What you actually walk away with

The offer price is not what you get. Between the payoff, the brokerage fee, documentary stamps and prorated taxes, the gap is usually larger than sellers expect — and if you are not a US taxpayer, larger again.

Seller net proceeds — Miami-Dade

Sale price

Mortgage payoffAsk your lender for a payoff figure, not the balance

Brokerage feeNegotiable. Not set by law or by any board.

Who pays the owner’s title policy

Property tax prorationYour share of the year up to closing

Other closing costsEstoppel fee, recording, wire fees, HOA transfer

Are you a non-US person for tax?

—Estimated net to you

—Total selling costs

—Of the sale price

Estimate only. Your closing agent produces the binding figure on the settlement statement. Get a payoff letter from your lender — it includes interest to the closing date and is higher than the balance showing on your statement.

How this is worked out

Documentary stamps on the deed are fixed by statute. In Miami-Dade the rate is $0.60 per $100 of consideration. The county's additional$0.45 per $100 surtax does not apply to a single-family residence, and a single condominium unit conveyed on its own deed qualifies for that exemption. It doesapply where one deed transfers more than one residential unit.

Title insurance is promulgated by the State of Florida under Rule 69O-186.003 — $5.75 per $1,000 on the first $100,000 and$5.00 per $1,000 from there to $1 million. It is not a negotiable price. Above $1 million the rate steps down further; confirm the exact premium with your closing agent.

Who pays it is the part most calculators get wrong. In Miami-Dade thebuyer customarily pays for the owner's policy and chooses the closing agent — the opposite of the custom through most of the rest of Florida. That is why the default here is set to buyer, and why it is a choice rather than an assumption.

FIRPTA applies when the seller is a foreign person, and the standard rate is 15% of the amount realised. The reduced 10% rate and the zero rate below $300,000 arenot price bands on their own: they apply only where the buyer signs that they or their family will use the property as a residence for at least half the days it is used in each of the first two years. Without that signature the standard 15% applies at any price, which is why this calculator asks. It is withholding, not a tax: it is credited against what you actually owe, and it can often be reduced with a withholding certificate applied for before closing.

Not included: your capital gains liability, any assessment the association levies at closing, or repairs agreed after inspection.

What this is, and is not. This is an arithmetic tool. It uses the figures you type in, plus Florida rates that are published and fixed. It is an estimate to help you frame a conversation — not tax advice, legal advice or a loan quote. Stefania is a licensed real estate sales associate, not a CPA, attorney or lender. Confirm the numbers that matter with your closing agent, lender and tax adviser before you rely on them.

The Miami-Dade quirk worth money to you

Through most of Florida, custom has the seller buying the owner's title policy for the buyer. In Miami-Dade, custom runs the other way: the buyer pays and picks the closing agent.

On a $900,000 sale that is roughly $4,575 that stays with you here and would not in Orlando or Jacksonville. It is customary rather than statutory, so it can be negotiated either way in the contract — but if a calculator built for the rest of the state told you to expect that cost, it overstated your bill. That is why the field above is a choice.

If you are not a US taxpayer

FIRPTA is the single largest surprise for foreign sellers, and it surprises people because it is not a tax — it is withholding. The closing agent holds back a percentage of the gross price and remits it to the IRS. You reclaim the excess when you file, which can be many months later.

The amount is calculated on the sale price, not on your profit. A seller who bought at $1.1M and sells at $1.0M has made a loss and can still have $150,000 withheld. That is the part that catches people.

The other part that catches people is assuming a sale under $1 million automatically gets the reduced rate. It does not. The reduction depends on the buyer signing a residence declaration, and a buyer purchasing as an investment or intending to let the unit cannot sign it. Model both, then find out which one your buyer is.

There is something you can do about it. A withholding certificate applied for before closing can reduce the amount held back to something closer to the actual tax due. It has to be started early — not the week of closing. If this applies to you, speak to a CPA who handles FIRPTA before you list, not after you are under contract. Thefull FIRPTA guide walks through it.

The costs sellers forget

The estoppel fee. Florida caps what an association can charge, but it is still a real line, and turnaround can be slow enough to delay a closing.
A levied special assessment. If the association has already voted one, it usually has to be settled at closing. Whether the balance follows the unit or is paid off is negotiable — and worth negotiating.
Tax proration. Florida bills in arrears, so you credit the buyer for your share of the year up to closing.
The payoff, not the balance. A payoff letter includes interest to the closing date and any fee. It is always higher than the number on your last statement.

On the brokerage fee: it is negotiable, it is not set by law, and no board or association sets a standard rate. The field above defaults to a placeholder, not a recommendation. What matters more than the percentage is what is being done for it — and how the fee is split with a buyer's agent, which since 2024 is agreed separately and openly.

Questions people actually ask

Is the brokerage fee really negotiable?

Yes. Commissions are negotiable and are not fixed by law, by any board, or by any association. Any figure you see quoted as standard is a convention, not a rule.

Why is my payoff higher than my balance?

A payoff letter includes interest accrued to the closing date and any administrative or recording fee. Always ask your lender for the payoff figure rather than working from a statement.

My sale is under $1 million — is FIRPTA automatically 10%?

No. The reduced rate applies only where the buyer signs that they or their family will reside at the property for at least half the days it is used in each of the first two years. A buyer who intends to let the unit cannot sign that, and the rate stays at 15%.

Does FIRPTA apply to green card holders?

FIRPTA applies to foreign persons for US tax purposes. Lawful permanent residents are generally treated as US persons and so are outside it — but residency status for tax is a question for your CPA, not for a real estate agent or a calculator.

Who pays the documentary stamps on the deed?

In Florida the seller customarily pays the stamps on the deed. The buyer pays the stamps and intangible tax on any new mortgage. Both are customary and can be varied by contract.

Work with Stefania

Want a real net sheet for your unit?

Send the building and unit and Stefania will prepare a proper net sheet against current comparable sales — including anything the association has levied.