The Quick Read: On a refinance, Miami-Dade does not add a special county loan fee. The charges are Florida taxes on the new note and mortgage, and they are the same in every Florida county. They can be built into the new loan amount, but only inside the VA ceiling of 100% of the appraised value. The county’s own deed surtax applies to transferred deeds, not to a mortgage-only refinance.
Key Takeaways
- A VA cash-out refinance in Miami-Dade carries statewide Florida taxes on the new note and mortgage. The county deed surtax is a separate item.
- The VA funding fee, the Florida taxes and your other allowable costs all sit under one limit: 100% of the appraised value.
- Every dollar built into the loan is a dollar that does not reach you as cash.
- If you also change who is on the title at closing, a deed gets recorded. That is when the county surtax can enter the picture.
- The Florida taxes are government charges. A lender cannot waive them, so they are not a place to shop.
Key Terms Defined
Documentary stamp tax: A Florida tax charged when a mortgage is recorded. It is based on the full amount the mortgage secures.
Intangible tax: A second Florida tax on a recorded mortgage, charged as a small fraction of the amount secured.
Deed surtax: A Miami-Dade County tax charged when a deed transfers real property. It is not a tax on a mortgage.
VA funding fee: A one-time VA charge on most VA loans. It can be financed, and it is waived for veterans receiving compensation for a service-connected disability and for the other exempt groups.
Appraised value: The value on the VA appraisal’s Notice of Value. It sets the 100% ceiling for a cash-out loan.
Net tangible benefit: A concrete improvement the refinance must deliver to the veteran. VA lists eight acceptable benefits.
VA cash-out estimate
Seeded with an example value, a typical balance, and a round cash request at the first-use fee; change any field.
Editable benchmark: 7.18% as of November 5, 2026 · Freddie Mac 30-year average via FRED®. A conventional market reference, not a VA cash-out refinance quote.
Illustrative starting assumptions: a $350,000 home value, a $193,000 current balance, the full-value VA cap with the first-use funding fee financed, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, and property taxes and insurance estimated at typical national rates. Every field is editable.
Illustrative estimate only — not a Loan Estimate, approval, quote, or commitment to lend. The rate field carries the weekly Freddie Mac thirty-year conventional benchmark, a market reference and not a VA cash-out refinance quote; a VA loan is priced by the lender at lock. The total loan, funding fee included, is capped at the program leverage on the reasonable value; the fee follows the tier chosen. The cash available is what the cap allows less the balances paid off and the fee, before closing costs, which are not included. The HELOC line is the line program’s combined loan-to-value ceiling applied to the same value and balance. Taxes and insurance are editable estimates. The debt-to-income figure is a guideline; residual income decides a VA file. Licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages.
Does Miami-Dade Add Its Own Fees to a VA Cash-Out?
No. The title of this piece assumes a county fee schedule. In practice, the “Miami-Dade fees” people notice on a refinance come from the state.
A cash-out refinance replaces your old mortgage with a new note and a new recorded mortgage. Florida taxes that new paper. The tax is the same in Miami-Dade, Duval or Leon County.
The deed surtax is the one charge that really is specific to Miami-Dade. It is tied to deeds. A refinance that only records a mortgage does not record a deed. So the surtax usually drops out, and a lot of borrowers never see it.
What Gets Added and What Doesn’t
Here is the lookup version. It covers a VA cash-out on a home you live in, with a mortgage-only closing.
| Item | Applies to a cash-out? | Who sets it | Can go in the loan? |
|---|---|---|---|
| VA funding fee | Yes, unless exempt | VA | Yes |
| Documentary stamp tax on the note | Yes | State of Florida | Yes, under the ceiling |
| Intangible tax on the mortgage | Yes | State of Florida | Yes, under the ceiling |
| County deed surtax | Only if a deed is recorded | Miami-Dade County | Ask your title agent |
| VA appraisal | Yes | Set by the appraisal process | Typically a closing cost |
| Lender flat charge | Yes, within VA’s cap | Lender, capped by VA | Yes, under the ceiling |
The last row matters for comparing offers. VA lets a lender charge a flat fee of up to 1 percent of the loan, in place of other origination-type charges that are not on VA’s list. That rule appears in 38 CFR 36.4313, VA’s schedule of permissible charges.
How the Florida Taxes Work
The documentary stamp tax on a mortgage is 35 cents per $100 of the amount secured, according to the Florida Department of Revenue. Think of that as roughly a third of one percent of the new note. The Miami-Dade Clerk’s official records page also lists an intangible tax on a recorded mortgage at 2 mills, which is $2 per $1,000. Treat both as the published structure and confirm the current rates with your title agent before closing.
Two things follow from that.
First, the taxes scale with the loan. A bigger cash-out means a bigger note and a bigger tax. Second, they are collected when the mortgage is recorded. They are government charges, so they look the same no matter which lender you pick.
