Mo Mufti, REALTOR® LPT Realty, LLC FL Lic. SL3600299
FLORIDA SELLER COSTS · LINE BY LINE
There is no single Florida “selling fee.” A seller’s side of the closing statement stacks a state tax, title charges set by rule, terms you negotiate, and payoffs and prorations unique to your property. Each line is set differently, so each is estimated differently.
The short version: Florida taxes a deed at 70 cents per $100 of the consideration under section 201.02, Florida Statutes, and the Department of Revenue counts any portion of $100 as a full unit, which is $2,450 on a $350,000 sale; Miami-Dade County differs. The Florida Realtors/Florida Bar AS IS contract has the seller pay those deed stamps, association estoppel fees, fees to cure title, and its own closing-services and attorneys’ fees, plus the owner’s title policy if the contract’s title option says so. Brokerage compensation is negotiable and not set by law. Your payoff, the tax proration, any Villages bond decision, and any credits finish the math, so no single percentage fits every sale.
This follows paragraph 9 and Standard K of the Florida Realtors/Florida Bar AS IS Residential Contract (ASIS-7x). Read the version you actually sign, including any addenda.
| Line item | What sets the amount | Seller pays under the form? |
|---|---|---|
| Documentary stamp tax on the deed | 70¢ per $100 or portion thereof (s. 201.02; Department of Revenue); Miami-Dade uses 60¢ plus a 45¢ surtax; the surtax is not due on a deed that transfers only a single-family dwelling | Yes, paragraph 9(a) |
| Owner’s title policy premium | Premium set by Rule 69O-186.003 | Only if option 9(c)(i) is checked |
| Title search | The provider’s charge | Seller pays if option 9(c)(i) is checked; under (iii) the seller pays the title search (capped at $200 if left blank) and the tax search |
| Municipal lien search | The provider’s charge | If option 9(c)(i) or (iii) is checked |
| Seller’s closing services and attorneys’ fees | The providers you choose | Yes, each side pays its own |
| Recording and other fees needed to cure title | What has to be recorded or released | Yes |
| HOA or condominium estoppel fee | Capped by statute; the state publishes the cap | Yes |
| FIRPTA withholding and reporting charges | Only when the seller is a foreign person | Yes |
| Mortgage and other lien payoffs | Your servicer’s payoff statement | From your proceeds |
| Property taxes and CDD assessments | Prorated to the day before closing, Standard K | Your share of the year |
| Brokerage compensation | Your listing agreement | As agreed in writing |
| Repairs, credits, and a home warranty | Negotiated in the contract | Only if you agree |
Calculate deed stamps and the title premium for your price →
The Department of Revenue applies the tax to each $100 “or portion thereof,” so a $350,050 price is taxed on 3,501 units, or $2,450.70. The owner’s premium is $5.75 per $1,000 of coverage up to $100,000 and $5.00 per $1,000 from $100,000 to $1 million.
| Sale price | Deed doc stamps | Owner’s title premium | If the seller pays both |
|---|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | $1,750 | $1,325 | $3,075 |
| $350,000 | $2,450 | $1,825 | $4,275 |
| $450,000 | $3,150 | $2,325 | $5,475 |
These use the original owner’s rate. If your own owner’s policy took effect less than 3 years before the new one, Rule 69O-186.003 applies the lower reissue rate ($3.30 per $1,000 up to $100,000, then $3.00 per $1,000 up to $1 million) to coverage up to your prior policy’s amount; coverage above that is charged at the original rate. Give the title agent a copy of your policy.
The Florida Department of Revenue notes that all parties to a deed are liable for the stamp tax regardless of which one agrees to pay it. The contract decides who funds it at closing.
The contract decides. Paragraph 9(c) offers three boxes: (i) the seller designates the closing agent and pays the owner’s policy and title search; (ii) the buyer does both; or (iii) a printed Miami-Dade/Broward regional provision. This guide doesn’t name a default for Sumter, Lake, or Marion County because no current published county survey could be verified, so treat the box as a negotiable term and ask the title agent what is typical locally.
On a $350,000 sale the choice moves a $1,825 premium and the right to designate the closing agent. The premium itself doesn’t change between agents: the Department of Financial Services says a $100,000 owner’s policy carries the same $575 base premium anywhere in Florida.
Closing uses a payoff, not the balance on your monthly statement. Under federal Regulation Z, for a loan secured by your home, the servicer must send an accurate payoff as of a specified date within a reasonable time, generally no more than seven business days after a written request (the rule allows longer for loans in bankruptcy or foreclosure, reverse mortgages, and natural disasters). The CFPB’s commentary covers home equity lines too, so have the closing agent order a payoff for every lien. Under Standard K, escrow deposits held by your lender are paid to you.
