What Is the Florida Intangible Tax?

Short answer

The Florida nonrecurring intangible tax is a one-time state tax of 2 mills, that is $0.002 per dollar or $2 per $1,000, on the amount of any new mortgage secured by Florida real estate (Florida Statutes 199.133, as of October 2026). On a $400,000 mortgage it is $800. It is paid at closing when the mortgage is recorded and is usually the buyer's or borrower's cost. It applies to purchases, refinances, HELOCs and second mortgages alike.

Definition

The intangible tax on mortgages is a Florida excise tax on the debt obligation secured by real property, charged once at recording. It is separate from, and in addition to, the documentary stamp tax on the note.

Worked example

A buyer in Kendall borrows $560,000. Intangible tax = $560,000 x 0.002 = $1,120. Doc stamps on the note = $560,000 x 0.0035 = $1,960. Together the two state taxes on the mortgage are $3,080, or 0.55% of the loan amount. Two years later she opens a $100,000 HELOC: intangible tax $100,000 x 0.002 = $200 plus doc stamps $100,000 x 0.0035 = $350, so $550 to record the line. If instead she does a cash-out refinance to a new $650,000 first mortgage, the taxes are charged on the full $650,000: $1,300 intangible plus $2,275 doc stamps = $3,575.

The rule in brief

• Rate: 2 mills on each dollar of the obligation secured by a mortgage on Florida real property (Florida Statutes 199.133(1)).
• One-time, due at recording; shown in Section E of your Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure.
• Applies to first mortgages, second mortgages and HELOCs (on the credit limit).
• Not included in the APR; it is a government charge.

Intangible tax plus doc stamps

Think of the two together: $0.002 + $0.0035 = $0.0055 per dollar borrowed, or 0.55% of the loan. On a jumbo loan of $1,000,000 that is $5,500 in state taxes before title, lender or recording fees. A larger down payment reduces both taxes proportionally. See doc stamp tax.

In South Florida

For South Florida borrowers the intangible tax is a reason to size loans carefully. Every extra $10,000 you borrow costs $20 in intangible tax plus $35 in doc stamps at closing, so rolling closing costs into a refinance is slightly more expensive here than elsewhere. On a HELOC, you pay the tax on the full credit limit even if you draw only a portion, which is worth remembering when choosing a line size for a condo special assessment. Some lenders offer to pay these taxes on HELOCs as a promotion.