The Quick Read: On a Florida cash-out refinance, the state’s two mortgage taxes together come to about 0.55% of the new loan amount. That is 0.35% in documentary stamp tax plus 0.20% in nonrecurring intangible tax. The base is the whole new mortgage, not just the cash you take out. There is no deed tax on a refinance, because no property is changing hands. The state sets the cost, so it should look the same on every lender’s estimate.
Key Takeaways
- Doc stamps are a state tax on documents. They are not a lender fee.
- The combined state cost is roughly 0.55% of the new loan, before county recording fees. Lenders and brokers do not set or cap this tax.
- A fixed-dollar ceiling applies to the note, but not to a recorded mortgage. Big loans keep paying more.
- An exemption for refinances exists, but a brokered cash-out rarely fits it cleanly. Plan for the full tax.
What Are Doc Stamps, and Who Collects Them?
Doc stamps are a state excise tax on written promises to pay money. The Florida Department of Revenue says the tax applies to documents such as promissory notes and recorded mortgages. The county clerk collects it when the mortgage is recorded.
The name causes confusion. People see it on a closing statement next to lender charges and assume the lender keeps it. It does not. The settlement agent passes it to the clerk.
Two triggers sit behind the tax. One covers a note signed by the borrower or delivered in Florida. The other covers a mortgage filed or recorded in Florida. On a typical home loan, the tax is paid on the mortgage at recording, and the note is marked to show it.
The rate is 35 cents for each $100 of the obligation, or any fraction of $100. Put another way, it is 0.35% of the new loan, rounded up to the next $100 before you multiply.
How Does the Second State Tax Fit In?
A second tax usually sits right beside doc stamps on the closing statement. It is the nonrecurring intangible tax, set at 2 mills. That means the secured amount times 0.002, or 0.20% of the loan.
The Department of Revenue explains on its nonrecurring intangible tax page that the lender is the legal taxpayer. The lender may pass the cost to the borrower, and in practice most do. It is due when the mortgage is recorded.
The two taxes come from different chapters of Florida law. They have different rates and different bases. Together they add up to the 0.55% figure. That sum is simple arithmetic from the two published rates, not a quoted fee.
Recording fees are separate. The county charges those by document and page count. They are small next to the percentage-based taxes, but they appear on the same closing statement.
Why Does the Size of the Loan Matter So Much?
Both taxes scale with the new mortgage. A larger cash-out means a larger loan, which means a larger tax. That is why a Florida cash-out costs more at closing than the same loan in a state with no mortgage tax.
Here is the part that trips people up. The tax is not on the cash you receive. It is on the entire new first mortgage, which includes the payoff of your old loan. If you only take a small amount of cash, you still pay tax on the whole balance, subject to the exemption discussed below.
If you are weighing cash-out refinance programs, treat the tax as a cost that rides on loan size. It is not an input to how much you can borrow.
How Is a Cash-Out Underwritten, Step by Step?
Doc stamps come late in the process. The loan has to clear several gates first. Here is the order a wholesale conventional file typically follows.
1. Size the new loan. The new first mortgage pays off your existing first lien and puts cash in your hands. The Fannie Mae Selling Guide defines this as paying off existing mortgages with a new first mortgage on the same property, or placing a new mortgage on a home owned free and clear.
2. Order the appraisal. Value times the maximum loan-to-value sets the ceiling on the loan.
3. Apply the leverage cap. On a one-unit primary residence, the cash-out cap is 80%. On two- to four-unit primary residences and second homes, it is 75%. The Fannie Mae Eligibility Matrix shows the same split.
4. Check seasoning and title. The first mortgage being paid off must be at least 12 months old, measured note date to note date. At least one borrower must have been on title for six months. Delayed financing, inheritance and legal awards are the main exceptions.
5. Check credit and ratios. Across the wholesale conventional programs, files start at a 620 decision score. The automated finding governs most loans, with a total ratio ceiling of 50%. Fannie Mae’s guide adds a reserve requirement of six months when the automated ratio runs above 45%. Every figure here varies by lender and program — guidelines, property type, leverage, and credit profile all apply.
6. Add closing costs, including the state taxes. These come off the proceeds or, where the lender and the leverage room allow, get built into the balance. Every figure here varies by lender and program: guidelines, property type, leverage, and credit profile all apply.
All of this is subject to lender guidelines and full file review. Nothing here is a commitment to lend.
What Does the Tax Look Like on a Real Cash-Out?
Run it as percentages of the home’s value, so the math holds at any price. Say a home appraises at 100 units of value. The existing loan is 50% of value. You refinance up to the 80% cap on a one-unit primary residence.
