How Much Does It Cost to Sell a House in Florida

The seller's cost list on a typical Florida closing

On a seller's settlement statement in Florida you will usually see some version of these lines:

• Deed documentary stamp tax (state-set rate, customarily seller).
• Owner's title insurance policy (seller in most counties, buyer in some).
• Title agent settlement or closing fee, plus small charges for lien searches and recording a mortgage release.
• Real estate commission for your listing broker, and any compensation or concessions you agreed to offer the buyer's side.
• Mortgage payoff, including interest through the payoff date.
• Property tax proration credited to the buyer.
• HOA or condo charges: estoppel certificate, any unpaid dues, sometimes a transfer fee.
• Repairs or credits agreed after the buyer's inspection.

The payoff isn't a cost of selling, but it is the biggest deduction, so get a written payoff estimate before you set a price.

Deed doc stamps: who pays and how much

Florida charges documentary stamp tax on the deed at $0.70 per $100 of the sale price, and by custom and the standard contract forms the seller pays it. It is calculated on the full price, rounded up to the next $100. Using the statewide Zillow figures:

• Typical single-family home, $396,809: about $2,778.
• Typical condo, $262,592: about $1,838.
• Typical home in Palm Beach County, $475,754: about $3,330.

Miami-Dade County is the exception. The rate there is $0.60 per $100 for a single-family home, so a sale at the county's $523,240 typical value costs about $3,139. Any other property type in Miami-Dade, including condos, adds a $0.45 surtax, for $1.05 per $100 in total. A Miami condo at the city's $383,531 condo value would carry about $4,027 in deed stamps.

The buyer pays the separate stamps on a new mortgage note ($0.35 per $100) and the 0.2% intangible tax, so those don't come out of your proceeds.

Title insurance, closing fees and county custom

The owner's title policy premium in Florida is a promulgated rate, meaning the state sets it and every title insurer charges the same premium for the same price. What differs is who pays. In most Florida counties the seller pays for the owner's policy and chooses the title company. In Miami-Dade, Broward and a few other counties the custom runs the other way and the buyer pays. The contract can override custom in either direction, so read that paragraph before you sign.

Settlement fees, search fees and endorsement charges are not promulgated and vary by company. Ask for a fee quote in writing. When the buyer pays for the owner's policy, the seller usually still pays for some lien and municipal searches.

Commission after the 2024 rule changes

There is no standard commission in Florida. Every fee is negotiated between you and your listing broker. Since August 17, 2024, under the NAR settlement, offers of buyer-agent compensation are not posted on the MLS, and buyers sign their own written agreements with their agents. You choose whether to offer anything toward the buyer's agent, either up front or as a concession requested in an offer.

For your cost estimate, treat this as two separate decisions: what you pay your own broker, and what you are willing to contribute to the buyer's side. A buyer who has to pay their agent out of pocket will often ask for a credit, and that request competes with price in the same offer.

Prorations, HOA charges and assessments

Florida property taxes are billed in November for the calendar year, which means you have not paid this year's taxes when you close. The title agent credits the buyer for your share from January 1 to the closing day. Close on October 1 and you owe roughly three-quarters of the annual bill as a credit. It feels like a cost, but it is a tax you would have paid anyway.

If the property is in an HOA or condo association, the association issues an estoppel certificate showing what is owed. Fees are capped by statute (the 2024 caps: $299 base, $119 more for expedited delivery, $179 more if the account is delinquent), and the standard contract usually assigns the estoppel cost to the seller. Unpaid dues and any special assessment due before closing are paid from your proceeds. Whether a special assessment levied but payable in installments after closing is yours or the buyer's depends on the contract wording, so settle it in the offer.

Repairs, credits and the insurance factor

The costs that swing most from one sale to another come out of the inspection period. Florida buyers order a home inspection and, for older homes, a 4-point and wind mitigation inspection to get insurance quotes. If the roof is near the end of its life or the electrical panel is a type insurers decline, the buyer either asks for a repair, asks for a credit or walks.

Two ways sellers control this number:

• Get a pre-listing inspection and wind mitigation report, fix the items that block insurance, and disclose the rest. You set the repair budget instead of reacting to a buyer's list.
• Price for condition and sell on the AS IS contract, which lets the buyer inspect and cancel during the inspection period but does not obligate you to make repairs.

Seller concessions toward a buyer's closing costs are also common in a flat market. They show up as a credit on your statement and reduce your net exactly like a price cut.

How to estimate your own net proceeds

Start with a realistic price from recent closed sales, not from the list prices of homes still for sale. Then subtract, in order: mortgage payoff, deed doc stamps at $0.70 per $100 ($0.60 or $1.05 in Miami-Dade), your negotiated commission, any buyer-side compensation or concessions, the owner's title policy if your county customarily charges the seller, the title agent's fees, the property tax credit, HOA estoppel and dues, and a repair allowance. The net proceeds table on this page does the arithmetic once you enter a price.

Federal capital gains tax isn't a closing cost, but it can be larger than all of the above for second homes or long-held property. This isn't legal or tax advice; a CPA can tell you whether the $250,000 or $500,000 home sale exclusion covers your gain.