The Quick Read: On a VA cash-out refinance, the Florida taxes are set by the state and apply the same way in every county. Miami-Dade’s famous extra charge is a surtax on deeds, and a cash-out refinance records a new mortgage, not a deed. What drives your cost is the size of the new loan, not the county or your income documents.
Key Takeaways
- Florida taxes the full amount of the new mortgage. That is the whole loan, not just the cash you take out.
- Miami-Dade’s surtax is a deed item. A mortgage-only refinance does not trigger it.
- Two state taxes apply to a recorded mortgage: documentary stamps and the nonrecurring intangible tax.
- VA’s rules decide who may pay these taxes and whether they can be rolled into the loan. They do not set the amount.
- A bigger cash-out, or a financed funding fee, makes the taxes bigger.
What Are Doc Stamps, in Plain Terms?
Doc stamps are a state tax on certain legal documents. Florida calls it the documentary stamp tax. On a home loan it hits the mortgage when it is recorded.
Three charges tend to get mixed up, so separate them now:
- Deed stamps. A tax on a deed when ownership transfers. This is where Miami-Dade differs.
- Mortgage (note) stamps. A tax on the amount the new mortgage secures.
- Intangible tax. A separate one-time tax on the debt a mortgage secures.
A VA cash-out refinance replaces your current loan with a new, larger one. You keep the title. So the deed charge never comes up, but the two mortgage-side taxes do.
The VA cash-out refinance program lets an eligible borrower turn home equity into cash with a new VA-backed loan. Those loans run through the same two state taxes as any other Florida mortgage.
Does Miami-Dade Charge Extra on a Cash-Out Refinance?
No, not on the mortgage itself. Miami-Dade’s added charges sit in the deed column, and a cash-out refinance has no deed.
The Miami-Dade Clerk’s official records page makes the split clear. Under deeds, it lists a higher stamp rate plus a surtax on transfers of property other than a single-family residence. Under mortgages, it lists the standard state stamp and the intangible tax. No surtax appears in the mortgage section. The page is not recently dated, so treat it as a map of how the charges are organized, not a current rate table.
Here is the side-by-side:
| Tax | Trigger | Applies to a VA cash-out? | Base |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deed stamps | Deed recorded | No, no deed | Sale price |
| Miami-Dade deed surtax | Deed on non-single-family property | No | Sale price |
| Mortgage (note) stamps | Mortgage recorded | Yes | Full amount secured |
| Intangible tax | Mortgage recorded | Yes | Full amount secured |
The same two mortgage taxes hit a conventional or FHA loan too. They attach to the recorded mortgage, not to the loan program.
How Is a VA Cash-Out Underwritten, Step by Step?
The tax follows the loan, so it helps to see how the loan gets built. Here is the sequence across the wholesale programs Lendmire places VA files with.
1. Eligibility. VA’s certificate of eligibility (COE) decides whether you qualify. Service requirements are VA’s rules. The home must be your primary residence.
2. Credit and income. VA sets no minimum credit score. The wholesale programs we use start at a 580 decision score. Residual income, the money left after taxes, debts and living costs, is the controlling test. The 41% debt-to-income figure is a guideline, not a cap. A higher ratio needs residual income well above the table.
3. Appraisal. A VA appraisal sets the home’s reasonable value. That value is the ceiling for your new loan.
4. Net tangible benefit. The refinance must help you in a measurable way. VA lists several tests, such as dropping a mortgage-insurance charge, shortening the term, or lowering the principal-and-interest payment. Seasoning applies too: the later of 210 days from your first payment and the sixth payment.
5. Loan amount. The new note covers your payoff, any cash out, and any financed funding fee. It can reach 100% of the appraised value, including that fee.
6. Recording. The new mortgage is filed with the county Clerk. The state taxes are computed on the note and collected then.
Many wholesale lenders set their own cash-out ceiling below VA’s 100%. That is lender policy, not a VA rule. Every program figure here is subject to lender guidelines and full file review, and nothing is a commitment to lend.