- New loan: 80% of value.
- Payoff of old loan: 50% of value.
- Cash before costs: 30% of value.
- State taxes at 0.55% of the new loan: 0.44% of value.
Now look at the tax against the cash. It takes about 1.5% of your proceeds (0.44 divided by 30). That is small, but it is not zero. The lender’s own charges, the appraisal, title work and recording fees come on top.
Change the picture and the math shifts. Take a smaller cash-out, say 10% of value on a 60%-balance loan. The new loan is 70% of value and the tax is 0.385% of value. Against 10% in cash, the tax eats nearly 4% of proceeds. A thin cash-out carries a heavier tax drag, because you are taxed on the whole new balance either way.
That is the break-even logic. The tax does not make a cash-out wrong. It does raise the bar for a small cash-out that has to justify itself on other grounds, such as paying off higher-cost debt or funding a defined project.
The Renewal Exemption: Does a Refinance Pay on the Full Loan?
Not always on paper, but usually in practice for a brokered cash-out. Florida law has a renewal provision. A renewal note that only extends the same obligation, without enlarging it, is not taxed. A renewal that raises the unpaid balance is taxed only on the increase.
The First District Court of Appeal has described a refinanced home loan as possibly exempt “to the extent the lender provides no new money.” The stamp tax exemption turns on the new loan being a true “renewal.” The intangible tax exemption turns on it being a refinance of the old loan.
Here is the catch. Those provisions are framed around the original borrower and the same lender holding the loan. A brokered cash-out usually pays off one lender with a different lender’s loan. The Department’s older advisement uses the same-lender framing as well.
So do not count on an exemption. Whether any part of your loan is exempt depends on the facts: who holds the old loan, who signs, and whether the obligation is enlarged. The title or settlement agent makes that call. And the cash-out portion is new money, which is taxable at a minimum.
Some pages say refinances are always taxed in full. Others say they are always exempt. Both overstate it. The sound planning assumption is the full tax, with any exemption treated as a bonus the settlement agent confirms.
Where the General Rule Breaks: Named Edge Cases
The fixed-dollar ceiling on notes. Florida’s statute for the tax on a note caps the tax on a note at a fixed dollar amount. You will see that cap quoted online. It does not apply to a mortgage that is filed or recorded in Florida, per the Department’s tip sheet on promissory notes. For a recorded residential mortgage, the tax keeps rising with the loan amount.
Maximum-lien language. A narrow case exists where a mortgage limits recovery to less than the note. The tax may then be computed on the maximum lien. That is a title agent matter, not something a homeowner decides.
Partial Florida collateral. If other property outside Florida also secures the debt, the intangible tax may be prorated. Most primary residence refinances do not involve this.
Occupancy. The tax is the same whether the home is a primary residence or a second home. What changes is the leverage cap, as shown above. If the home is a second home, the cap drops to 75% on a one-unit property, so the cash available shrinks.
Loans above the conforming limit. The state taxes still apply. In that range, jumbo lanes take over with their own score floor of 660 and leverage up to 90% on certain programs. FHFA announces the conforming limits each year, and they vary by county. Final terms depend on lender guidelines, property type, leverage, and the borrower’s complete credit picture.
The no-mortgage-insurance lane. One wholesale lane reaches 89.99% LTV on a thirty-year fixed, primary residence, conforming balance. It needs a 680 score, a 50% ratio ceiling and its own six months of seasoning. Doc stamps apply here just as anywhere else. A higher loan amount simply means a slightly higher tax. These specifics are subject to lender guidelines and a full review of property, leverage, and credit.
Fannie Mae’s guides cover loan eligibility, not state taxes, so the Fannie Mae Selling Guide has no Florida doc-stamp provision.
When Are the Taxes Due, and How Do They Show Up?
They are due when the mortgage is recorded. The settlement agent collects the money at the table and remits it to the clerk. You do not write a separate check to the state.
On the Loan Estimate and the Closing Disclosure, taxes fall under “Taxes and Other Government Fees” in the “Other Costs” section. The CFPB‘s integrated disclosure guide lays out that structure. The Closing Disclosure itemizes the amounts.
Because the state sets the charge, the tax should match across lenders on the same loan amount. If two estimates differ, look at lender charges and pricing, not the taxes. The tax is not negotiable.
Can the Taxes Be Rolled Into the Loan?
It depends on the lender and on how much leverage room the file has. No agency rule says doc stamps may be financed into a cash-out. In general closing-cost practice, costs can be paid from proceeds or built into the new balance.
