The Quick Read: Together, Florida’s two mortgage taxes add roughly 0.55% of the new loan amount to an FHA cash-out refinance. Documentary stamp tax runs 0.35% of the debt. The one-time intangible tax runs 0.20%. Both apply to the whole new mortgage, not just the cash you take out. Because the FHA cash-out ceiling does not move, every bit of that tax comes out of your cash or your pocket.
Key Takeaways
- Both taxes are set by the state, so they are the same for every lender and cannot be negotiated.
- They apply to the full new loan balance, including the part that pays off your old mortgage.
- The FHA cash-out limit is 80% of the home’s adjusted value, so taxes reduce your net cash. They do not raise the ceiling.
- The mortgage insurance premium that gets financed sits on top of the base loan, which nudges the taxable amount up slightly.
- A cash-out into a new lender’s mortgage is generally a new loan. Do not count on a credit for taxes paid on the old one.
Key Terms Defined
Documentary stamp tax (“doc stamps”): A Florida tax on written debt papers, such as a recorded mortgage. It is charged on the amount of debt the mortgage secures.
Nonrecurring intangible tax: A one-time Florida tax on a debt secured by Florida real estate. “Nonrecurring” means you pay it once per loan, not every year.
Taxable base: The loan amount the tax is figured on. For a refinance, that is the full new mortgage balance.
Adjusted value: The home value the FHA uses to set your loan ceiling. For a home you have owned at least 12 months, it is the appraised value.
Upfront mortgage insurance premium (UFMIP): A one-time FHA premium equal to 1.75% of the base loan. Most borrowers finance it into the loan.
Net proceeds: The cash you actually receive after the old mortgage, closing costs and prepaid items are paid from the new loan.
What Triggers These Taxes on a Cash-Out?
Two things trigger them: a new promissory note and a new recorded mortgage. A refinance has no sale, so there is no deed tax. Many homeowners mix those up. The seller usually pays deed tax on a purchase. On a refinance, nobody sells anything.
What you do get is a brand-new loan, and Florida taxes new debt that is recorded against Florida property.
Here is where it lands on an FHA cash-out. Lendmire arranges these loans through wholesale lenders, and the structure is consistent across the programs it places. You borrow up to 80% of the home’s value, on a home you have owned and lived in for 12 months before the case number. The new loan pays off the old one. What is left, after costs, is your cash.
The taxes attach to the new loan, as a whole. Not to the cash alone.
You can see the program’s rules on the FHA cash-out refinance program page. Everything here is subject to lender guidelines and a full file review. Nothing here is a commitment to lend.
How Is Each Tax Calculated?
Doc stamps are 0.35% of the debt secured. Intangible tax is 0.20%. Add them and you get about 0.55% of the new mortgage amount. That is the rule of thumb, and it is simple arithmetic from the two state rates.
Florida’s Department of Revenue states the documentary stamp rate and the note cap. The statute behind the other tax, Florida Statutes chapter 199, sets a one-time tax of 2 mills on each dollar of notes secured by a mortgage on Florida real property. Two mills is 0.20%.
| Item | Rate | Rounding | Taxable base |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doc stamps | 0.35% | Up to next hundred | Debt secured |
| Intangible tax | 0.20% | Exact amount | Note secured |
| Combined | About 0.55% | Mixed | Full new loan |
The rounding difference is tiny. Doc stamps round up to the next hundred dollars of debt, while the intangible tax uses the exact amount. That moves the total by a few dollars at most. It will not change your decision.
The cap that does not help you
You may see a cap on doc stamps and think it protects you. It does not. It does not apply to a mortgage or other lien recorded in Florida. A cash-out loan secured by a recorded mortgage has no cap. So the tax keeps scaling with the loan amount.
A Worked Example in Percentages
Take a home you have owned for years. Say the appraisal sets adjusted value at 100% (we will work in percentages of value, so no price is needed).
1. Base loan. The ceiling is 80% of value.
2. Upfront premium. The 1.75% FHA premium on that base is 1.4% of value. Financed, it brings the note to about 81.4% of value.
