 counties
- Seller
- $3,500
- Buyer
- $5,016
Broward. Where the “AS IS” contract’s regional box (¶9(c)(iii)) is checked, the seller also pays the actual cost of the title search, up to the figure the contract writes in or $200 where it is left blank, and of the tax search and municipal lien search. No law prices those, so they are not counted here.
Miami-Dade
The buyer pays the policy, at a lower deed rate
- Seller
- $3,000
- Buyer
- $5,016
Priced as a single-family residence. On any other property the seller also owes the county’s surtax, $2,250 on this sale. Where the “AS IS” contract’s regional box (¶9(c)(iii)) is checked, the seller also pays the actual cost of the title search, up to the figure the contract writes in or $200 where it is left blank, and of the tax search and municipal lien search. No law prices those, so they are not counted here.
The seller pays the policy
in 46 counties
- Seller
- $6,075
- Buyer
- $2,441
- Alachua
- Baker
- Bay
- Bradford
- Brevard
- Calhoun
- Charlotte
- Citrus
- Clay
- DeSoto
- Duval
- Flagler
- Franklin
- Gilchrist
- Glades
- Gulf
- Hardee
- Hendry
- Hernando
- Highlands
- Hillsborough
- Holmes
- Indian River
- Jackson
- Lake
- Lee
- Levy
- Manatee
- Marion
- Nassau
- Okaloosa
- Okeechobee
- Orange
- Osceola
- Palm Beach
- Pasco
- Pinellas
- Polk
- Putnam
- Seminole
- St. Johns
- St. Lucie
- Sumter
- Union
- Volusia
- Washington
It varies
in 12 counties
- Seller
- $3,500
- Buyer
- $2,441
The $2,575 owner’s policy is in neither figure here: with no settled custom, the contract decides who pays it.
How it varies, county by county
- Columbia County has no settled custom for the owner’s policy: the buyer pays on some sales, as around Tallahassee, and the seller on others, as around Gainesville.
- Dixie County has no settled custom for the owner’s policy: the buyer pays on some sales, as around Tallahassee, and the seller on others, as around Gainesville.
- Escambia County has no settled custom for the owner’s policy: the buyer pays on some sales, as in Santa Rosa County next door, and the seller on others, as in most of Florida.
- Hamilton County has no settled custom for the owner’s policy: the buyer pays on some sales, as around Tallahassee, and the seller on others, as around Gainesville.
- Lafayette County has no settled custom for the owner’s policy: the buyer pays on some sales, as around Tallahassee, and the seller on others, as around Gainesville.
- Liberty County has no settled custom for the owner’s policy: the buyer pays on some sales, as around Tallahassee, and the seller on others, as in Franklin and Calhoun counties next door.
- Madison County has no settled custom for the owner’s policy: the buyer pays on some sales, as around Tallahassee, and the seller on others, as around Gainesville.
- Martin County has no settled custom for the owner’s policy: the buyer pays on some sales, as in Broward and Miami-Dade, and the seller on others, as in Palm Beach and St. Lucie on either side of it.
- In Monroe County who pays for the owner’s policy depends on where in the Keys the property is. Islamorada and the Upper Keys follow the buyer-pay custom of the counties to the north, Marathon and the Middle Keys are a seller-pay area, and Key West and the Lower Keys are a mix of the two.
- Suwannee County has no settled custom for the owner’s policy: the buyer pays on some sales, as around Tallahassee, and the seller on others, as around Gainesville.
- Taylor County has no settled custom for the owner’s policy: the buyer pays on some sales, as around Tallahassee, and the seller on others, as around Gainesville.
- Walton County has no settled custom for the owner’s policy: the buyer pays on some sales and the seller on others.
None of these is a title agency’s own fee, the commission, the lender’s charges or the prorations: what the figures leave out is below.
What is in each figure
| Charge | Amount | Paid by |
|---|---|---|
| Owner’s policy, original rate | $2,575 | By custom |
| Documentary stamp tax on the deed | $3,500 | Seller |
| Documentary stamp tax on the mortgage | $1,400 | Buyer |
| Nonrecurring intangible tax | $800 | Buyer |
| Recording the deed, 3 pages | $27 | Buyer |
| Recording the mortgage, 25 pages | $214 | Buyer |
The deed’s stamps are 70¢ per $100 in every county but Miami-Dade, where they are 60¢. Recording is priced on a 3-page deed and a 25-page mortgage. Each figure is worked out, with its statute, on the doc stamp calculator and the title insurance calculator.