If they are built in, the larger balance is what the 80% or 75% cap measures. So a file already sitting at the limit has no room to roll costs in. The borrower would then pay from cash or take less cash out. Rolling costs in also raises the balance slightly, which carries through to the monthly budget. Ask your loan officer to show both versions on the Loan Estimate.
Mistakes That Make Estimates Wrong
- Taxing only the cash taken. The base is the full new loan.
- Forgetting the round-up. The tax applies per $100 “or portion thereof.”
- Using the deed rate. A refinance has no deed, so no deed tax.
- Applying the note cap to the mortgage. The ceiling does not carry over to a recorded mortgage.
- Merging the two taxes. Doc stamps and the intangible tax have different rates and statutes.
- Assuming an exemption. Treat any exemption as unconfirmed until the settlement agent says otherwise.
- Blaming the lender. The tax is a state charge, not a lender markup.
Key Terms Defined
Documentary stamp tax: A Florida tax of 0.35% on a new note or recorded mortgage, collected by the county clerk.
Nonrecurring intangible tax: A separate Florida tax of 0.20% on the secured amount, due when the mortgage is recorded.
Cash-out refinance: A new first mortgage that pays off the old one and gives you cash from your equity.
Loan-to-value (LTV): The loan amount divided by the home’s appraised value.
Seasoning: The minimum time a loan or ownership must exist before a refinance qualifies.
Renewal: A replacement note that extends the same debt, which Florida law may tax only on any increase.
Recording fee: A county charge for filing the mortgage, separate from the state taxes.
What Should You Do Before You Choose a Cash-Out?
Start with the purpose. Decide how much cash you need and what it replaces. Then ask for the Loan Estimate and find the “Taxes and Other Government Fees” line. Check that it lands near 0.55% of the proposed loan amount.
Next, compare against a smaller option. A cash-out resets the whole balance and taxes all of it. A different structure may tax less. If a cash-out is the right fit, size it to the need, not to the maximum.
If you are weighing a cash-out refinance against keeping the loan you have, Lendmire can help you compare the programs and the equity each one reaches. Lendmire is a mortgage broker, and any option is subject to lender guidelines and full file review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do doc stamps apply to a refinance in Florida?
Yes, in most cases. No deed tax applies because the property is not changing hands. But the new note and mortgage are taxed. The rate is 0.35% for doc stamps, plus 0.20% for the intangible tax, on the new loan.
Is the $2,450 cap applicable to my mortgage?
No. That ceiling applies to the tax on a note. The Department of Revenue says it does not apply to a mortgage or lien recorded in Florida. A residential mortgage keeps being taxed as the loan grows.
Will I get an exemption because I am only refinancing?
Probably not on the full loan, and you should not assume it. Florida’s renewal provision taxes only increases in certain cases. It is framed around the same borrower and the same lender. A cash-out is new money, which is taxable at a minimum. The title agent decides.
Does the tax change how much I can borrow?
Not directly. The leverage cap, seasoning, title and reserve rules decide eligibility. The tax is a cost on the loan, not an input to the cap. If you roll it into the balance, the larger balance still has to fit under the cap.
Why do two lenders show the same tax but different closing costs?
The state sets the tax. Lender charges, third-party fees and pricing differ. When you compare Loan Estimates, line up the “Taxes and Other Government Fees” first. Any gap comes from the other sections.
For your own numbers, request a scenario review with Lendmire.
For current guidelines and terms, see Lendmire’s conventional loan programs page.
About Lendmire
Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a mortgage broker licensed for consumer lending in 16 states. Lendmire arranges FHA, VA, conventional and jumbo purchase and refinance loans through wholesale lenders; every file is underwritten by the lender under the applicable program guidelines. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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References
1. Florida Department of Revenue — Documentary Stamp Tax
2. Florida Department of Revenue — Nonrecurring Intangible Tax
3. Fannie Mae Selling Guide B2-1.3-03
4. Fannie Mae Eligibility Matrix
7. CFPB
This article is part of Lendmire’s Conventional Loans series — every loan program’s qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the loan options page.
Related reading: Can You Get a Conventional Cash-Out on a Home in a Revocable Trust? · Conventional Cash-Out Refinance Limits for a Large Loan · How Much a Conventional Cash-Out Refinance Releases Above the Cap
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Compliance and disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a licensed mortgage broker and is not a direct lender, depository institution, financial advisor, or tax professional. Content in this article is general market analysis and educational information — not financial, legal, or tax advice for any specific situation. Lendmire does not guarantee loan approval; every transaction is subject to underwriting by the funding lender. Mortgage pricing and loan program guidelines are subject to change at any time without notice and vary by borrower characteristics, property type, and state regulations. Lendmire complies with Equal Housing Opportunity. Licensure verification: NMLS Consumer Access.