The Quick Read: The Miami-Dade surtax is a charge on deeds, and a cash-out refinance of the home you live in does not record a deed. So the surtax is not part of the bill. Two other Florida taxes do apply to the new loan: the note doc stamp tax and the one-time intangible tax. Both scale with the loan amount, which is why a jumbo balance makes them feel heavy.
The title of this article assumes something the statutes do not say. Plenty of people search for it that way, and some online calculators blur the lines. Here is how the pieces fit.
Key Takeaways
- The surtax attaches to deeds, not to notes or mortgages, and a single-family home is exempt even when a deed is involved.
- A refinance with no deed has no deed stamps and no surtax. It still has note stamps and the intangible tax.
- Both loan-side taxes are percentages of the note, so bigger jumbo loans pay more dollars at the same percentage.
- “Jumbo” decides underwriting. It does not change Florida’s tax rates.
- Whether only the new money is taxed or the whole note is taxed depends on how the refinance is structured.
Where Does the Surtax Actually Apply?
The surtax applies to deeds that transfer real property in Miami-Dade County, and it has nothing to do with a refinance note. Florida’s Department of Revenue describes doc stamp tax as an excise tax on documents signed, delivered or recorded in the state. Deeds are on the list. So are notes and recorded mortgages.
Miami-Dade’s deed rate is 60 cents per $100 of consideration. The county also adds a 45-cent-per-$100 surtax. State law ties that surtax to documents taxable under the deed-stamp statute, and it says there is no surtax on a document involving only a single-family residence.
Florida’s oversight office, OPPAGA, reports that Miami-Dade is the only county that assesses it. The proceeds fund housing programs. So the surtax is local, deed-based and aimed at transfers that are not single-family homes.
What Does a Cash-Out Refinance Actually Trigger?
A cash-out refinance creates a new note and a new recorded mortgage, so it triggers the statewide note stamps and the intangible tax. It records no deed. That is the whole story, and it is why the surtax drops out.
Here is each charge in plain terms.
- Note and mortgage doc stamps. The rate is 35 cents per $100 of the debt. Stamps are charged per $100 “or portion thereof,” so the amount rounds up. Florida’s administrative rule also says the dollar cap on unsecured notes does not apply to a mortgage recorded in Florida. A recorded mortgage is taxed on the full secured amount. On a jumbo loan, the cap is not your friend.
- Nonrecurring intangible tax. This is a one-time tax of 2 mills per dollar on notes secured by Florida real property, under Chapter 199. The lender is the legal taxpayer but may pass the cost to you. It is never calculated on more than the fair market value of the collateral.
- Deed stamps and surtax. Not triggered, because no deed is recorded in a straight refinance.
The percentages never change with loan size. Only the dollars do. A loan twice as large owes roughly twice the tax. Not complicated. Just easy to underestimate when the loan is big.
How the Charges Compare by Transaction
Different transactions record different documents, and the documents decide which taxes apply.
| Transaction | Deed recorded? | Taxes that apply |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase with a loan | Yes | Deed stamps, note stamps, intangible |
| Cash-out refinance | No | Note stamps, intangible |
| Rate-and-term refinance | No | Note stamps, intangible |
| Cash purchase | Yes | Deed stamps only |
The surtax column would sit under deed stamps, and it still would not apply to a single-family home. A condo unit and a qualifying cooperative unit count as single-family for this purpose, per the state’s administrative code. A document conveying more than one single-family residence is a different matter.
How a Jumbo Cash-Out Is Underwritten, Step by Step
Underwriting follows the lender’s own rules, not Florida’s tax code. This is where jumbo status matters.
Step 1: Is it jumbo? A loan is jumbo when it exceeds the conforming limit for the county. Federal regulator FHFA publishes baseline and high-cost limits, and Miami-Dade has its own county figure. Check FHFA’s county lookup rather than trusting a number from a blog. Limits change, and Lendmire does not quote one.
Step 2: The appraisal sets the ceiling. Your value drives loan-to-value (LTV), the loan balance as a percentage of the home’s value. LTV caps how much cash you can take out. Across the wholesale jumbo programs Lendmire places files with, cash-out sits at lower leverage than purchase. Above a lane’s threshold amount, lenders require two appraisals. A low appraisal shrinks the cash, so budget for that possibility.