What the figures leave out
Only what a statute or the promulgated rule prices is counted. Not counted:
- The title agency’s settlement or closing fee, and the title search and examination
- The lender’s policy and the endorsements the lender asks for, and e-recording
- The survey, the municipal lien search, estoppel letters and association fees
- The lender’s own charges, prepaid interest and escrows
- The commission, and the tax and association prorations
The seller net sheet adds a seller’s payoff, commission and prorations, and the closing cost calculator works out a whole closing for one county and one price.
Custom is not law
Which side each line falls on is the contract’s to decide. The Florida Realtors/Florida Bar “AS IS” Residential Contract for Sale and Purchase puts the deed’s stamps on the seller in paragraph 9(a), and its paragraph 9(c) has the parties choose who pays for the owner’s policy, which is where the county’s custom comes in. Who pays for title insurance in each county has the custom on its own.
Common questions
What are closing costs in Broward County?
On a $500,000 sale with a $400,000 loan, the charges set by law come to $3,500 for the seller and $5,016 for the buyer, with the owner’s policy on the buyer’s side, where the county’s custom puts it. A title agency’s fees, the commission, the lender’s charges and the prorations are on top.
What are closing costs in Palm Beach County?
On a $500,000 sale with a $400,000 loan, the charges set by law come to $6,075 for the seller and $2,441 for the buyer, with the owner’s policy on the seller’s side, where the county’s custom puts it. A title agency’s fees, the commission, the lender’s charges and the prorations are on top.
What are closing costs in Miami-Dade County?
On a $500,000 sale with a $400,000 loan, the charges set by law come to $3,000 for the seller and $5,016 for the buyer, with the owner’s policy on the buyer’s side, where the county’s custom puts it. A title agency’s fees, the commission, the lender’s charges and the prorations are on top.
What are closing costs in Hillsborough County?
On a $500,000 sale with a $400,000 loan, the charges set by law come to $6,075 for the seller and $2,441 for the buyer, with the owner’s policy on the seller’s side, where the county’s custom puts it. A title agency’s fees, the commission, the lender’s charges and the prorations are on top.
What are closing costs in Orange County?
On a $500,000 sale with a $400,000 loan, the charges set by law come to $6,075 for the seller and $2,441 for the buyer, with the owner’s policy on the seller’s side, where the county’s custom puts it. A title agency’s fees, the commission, the lender’s charges and the prorations are on top.
What are closing costs in Duval County?
On a $500,000 sale with a $400,000 loan, the charges set by law come to $6,075 for the seller and $2,441 for the buyer, with the owner’s policy on the seller’s side, where the county’s custom puts it. A title agency’s fees, the commission, the lender’s charges and the prorations are on top.
Are closing costs the same in every Florida county?
The charges set by law nearly are. The deed’s stamps are the same in 66 counties, the mortgage taxes and recording charges in all 67, and the title premium is promulgated statewide. What moves is who customarily pays for the owner’s policy, and Miami-Dade’s deed rate.
Why are deed stamps lower in Miami-Dade?
The deed rate there is 60¢ per $100, not 70¢, because a 1992 increase was never applied in the county. $3,000 on this sale against $3,500 elsewhere. On any property but a single-family residence the county adds a surtax, making $1.05 per $100 in all.
What does a buyer paying cash save?
$2,414 of the charges set by law on this sale, in every county: the mortgage’s stamps, its intangible tax and the recording of the mortgage, which a cash purchase does not have. The lender’s policy and the lender’s own charges go with them. The owner’s policy and the recording of the deed stay where they are.
Does the contract change these figures?
It can move them from one side to the other. “AS IS” contract ¶9(a) puts the deed’s stamps on the seller, and ¶9(c) chooses who pays for the owner’s policy; a negotiated contract can say otherwise. The amounts themselves are set by statute and by rule and do not change.
More to send a client: the Bayit Title guides, and who pays for title insurance on a map.