Florida property-tax collection starts late in the year the tax covers. The Lake County Tax Collector says collection begins November 1 for the current tax year of January through December, and the Lake, Sumter, and Marion collectors list discounts from 4% in November down to 1% in February, with delinquency on April 1.
Standard K prorates taxes to the day before closing, using the current or prior year’s figures with allowance for the maximum discount and any homestead or other exemptions, and if the proration was based on an estimate, either side can ask to readjust it when the current year’s bill arrives. A seller who closes before that year’s bill is paid credits the buyer for the seller’s days; a seller who has already paid it is reimbursed for the rest of the year.
The Villages’ district government says the bond is repaid through the annual tax bill as a “Bond Debt Assessment” in the non-ad valorem section. The AS IS form’s special-assessment paragraph, 9(f), doesn’t apply to CDD liens; they are prorated under Standard K.
The District says you may pay the bond in full at any time, by check payable to your numbered Village Community Development District, and its payoff figures include a $10.00 county lien release filing fee. Whether you do is a negotiation point. Read the bond guide →
The District bills amenity fees monthly with water, wastewater, and trash pickup. Ask the closing agent how the final month will be handled.
The form has the seller pay an HOA or condominium estoppel fee and the buyer pay any application or transfer fee. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s current caps are $299 to prepare and deliver, $119 more for expedited delivery within 3 business days, and up to $179 more if the account is delinquent. An HOA must issue the certificate within 10 business days of the request. Florida’s HOA law excludes community development districts, so The Villages’ residential districts work differently. How estoppel certificates work →
NAR’s guidance for agents working with sellers says that before a listing agreement is signed, the seller should know “compensation is fully negotiable and not set by law.” A buyer may ask the seller to cover some or all of its agent’s fee in the purchase agreement, and accepting is the seller’s choice. Offers of compensation can’t be made on an MLS that has opted into NAR’s settlement. This guide prints no percentage; use the figure in your own written listing agreement.
Under the AS IS form, the buyer has an inspection period, 15 days if left blank, and may cancel in its sole discretion, so a repair or credit request is a renegotiation you can accept, counter, or decline. The seller must still maintain the property in its condition as of the effective date, except for ordinary wear and tear and casualty loss, and casualty damage before closing that costs up to 1.5% of the price is the seller’s to restore.
When the buyer finances, credits can have a ceiling. Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide counts the property seller as an interested party and limits financing concessions on a principal residence or second home to 3% when the LTV/CLTV ratio is above 90%, 6% from 75.01% to 90%, and 9% at 75% or less (other loan programs set their own limits). A home warranty is its own checkbox in paragraph 9(e).
Federal tax on any gain is a separate question from closing costs; see capital gains when selling.
COMMON QUESTIONS
No single percentage is accurate, because the total combines state-set charges, contract-assigned costs, negotiated terms, and your payoff. On a $350,000 sale, deed stamps are $2,450 and the owner’s title premium is $1,825 at the original rate if the seller pays it (less if a reissue rate applies); the rest depends on your contract, loan, and closing date.
Under the Florida Realtors/Florida Bar AS IS contract, the seller pays documentary stamp tax on the deed. The Department of Revenue notes that all parties to a document are liable for the tax regardless of which one agrees to pay it.
Whichever side the contract’s paragraph 9(c) option names. Ask your title agent what is typical locally and negotiate it like any other term. The base premium is set by state rule, so it is the same at every agent.
Not under the printed AS IS form. CDD assessments are prorated under Standard K, and the special-assessment payoff paragraph doesn’t apply to them. The District says you may pay the bond in full at any time, so a payoff is a choice you can negotiate.
No. The National Association of REALTORS® says listing compensation is fully negotiable and not set by law. The amount is whatever you agree to in your written listing agreement.
Mo will price each line for your address, from deed stamps and title to the payoff, proration, bond decision, and estoppel, so you can compare offers by what you keep.
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Mo Mufti, REALTOR® · LPT Realty, LLC · 352-298-8602
Checked October 11, 2026. Rates, forms, and program rules change, so confirm the current version before relying on a number.
Important: General real estate information only—not legal, tax, insurance, title, engineering, or financial advice. Mo Mufti is a Florida REALTOR® (license SL3600299) with LPT Realty, LLC, not an attorney, CPA, insurance agent, or inspector. Use qualified Florida professionals for your situation.
More Florida costs & rules: Who pays closing costs · Transfer tax calculator · Seller net sheet · HOA estoppel certificates · The Villages bond · Capital gains when selling · Closing timeline · Seller disclosures · All answers