VA’s schedule lets a veteran pay recording fees and recording taxes or other charges incident to recording. The Florida mortgage taxes fall naturally into that bucket, though your lender’s compliance team makes the final call on how each line is classified. VA’s Circular 26-17-11 lists recording charges and taxes among the common allowable items.
How the New Loan Amount Gets Built
Think of the new loan as a sources-and-uses sheet. The loan is the source. The uses stack up in a fixed order:
1. Payoff. Your old mortgage and any other liens you choose to clear. A VA cash-out can refinance any loan type into a VA loan.
2. Allowable closing costs. These include the Florida recording taxes, the appraisal, title charges and the lender’s capped flat charge.
3. The VA funding fee. It is financeable unless you are exempt.
4. Prepaid items. These are things like the first insurance and tax set-asides.
5. Cash to you. Whatever is left.
The cash-out is the remainder, not the starting point. That is why fees feel like they come out of your pocket even when nothing is paid at the table.
The circularity problem
The taxes are a percentage of the loan. The loan includes the taxes and the funding fee. So the numbers chase each other. Underwriting solves them together, and your Closing Disclosure shows the final result. You do not need to do the algebra. You do need to know why the cash figure on an early estimate can shift a little.
The ceiling
A VA cash-out can reach 100% of the appraised value, and the financed funding fee counts inside that limit. The VA Lenders Handbook, Chapter 6 ties reasonable value to the Notice of Value from the VA appraisal. So the old idea of “100% plus the fee on top” is out of date. Everything lives under one cap.
If your costs would push the loan past the ceiling, one of two things happens. You bring cash to close the gap, or the cash-out shrinks.
A Worked Example in Percentages
These numbers are modeled assumptions, not market data. They use percentages of appraised value so no dollar figures are needed.
Say your home appraises at 100% of value. Your payoff is 60% of that value. You use VA for the first time on a cash-out, so the funding fee is 2.15%. Assume you take the maximum loan at the ceiling.
| Line | Percent of appraised value |
|---|---|
| Maximum loan | 100% |
| Payoff of old mortgage | 60% |
| Funding fee, first use (financed) | about 2.15% |
| Florida taxes on the note (about 0.35% + 0.2%) | about 0.55% |
| Left before appraisal, title and other costs | about 37.3% |
That last line is before the remaining closing costs, so your real cash is lower. Now change one input at a time:
- Repeat VA use. The cash-out fee rises to 3.3%, which cuts the remainder to about 36.15%.
- Exempt borrower. The funding fee is waived. The remainder rises by roughly the full 2.15% to about 39.45%.
- Smaller loan. The taxes fall with the note, but the fee percentage still applies to what you borrow.
A veteran receiving compensation for a service-connected disability gets the most room under the ceiling. That exemption is part of the same VA schedule in 38 CFR 36.4313.
One practical note from the files I arrange. Borrowers fixate on the funding fee percentage and overlook how much room the payoff leaves. A borrower with a smaller payoff has far more cash to work with than one who is near the ceiling, whatever the fee tier. Look at your payoff as a share of value first.
If you want the program basics before going deeper, Lendmire’s VA cash-out refinance program page lays out how the product works and what it reaches.
Where the General Rule Breaks
The clean answer is “state taxes yes, county surtax no.” These are the edge cases that change it.
A deed gets recorded in the same closing. Adding or removing a spouse by deed is the common example. Now title is actually transferred. The county surtax and deed stamps can come into play. The Clerk’s page lists the surtax in its deed section, with a single-family-residence carve-out. Do not assume the carve-out covers you. Ask your title agent about your exact situation.
A lien cap on the mortgage. Some mortgages cap the amount the lender can recover, and the tax may be measured on that lower cap. Title agents handle this differently. Treat it as a question to ask, not something to count on.
Intangible tax on a refinance. Whether you get any credit for tax paid on the old mortgage depends on how your title company applies the rule. In one reading, the full new mortgage is taxed. In another, only the excess principal is. Ask your title company which applies to your file and have them show you the line.
A different property type. Condos and multifamily homes are treated differently on the deed side, not the mortgage side. For a mortgage-only refinance, property type changes the surtax question only if a deed is recorded. VA cash-out loans are for your own occupancy, so this article stays with the home you live in.
A lender limit below 100%. VA’s ceiling is 100%, but a given lender may set a lower cap. Some lenders set a lower limit than VA does, and some set a higher credit floor. Across the wholesale programs Lendmire places VA loans with, the VA cash-out reaches 100% of the appraised value, and the program starts at a 580 decision score. Every parameter stays subject to lender guidelines and a full file review.
Seasoning and benefit. A VA cash-out carries the same seasoning as an IRRRL: the later of 210 days from your first payment and the sixth payment. It also needs a net tangible benefit. The half-percent rate-reduction test and the fee-recoupment test belong to the IRRRL. They do not apply to a VA cash-out. If a rate drop is your only goal, Lendmire’s comparison of a VA cash-out and an IRRRL for a Miami-Dade veteran walks through the choice.