Step 3: Credit and ratios. The headline jumbo lane starts at a 660 decision score. A decision score is the credit score the lender uses to decide, usually the middle of your reported scores. The fixed lanes allow a debt-to-income ratio of up to 50%. That ratio compares your monthly debts to your monthly income. The adjustable lanes stop at 45%, and the interest-only lanes at 43%.
Step 4: Leverage. Leverage reaches 90% on the top lane, and several lanes reach 89.99% combined LTV (the first loan plus any second liens). The rest stop at 80%. Cash-out is held lower than purchase, and the largest lanes put a cap on the cash itself. Loans go to $5,000,000 on the largest lanes, subject to lender guidelines and full file review.
Step 5: Reserves. Reserves are savings left after closing, counted in months of your full housing payment. They rise as the loan amount rises.
Step 6: Taxes land in the file. The note stamps and intangible tax are estimated up front and itemized at closing. More on that below.
Every figure here depends on the specific lane and your file. None of it is a commitment to lend.
Why a “Surtax” Shows Up in Some Calculators
Some free calculators apply the Miami-Dade deed rate to every Miami-Dade transaction. Type in a refinance and you may see a line labeled surtax. It looks official. It is wrong for a refinance of your home.
A commercial doc stamp calculator states the rule correctly: only deed stamps use the Miami-Dade exception, and notes and intangible tax use statewide rates. If a tool shows a surtax on your new loan, ask your title or closing agent to explain the line. Don’t just accept it.
Where a Deed Can Enter a Refinance File
A deed can enter your file even when the loan itself needs none, and that is when the surtax question becomes real. These are the realistic triggers.
- Adding or removing a spouse. Florida exempts transfers between spouses of homestead property when the only consideration is a mortgage, per the Department of Revenue’s page.
- Moving title into a trust or entity. Any deed brings deed stamps into the conversation. Whether the surtax follows depends on the property type and how the transfer is documented.
- Multiple units or non-single-family property. The single-family exemption is lost when one document conveys more than one single-family residence. It is also lost for vacant land or multifamily property.
A deed isn’t part of a plain cash-out refinance. If you are adding a name or changing how title is held, tell your loan officer and title agent early so they can price it. Title counsel makes the final call on how a deed is taxed.
Does the Whole Note Get Taxed, or Only the New Money?
Sometimes only the increase is taxed, and sometimes the whole note is. This is the biggest swing factor on any Florida refinance.
Florida law treats a renewal note that increases the balance as taxable only on the amount of the increase. To qualify, the renewal generally has to be signed only by the original obligor, with no new borrowers added, and it has to extend the existing balance. For the intangible tax, if the original borrower is not liable on the new obligation, the tax runs on the entire new principal. Otherwise it runs on the excess over the old balance plus accrued interest.
A Florida appellate court has addressed the same-lender point in a dispute over lender refinances. It treated the exemption as tied to a new loan refinancing the old loan with the same lender. That is a court’s view of one set of facts, and the case is not a promise for your file.
In practice, a cash-out refinance with a new lender, or one that adds a new borrower, often does not get new-money-only treatment. The full note may be taxable. Treatment depends on the closing agent and title counsel. Nobody should promise you an exemption before the file is reviewed.
This is also why cash out matters. Whatever cash you pull raises the note amount. If the transaction is treated as a renewal, the increase is taxed. If it isn’t, the whole new loan is.
Who Pays, and Where It Shows Up
Typically the borrower pays the note stamps and intangible tax on a financed transaction. That is custom, not statute. The intangible tax statute lets the lender pass its cost through, and the seller customarily pays deed stamps on a sale. Costs can be paid in cash at closing or financed into the loan, depending on the program and lender. Financing them raises your balance, your monthly payment and your total interest.
Your lender provides a Loan Estimate after application and a Closing Disclosure before closing, per the OCC’s Truth in Lending booklet. Government charges and taxes are itemized on both. Some closing costs can rise by any amount, some by up to 10% in total, and some not at all, with exceptions for a change in circumstances. A lower-than-expected appraisal is one of those exceptions.
Compare the final Closing Disclosure against your most recent Loan Estimate line by line. If a tax line is missing, or a surtax line has appeared, ask why.
Where the Rule Breaks
The general rule is that a home refinance owes note stamps and intangible tax and nothing deed-related. It bends in a few places.
- Occupancy. The surtax exemption turns on property type, not on whether you live there. For the loan itself, occupancy decides leverage: primary, second-home and investment occupancy carry lane-specific leverage limits, and cash-out sits lower on all of them.