VA’s cash-out lender materials put the loan-to-value cap at 100% of reasonable value. They also require at least one net tangible benefit test. A common one is keeping the loan at or below 90% of value, which is why you see 90% so often. It is one option among several, not VA’s cap.
How Do You Figure the Taxes Yourself?
Use two lines of arithmetic on the new loan amount.
Mortgage stamps. The state rate is 35 cents per $100 of the amount secured, or any portion of $100. That “portion” wording means you round up to the next $100 before multiplying. The Florida Department of Revenue states that mortgages are taxed when recorded, on the full indebtedness secured.
Intangible tax. The rate is 2 mills, which is 0.2% of the secured amount. Multiply the loan by 0.002. The Department of Revenue’s intangible tax page explains that the lender is the legal taxpayer but may pass the cost to you. No round-up applies here.
Add the two and you get a combined state charge of roughly 0.55% of the loan, a touch more after rounding. That is a formula, not a quote for your file. Your closing agent produces the real figures.
One point trips up many explainers. You will see web pages say stamp tax is “capped” at a set dollar amount. That cap applies to unsecured notes. For a mortgage recorded in Florida, the tax has no cap. A larger loan means a larger tax, with no ceiling.
What Does It Look Like With Real Percentages?
Take a modeled example with no dollar amounts. Say your home appraises at a given value and you take a new VA loan at 90% of that value. The combined state taxes run about 0.5% of the home’s value, since 0.55% of 90% is just under that.
Now add a funding fee. For a VA cash-out refinance, the fee is 2.15% on first use and 3.3% on later use. Veterans receiving compensation for a service-connected disability, and other exempt groups, owe nothing. Most borrowers finance the fee into the loan.
Financing it does two things. The note grows, so the state taxes grow with it. And the added balance eats into the 100% ceiling, which leaves less room for cash out.
The funding fee goes to VA. The doc stamps and intangible tax go to Florida. They are different charges with different recipients.
Then there is net proceeds. If you pay the taxes out of the loan, your cash in hand drops by that amount. If you pay them separately at closing, the cash stays, but you bring money to the table. Either way, you can see the line items before you commit.
Who Pays, and Can the Taxes Be Financed?
You may pay them, and on a refinance you may be able to finance them. VA’s Lenders Handbook, Chapter 8 lists what a veteran can pay, and recording fees and recording taxes are on it. The same chapter draws a line between loan types. Regular purchase loans cannot fold other fees into the loan amount. Only refinancing loans may include other allowable fees and charges.
That rule is permission, not a promise. A lender decides whether to roll the taxes in. The 100% limit still applies. And financing them costs more over the life of the loan, since you pay interest on what you borrowed.
Nothing in VA’s rules exempts a VA-guaranteed borrower from Florida’s taxes. VA guarantees the loan. It is not a party that waives state tax.
Where the General Rule Breaks
The picture above covers a clean refinance. These edge cases change it.
A deed enters the transaction. Suppose you add a spouse or retitle the home at the same closing. A deed may then be recorded, and deed-side charges and Miami-Dade’s deed rules could come into play. Ask your closing agent before you assume otherwise.
The old loan’s tax. Whether the stamp tax you paid on your existing mortgage earns any credit on the new one depends on the facts. Ask the title or closing agent. This article does not assume a credit.
Unsecured debt rolled into a mortgage. Florida has a special rule when a mortgage secures a debt that was unsecured before. The tax is due on the full secured amount, minus what was already paid on the old note. This is rare in a standard cash-out.
Type I versus Type II cash-outs. VA separates loans that stay at or below your payoff from loans that exceed it. The first kind carries extra tests. The second is the usual “take cash out” structure.
Lender overlays. A lender may cap cash-out below VA’s 100% of value. That can cut the cash you receive more than any state tax will.
Condos, duplexes and other property types. On the mortgage side, the tax is computed from the loan amount alone. The property type matters for the deed surtax, not for the mortgage taxes.
Where Do the Taxes Show Up at Closing?