3. State taxes. About 0.55% of the note comes to roughly 0.45% of the home’s value.
4. Net cash. The note, less your old payoff, less taxes and the other closing costs and prepaids, is what is left for you.
So on a home worth 100, the two state taxes cost you about 0.45 of that value. That is the entire effect. Notice the ceiling never moved.
Whether the premium belongs in the taxable amount is a fair question. HUD’s own glossary uses “maximum mortgage amount” to mean the base loan, so the financed premium sits above the tested limit. The tax is figured on the recorded note and mortgage, and that note includes the financed premium. This is an inference from how the pieces fit, not a HUD rule. Confirm it with the closing agent or title company handling your file.
The circularity problem
Here is a wrinkle borrowers find confusing. If you finance closing costs into the loan, the loan gets bigger. A bigger loan means more tax. More tax means more cost to cover.
On an FHA cash-out, that loop is bounded. The base loan cannot exceed 80% of value. HUD cut the cash-out limit from 85% to 80% in a mortgagee letter, and the combined first and second liens count against the same limit. So closing costs generally ride inside the 80%, per lender and HUD underwriting. Anything the loan cannot absorb comes out of your proceeds or out of your pocket.
Put plainly: a higher tax bill does not raise what you can borrow. It lowers what you keep.
Who Pays, and Where Does It Show Up?
The borrower typically bears these taxes on a refinance. Legally, the lender is the taxpayer on the intangible tax, but it may pass the cost to you. The state collects it when the mortgage is recorded. The closing agent handles the recording.
This is not a lender fee. It is a state tax, so it is the same at every lender. If one quote looks cheaper than another, the difference lives in other lines, not here.
On your Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure, look in Section E on page 2. The CFPB explains that government recording charges appear there. It also notes that recording fees are collectively held to a 10% cost-increase limit.
Here is a detail that trips people up. The loan-amount-based taxes are generally listed as transfer taxes on the disclosure form, not as recording fees. Recording fees are the small county charges based on page count or document type. Under the disclosure rules, a charge based on the loan amount reads as a transfer tax, whatever label the state uses. Ask your title agent to show you which line holds which charge.
Where the Simple Rule Breaks
The 0.55% rule fits most cash-out files. A few situations bend it.
Previously taxed debt
Florida can exempt some renewals of debt that was already taxed. Examples include a single note that consolidates notes already taxed, or a mortgage where only the lender’s name changes. When a modification raises the unpaid balance, only the increase is taxed.
Do not lean on that for a cash-out. When you move to a new lender’s mortgage, you are generally signing a new loan. Treat any credit as unlikely. Then ask your closing agent or title company to confirm. If the answer is yes, great. If no, you planned correctly.
A line of credit behind the first mortgage
If you keep a home equity line, the combined limit matters. FHA counts subordinate liens toward the 80%. The intangible tax on a line of credit applies to the full line once, to the extent a Florida mortgage secures it. After it is paid, no more is due on that line.
Collateral outside Florida
If one note is also secured by property in another state, the intangible tax applies only to the Florida share. That is rare for a home loan, but it exists.
Your occupancy
FHA cash-out is for an owner-occupied principal residence. A second home is out. So the question of how the taxes work on a rental or vacation property is a different loan lane.
Streamlines and other FHA refinances
An FHA Streamline refinances an existing FHA loan with no appraisal and a limited credit review. It needs a net tangible benefit, and the premium continues. It is not a cash-out, so the cash-out numbers above do not apply. If you hold an FHA loan within a few years, HUD may allow a credit toward the new upfront premium. That is a credit, not a cash refund. Ask the lender how it applies to your payoff.
Exempt parties and county surtaxes
Some borrowers are exempt. Federal agencies are one example, and the state is revising the rule that lists them. Miami-Dade’s county deed surtax applies to deeds, not mortgage notes. On a refinance it comes up only if a deed is recorded.
Three Misconceptions Worth Clearing Up
“The seller pays these.” On a sale, the seller usually pays the deed tax. On a refinance there is no seller and no deed tax. The note and mortgage taxes fall on the borrower.
“The intangible tax is annual.” The mortgage version is a one-time tax. You pay it once per loan, at recording.