- Other collateral. If property outside Florida also secures the loan, the intangible tax applies only to the portion tied to Florida real property.
- Limited cash-out. Conforming rules treat small cash back as a limited cash-out refinance, with a cap tied to a small percentage of the loan or a modest dollar floor. Jumbo lenders define their own line between limited and full cash-out.
- Condos. Two of the wholesale lanes accept non-warrantable condominiums, meaning condos that fall outside conventional project standards. That helps for many Miami-Dade buildings. The tax treatment of a condo unit stays the same.
What the Decision Looks Like in Practice
Picture a Miami-Dade homeowner who wants cash out of a single-family house they have owned for years. The loan would be jumbo. They ask whether the surtax applies, and the answer is no, because no deed changes hands.
What they actually need to weigh:
1. How much cash, at what leverage. The appraisal and the lane’s cash-out cap set the limit. Cash-out leverage is lower than purchase leverage.
2. How big the new note is. Note stamps and the intangible tax grow with it, and a “portion thereof” rounds up.
3. Whether the tax is paid in cash or financed. Financing it is easier at closing and costlier over time.
4. Whether the existing loan and lender affect the taxable base. Ask the title agent whether new-money-only treatment applies.
5. Whether a name or title change is attached. If so, a deed is back in the picture.
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’s jumbo cash-out refinance program page lays out how the lanes differ. Tax treatment can depend on your situation; borrowers should speak with a qualified tax professional before relying on any deduction or credit.
Key Terms Defined
Documentary stamp tax: A Florida excise tax on documents such as deeds, notes and recorded mortgages, charged per $100.
Surtax: An extra county charge on top of the deed stamp rate. In Florida, only Miami-Dade levies it.
Note: The signed promise to repay the loan. It carries stamp tax based on the amount owed.
Intangible tax: A one-time Florida tax on notes secured by Florida real property, set at 2 mills per dollar.
Jumbo loan: A mortgage above the county’s conforming limit.
Cash-out refinance: A new, larger mortgage that pays off the old one and gives you the difference in cash.
Renewal: A refinance that qualifies for tax only on the increase in balance, not the whole note.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I pay the Miami-Dade surtax on a cash-out refinance?
No. The surtax applies to deeds, and a standard cash-out refinance records no deed. You still owe the statewide note stamps and the intangible tax on the new loan. If you add or remove someone from title during the refinance, ask your title agent how the deed is treated.
Is there extra Florida tax because my loan is jumbo?
No. Florida’s tax rates do not change with jumbo status. The dollars are larger only because the same percentages apply to a bigger note. Jumbo status affects underwriting, appraisals, reserves and leverage.
Does the single-family exemption cover my condo?
Generally yes, for the surtax. The administrative code treats a document conveying only a single-family residence as not taxable, and that includes a condo unit or a qualifying cooperative unit. Documents conveying multiple residences, vacant land or multifamily property are treated differently.
Who pays the intangible tax?
The lender is the legal taxpayer, but state law lets it pass the cost to you. On a financed transaction, borrowers typically pay it. It should appear itemized on your Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure, so you can question it.
Is only the new money taxed on my refinance?
It depends. Florida taxes only the increase on qualifying same-lender renewals with the same borrowers. A new lender or a new borrower often means the full note is taxable. Title counsel decides, so ask before you assume.
For your own numbers, request a scenario review with Lendmire.
About Lendmire
Lendmire, NMLS# 2371349, is a mortgage brokerage with consumer lending licenses in 16 states. FHA, VA, conventional and jumbo purchase and refinance loans are arranged through wholesale lending partners, and each application is reviewed individually by the lender. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
For the program’s current guidelines, see jumbo loan programs.
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References
1. Florida Department of Revenue – Documentary Stamp Tax
2. Florida Statutes s. 201.031
3. OPPAGA
4. Florida’s administrative rule
5. Chapter 199
6. Fla. Admin. Code R. 12B-4.012
7. FHFA – conforming loan limit values
8. OCC’s Truth in Lending booklet
This article is part of Lendmire’s Jumbo Loans series — every loan program’s qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the loan options page.
Related reading: How to Get a Jumbo Cash-Out During and After a Divorce · Jumbo Cash-Out Reserve Requirements for a W-2 Earner · Jumbo Cash-Out Documentary Stamp Rules for a Florida Home
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.