On your Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure, government charges sit in Section E on page 2. Ask the closing agent which line the Florida taxes land on. Presentation varies, and you can check the amounts against the two formulas above.
Because the state sets these taxes, they are the same at every lender. If two quotes differ, the difference lives in lender charges, points or credits, not in the state tax.
Mistakes That Inflate or Distort Estimates
- Applying Miami-Dade’s deed surtax to a mortgage.
- Quoting the unsecured-note cap on a recorded mortgage.
- Forgetting the intangible tax entirely.
- Rounding the intangible tax up like the stamp tax. Only the stamp tax rounds.
- Computing tax on the cash-out amount instead of the whole new loan.
- Treating the funding fee and doc stamps as one charge.
Key Terms Defined
Documentary stamp tax: A Florida tax on documents such as deeds and mortgages, charged per $100 of the amount involved.
Nonrecurring intangible tax: A one-time Florida tax on the debt that a mortgage secures, at 0.2% of that amount.
Deed surtax: An added Miami-Dade charge on certain deed transfers, which does not apply to a mortgage-only refinance.
Reasonable value: The home’s worth as set by a VA appraisal, used to cap the new loan.
Net tangible benefit: A measurable gain VA requires from a cash-out refinance, such as a shorter term or a lower payment.
Residual income: The money left each month after major obligations and living costs, VA’s controlling underwriting test.
Funding fee: A one-time VA charge, reviewable and waived for exempt veterans.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Miami-Dade add extra doc stamps to my VA cash-out refinance?
No. The extra surtax belongs to deeds, and a mortgage-only refinance records no deed. The mortgage taxes are the same statewide. If your closing adds a deed, ask the closing agent how that changes the picture.
Are doc stamps on my new mortgage capped?
No. The cap people quote applies to unsecured notes. A mortgage recorded in Florida is taxed on the full amount secured, so a larger loan owes more.
Can I roll the taxes into my VA cash-out loan?
Often yes, if the lender allows it. VA lets refinance loans include allowable fees and charges. The total still has to fit under the 100% value ceiling, and you pay interest on what you finance.
Does being a veteran waive Florida’s taxes?
No. VA may let you pay recording taxes and may allow them in the loan, but nothing exempts a VA-backed borrower from Florida’s mortgage taxes. The funding fee can be waived for exempt veterans, and that fee is a different charge.
Do the taxes change if I use a different loan program?
No. The Florida mortgage taxes attach to the recorded mortgage, so they match across conventional, FHA and VA. What changes is who may pay them and whether they can be financed. That is a program rule.
Weighing It Against Keeping Your Loan
Tax treatment can depend on your situation; borrowers should speak with a qualified tax professional before relying on any deduction or credit.
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.
For your own numbers, request a scenario review with Lendmire.
About Lendmire
Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a mortgage brokerage serving homeowners and home buyers in 16 states. FHA, VA, conventional and jumbo purchase and refinance loans are arranged through wholesale lending channels; Lendmire brokers the financing and the lender underwrites each application. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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References
1. Miami-Dade Clerk – Official Records
2. VA’s cash-out lender materials
3. Florida Department of Revenue – Documentary Stamp Tax
4. Florida Department of Revenue – Nonrecurring Intangible Tax
5. VA Lenders Handbook, Chapter 8
This article is part of Lendmire’s VA Loans series — every loan program’s qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the loan options page.
Related reading: VA Cash-Out vs Conventional Cash-Out When the Home Is Worth Far More · VA Cash-Out Entitlement Rules for an Existing VA Loan Refinance · VA Cash-Out Appraisal When Your Home Is Worth Far More Than You Owe
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Disclosures. The information presented in this article is general market commentary, not financial, legal, or tax advice. Lendmire is a mortgage brokerage (NMLS# 2371349) — not a direct lender or depository institution — and loan placement is subject to lender underwriting. Nothing in this content represents a commitment to lend. Loan terms, pricing, and program availability vary based on borrower qualifications, property characteristics, and state of subject property, and are subject to change at any time. Lendmire complies with Equal Housing Opportunity requirements. Consumer access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.