The five numbers on every Florida closing statement — and the Miami-Dade exception

Why this series exists

Every Florida closing statement carries five government-charge lines that are fixed by statute or rule — not by the title company. They compute the same way no matter who closes your file, which means you can check any estimate against them yourself.

Closing Table Notes is a monthly, dated walk through the numbers we actually compute at the closing table. Every figure cites the statute or rule it comes from — the same authorities our closing-cost calculator implements line for line.

Educational information, not legal advice. Your commitment and closing statement are prepared and reviewed for your specific file — bring questions to your closing team.

1. The title insurance premium — promulgated, not negotiated

Florida sets title insurance rates by rule: Fla. Admin. Code 69O-186.003, under § 627.782, Fla. Stat. An owner's policy on a purchase is priced per $1,000 of coverage, in tiers: $5.75 up to $100,000 of coverage; $5.00 from there to $1 million; $2.50 to $5 million; $2.25 to $10 million; and $2.00 above that, with a $100 minimum premium.

Two consequences people miss. First, because the rate is promulgated, no title company can discount the premium itself — when quotes differ, the difference is in settlement and service fees, which ARE set by the company. Second, a lender's policy issued alongside the owner's policy (a simultaneous issue) is a flat $25 up to the owner's coverage amount — not a second full premium.

• $400,000 purchase: owner's premium = (100 × $5.75) + (300 × $5.00) = $2,075.
• Reissue credit: a qualifying prior policy on the property can price part of the coverage at lower reissue tiers ($3.30 / $3.00 / $2.00 per $1,000) — confirmed by the title team, never assumed.

2. Documentary stamp tax on the deed — $0.70 per $100, except Miami-Dade

Under § 201.02, Fla. Stat., deeds are taxed at $0.70 per $100 of consideration statewide. Miami-Dade County is the single exception: § 201.031 adds a discretionary surtax, but a single-family residence is exempt from the surtax — so a Miami-Dade single-family home computes at $0.60 per $100, while every other property type there pays $1.05 per $100.

That exception is the line that surprises out-of-area agents and investors: a Miami-Dade duplex, condo conversion, or commercial parcel does NOT get the single-family rate. On a $700,000 Miami-Dade fourplex, the deed tax is $7,350 — not the $4,200 a single-family residence would pay.

3. Documentary stamps on the note — $0.35 per $100, financed or not

Borrowed money is taxed too: § 201.08, Fla. Stat. sets $0.35 per $100 of the loan amount, computed on the note. A $320,000 mortgage carries $1,120 in note stamps. Cash buyers skip lines 3 and 4 entirely — one reason financed and cash estimates for the same price never match.

4. The intangible tax — two mills on the mortgage

Chapter 199, Fla. Stat. imposes a nonrecurring intangible tax of 2 mills — $0.002 per dollar of the mortgage, or $0.20 per $100. That same $320,000 mortgage adds $640. It is small next to the doc stamps, which is exactly why it gets overlooked in back-of-envelope math.

5. Recording fees — $10 for the first page, $8.50 after

County recording follows § 28.24, Fla. Stat.: $10.00 for the first page of an instrument and $8.50 for each additional page. A typical deed-plus-mortgage package records for tens of dollars, not hundreds — but on refinances with multiple riders it adds up, and it is per instrument, not per file.

Check any estimate against these five lines

These formulas are exactly what our closing-cost calculator runs — promulgated premium, deed stamps with the Miami-Dade single-family rule, note stamps, intangible tax, and recording fees — alongside the title-side fees we publish. Run your own numbers, then ask us anything that looks off.