Myths Worth Dropping
- “Miami-Dade adds extra fees to my VA cash-out.” The surtax is a deed-transfer charge. A mortgage-only refinance records no deed.
- “A refinance has no doc stamps.” The new note and mortgage are taxed on the amount secured.
- “VA lets lenders charge anything.” VA limits charges to a schedule plus a capped flat charge. The rule was written to curb “junk fees,” as the Federal Register notice explains.
- “VA has no closing costs.” There is still a funding fee unless you are exempt, plus ordinary third-party and government charges.
- “My lender can waive Florida’s taxes.” They are collected at recording. A lender has no authority to waive them.
What to Check on Your Paperwork
A cash-out is a consumer mortgage, so you get a Loan Estimate and later a Closing Disclosure. VA expects allowable fees and any lender or seller credits to be documented there, per VA Circular 26-17-11.
Run down this list on both documents:
- The Florida documentary stamp and intangible tax lines appear under government recording and transfer charges.
- No deed surtax line appears unless a deed is actually being recorded.
- The funding fee matches your status: first use, repeat use or exempt.
- The total loan stays at or below 100% of the appraised value, funding fee included.
- Compare lender charges, not taxes. The taxes should match from one offer to the next.
- Cash to you equals the loan minus payoff, fee, taxes and costs. If it does not, ask why.
Tax treatment can depend on your situation; borrowers should speak with a qualified tax professional before relying on any deduction or credit.
Should You Roll It In or Pay at Closing?
It depends on your goal. Rolling the fee and taxes in keeps cash in your pocket today. It also raises the balance and the interest you carry over time. Paying from savings does the reverse.
If cash-out is the whole point, the financed route usually serves it. If you are only clearing a loan and the ceiling is tight, paying a few items from savings can leave a smaller balance. VA itself sets no minimum credit score, though the wholesale programs Lendmire places VA loans with start at a 580 decision score. Residual income is the controlling test, and the 41% debt-to-income figure is a guideline rather than a cap. A borrower above it needs residual income well above the table.
There is a related question for readers who care about the intangible tax in particular. Can a VA Cash-Out Roll In Miami-Dade Intangible Fees? takes it on directly.
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. A loan officer can walk your payoff, your funding fee status and your appraised value through the ceiling before you commit to anything. Nothing here is a commitment to lend, and every figure is subject to lender guidelines and full file review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a VA cash-out in Miami-Dade owe the county’s 45-cent surtax?
Usually not. If you re-title the home at closing, ask your title agent whether it applies.
Can the Florida taxes be added to my VA loan amount?
Generally yes, as long as the total stays within 100% of the appraised value. The taxes count as allowable recording charges and sit inside the ceiling along with the funding fee. Anything over the ceiling comes from your cash or reduces your proceeds.
Is the VA funding fee on a cash-out refinance financed too?
Yes, it can be financed, and it counts toward the 100% limit. First use is 2.15% and later use is 3.3%. Veterans receiving compensation for a service-connected disability, and the other exempt groups, owe nothing. Exempt borrowers keep more room under the ceiling.
Who pays the documentary stamp and intangible taxes?
The borrower customarily pays them on a refinance, since the borrower is the one giving the new mortgage. They are government charges, so they do not change from lender to lender. The lender’s own charges are where offers differ, within VA’s limits.
What if my cash-out would exceed 100% of the value?
The loan cannot go above the ceiling. You can reduce the cash you take, bring cash to closing for the gap, or pay some costs from savings. A lender may also set a cap below VA’s maximum.
For your own numbers, request a scenario review with Lendmire.
About Lendmire
Lendmire is a mortgage brokerage (NMLS# 2371349) licensed for consumer mortgage lending in 16 states, arranging FHA, VA, conventional and jumbo purchase and refinance loans through a wholesale lending network. Eligibility is determined by the lender on each file. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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Informational only. Not a Loan Estimate, approval, or commitment to lend. Program availability and eligibility are subject to lender guidelines, credit approval, property review, and underwriting.
References
2. eCFR, 38 CFR 36.4313, Charges and fees
3. Florida Department of Revenue, Documentary Stamp Tax
4. Miami-Dade Clerk, Official Records
5. VA Lenders Handbook (Pamphlet 26-7), Chapter 6, Refinancing Loans
This article is part of Lendmire’s VA cash-out refinance program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: How to Close a VA Cash-Out When Your Spouse Lives Out of State · How Much a VA Cash-Out Costs at Closing on a Large Loan · Top VA Cash-Out Refinance Providers After a Divorce When One Spouse Holds the VA Loan
Guides: VA Cash-Out Refinance in Miami, FL · VA Cash-Out Refinance in Florida
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.