“FHA cash-out still goes up to 85%.” It does not. The limit is 80% of adjusted value now. Some older web pages still list higher numbers. They are out of date.
What the Decision Looks Like in Practice
You are weighing three things: how much cash you need, what the home appraises for, and what you owe now.
Start with the payoff. Take 80% of the appraised value, subtract your current mortgage balance, then subtract roughly 0.55% of the new loan for the state taxes. Subtract your other closing costs and prepaids. That is a fair picture of your net cash.
Then watch the appraisal. A low appraisal drops the ceiling. The taxes shrink in proportion, but your net cash falls faster. The taxes stay a roughly fixed share of the loan. Your cash is the leftover after everything else, so it takes the bigger hit.
Next, think about the monthly budget. Financing the upfront premium raises your balance. A higher balance means a higher payment. The annual premium is charged on the base loan, in a range from 0.15% to 0.75% depending on term, amount and LTV. On a 30-year loan above 90% LTV it lasts the full term. At or below 90% it ends after 11 years. The cash-out ceiling is 80%, so that second case is the one that usually applies.
Finally, compare to staying put. Florida’s taxes are a sunk, non-refundable cost of any new recorded mortgage. If you are only after a different monthly payment or a different term, a cash-out is not the only path. The same taxes apply to a rate-and-term refinance too, though FHA lets that product reach higher leverage on a home you have lived in for the prior twelve months. Cash-out only makes sense when you want the cash.
Pre-Closing Checklist: What to Ask
- Which Loan Estimate line holds the doc stamps and which holds the intangible tax?
- Is the financed premium included in the taxable note amount?
- Does anything on my old loan qualify for a renewal exemption?
- Will the taxes come out of my proceeds, or do I bring cash?
- If the appraisal lands lower, how does the total change?
Those five questions catch most surprises. Bring them to your closing agent early.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I pay Florida doc stamps again when I refinance?
Yes, in most cases. A cash-out creates a new note and a new recorded mortgage, and both are taxed on the new loan amount. A narrow set of renewals can be exempt, but moving to a new lender’s mortgage is generally treated as a new loan. Ask your closing agent before you assume otherwise.
Is there a deed tax on an FHA cash-out in Florida?
No. Deed tax applies when ownership changes. A refinance changes the loan, not the title. The only deed-side exception is a county surtax in places like Miami-Dade, and that matters only if a deed is recorded.
Can I roll these taxes into the new FHA loan?
Closing costs are generally financed within the 80% limit, per lender and HUD underwriting. But the ceiling is fixed, so the taxes come out of your proceeds. They do not add to what you can borrow. Whether a particular cost can be financed depends on the lender and your file.
Does the cap on doc stamps help on a large loan?
No. The cap applies to promissory notes. It does not apply to a mortgage recorded in Florida. Since a cash-out is secured by a recorded mortgage, the tax scales with the loan.
Do the taxes change if my lender changes?
No. They are state taxes, so the rates are the same everywhere. What changes between lenders are the other lines on your Loan Estimate, such as lender charges and third-party fees.
Next Step
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. Florida’s two mortgage taxes are a fixed part of that math. What you control is the loan size, the appraisal and how much cash you really need.
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. floridarevenue.com: Tip 24b04
2. Florida Statutes, chapter 199
3. HUD — Cash-out refinance limit mortgagee letter
4. CFPB — Government recording charges for a mortgage
This article is part of Lendmire’s FHA Loan series — every loan program’s qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the loan options page.
Related reading: Conventional Cash-Out vs FHA Cash-Out for a Current FHA Homeowner · How Much Cash an FHA Cash-Out Releases at the LTV Cap · How Much Equity an FHA Borrower Needs for a Conventional Cash-Out
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Required disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) operates as a licensed mortgage broker, not a direct lender or depository. The discussion in this article is general in nature and should not be relied upon as financial, legal, or tax advice — every investment scenario is unique and should be reviewed by a qualified professional. Any loan inquiry is subject to lender underwriting, and this article is not a commitment to lend or a guarantee of approval. Mortgage rates, loan terms, and program guidelines vary by borrower, property, and state, and may change without notice. Equal Housing Opportunity. Verify licensure at NMLS Consumer Access.