A cash acquisition through a revocable trust still requires a precise closing file. Separate deed taxes from borrowing-related taxes, document consideration and collateral, and review recording charges independently.
For a South Florida residence acquired through a revocable trust, the closing file should establish more than the origin of the purchase funds. It should identify what is being transferred, the consideration exchanged, whether borrowing is involved, and which instruments will be recorded. Cash describes the payment arrangement; it does not settle every tax question.
A third-party purchase generally remains subject to documentary stamp tax on the deed, even when paid entirely in cash. Trust ownership does not, by itself, remove that charge. The task is to separate four categories: deed tax, documentary stamp tax associated with borrowing, nonrecurring intangible tax, and recording costs.
For a buyer considering Una Residences Brickell, preparation begins with a transaction-specific worksheet-not an assumption that a cash closing carries no documentary taxes. That distinction matters equally beyond Brickell.
Buying from an unrelated seller through a revocable trust differs from conveying an already-owned property into the grantor’s own revocable trust. The first transaction generally involves purchase consideration and deed tax. The second may receive different treatment under particular facts.
A transfer into the grantor’s own revocable trust may be nontaxable under specific circumstances where the grantor remains the sole lifetime beneficiary, including a transfer involving encumbered property. That treatment should not extend automatically to every trust conveyance. It is not a blanket exemption for a trust buying a residence.
Ask counsel to document which transaction is occurring and why the proposed tax treatment applies. Separately, ask the closing team to confirm the proposed deed vesting, trustee signing authority, and required trust materials. This is a transaction-specific request, not a universal checklist: the tax analysis alone does not establish every title-underwriting or trust-document requirement.
Florida’s general deed documentary stamp tax rate is $0.70 for each $100, or fraction thereof, of consideration, except in Miami-Dade County. Miami-Dade’s base rate is $0.60 for each $100, or fraction thereof. Transfers involving only a single-family dwelling are exempt from the county surtax.
Outside that exemption, Miami-Dade generally adds a $0.45 surtax for each $100, bringing the combined rate to $1.05. The classification decision therefore warrants explicit documentation in the file. Do not assign the surtax solely because a residence is described as a condominium; confirm the treatment applicable to the specific transfer.
When reviewing a Miami Beach acquisition such as The Perigon Miami Beach, keep the property’s marketing description separate from the closing team’s tax classification. A project name is not a tax determination.
Document total consideration, not merely the final wire. Consideration can include money, discharged obligations, and mortgage or other encumbrance amounts associated with the transfer. Request a reconciliation of the purchase agreement, debt treatment, settlement statement, and taxable consideration so the tax calculation rests on a clear basis.
Assuming taxable consideration equals a $5 million purchase price, a Miami-Dade transfer qualifying for the single-family-dwelling surtax exemption produces $30,000 in deed tax. At the combined $1.05 rate, the same consideration produces $52,500. These are alternatives, not cumulative charges.
The illustration shows why classification should be resolved before the final funding request. It neither determines the treatment of a particular residence nor establishes which party bears the charge under the purchase contract. Ask the closing team to show that allocation separately from the tax computation.
For a Fort Lauderdale purchase, including a residence under consideration at Andare Residences Fort Lauderdale, the general Florida deed rate-not Miami-Dade’s special structure-is the starting point. Keep county identification visible on the worksheet.
All examples here exclude recording charges and other closing costs and assume no additional exemption, adjustment, or special debt treatment beyond the stated surtax distinction.
A genuine cash acquisition with no new note or mortgage ordinarily creates no new mortgage documentary stamp tax. That does not erase deed tax. Nor does delivering cash to the seller establish that the buyer has undertaken no borrowing elsewhere in the transaction.
Florida mortgage documentary stamp tax is generally $0.35 for each $100, or fraction thereof, of secured indebtedness. A new, fully taxable $5 million mortgage generally produces $17,500 in mortgage documentary stamp tax before other taxes and fees.
For any bridge financing, seller financing, or other borrowing arrangement, ask the closing team to identify the borrower, obligation amount, written instruments, and collateral. The central question is what the documents create, not what the purchase is called.
An obligation not secured by the acquired property still requires its own documentary stamp tax analysis. Do not equate “no mortgage on this residence” with “no tax on any note.” Existing debt also requires explicit treatment; the cash label should not obscure it.
Florida’s nonrecurring intangible tax generally applies to obligations secured by Florida real property at 2 mills, equivalent to 0.2%, or $2 for each $1,000. A fully taxable $5 million obligation secured by Florida real property produces $10,000 in this tax.
Without an obligation secured by Florida real property, a cash purchase does not create the basis for nonrecurring intangible tax. The collateral inquiry must therefore extend beyond the acquired residence: identify any Florida real property securing the borrowing.
Keep this calculation distinct from mortgage documentary stamp tax. Where both examples apply to the same fully taxable $5 million financing, the $17,500 documentary stamp charge and $10,000 intangible charge are separate. Neither replaces deed tax on the purchase. Request a written explanation of any exemption, adjustment, or special treatment used in the actual closing calculation.
Recording fees are separate from documentary taxes. Miami-Dade generally charges $10 for the first page and $8.50 for each additional page of most recorded documents. Certified copies add another expense: $1 for each page plus $2 for each document’s certification.
Request an instrument-by-instrument schedule showing page counts, recording charges, and requested certified copies. Confirm the applicable county’s charges rather than carrying Miami-Dade’s schedule into another jurisdiction.
Before authorizing funds, review the file’s essentials: transaction type, county, classification, consideration, existing debt, new obligations, collateral, and recorded instruments. The objective is a closing statement that can be explained line by line. Have transaction counsel and the closing team confirm the final treatment; this framework is not individualized legal or tax advice.
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Begin a quiet conversationNo. A third-party purchase generally incurs deed documentary stamp tax based on consideration, even when the buyer pays entirely in cash.
Trust ownership alone does not exempt a purchase. A seller’s conveyance for purchase consideration generally remains taxable.
An own-trust transfer involves property already held by the grantor rather than a purchase from a seller. Certain transfers where the grantor remains the sole lifetime beneficiary may be nontaxable under fact-specific treatment, not a universal exemption.
The base rate is $0.60 for each $100, or fraction thereof, of consideration. Transfers outside the single-family-dwelling surtax exemption generally incur an additional $0.45, producing a combined $1.05 rate.
Do not assign the surtax solely from the condominium label. Have the closing team confirm the classification and tax treatment of the specific transfer.
Document more than the final cash wire. Taxable consideration can include money, discharged obligations, and mortgage or other encumbrance amounts associated with the transfer.
At the general rate of $0.35 for each $100, a fully taxable $5 million mortgage produces $17,500 in mortgage documentary stamp tax. Other taxes and fees are separate.
It generally applies to obligations secured by Florida real property at 0.2%. A fully taxable $5 million secured obligation produces $10,000 in this tax.
Yes. Notes and other written obligations require their own documentary stamp tax analysis, and collateral involving other Florida real property can require nonrecurring intangible tax review.
Most recorded documents generally cost $10 for the first page and $8.50 for each additional page. Certified copies cost $1 for each page plus $2 for each document’s certification.
