Florida Real Estate Exam Math: Doc Stamps, Prorations and Commissions (2026)

Florida exam math is mostly a handful of formulas you can memorize in an afternoon. The ones that are Florida-specific: 1. Doc stamps on a deed: $0.70 per $100 of consideration, rounding up to the next $100. 2. Doc stamps on a new note: $0.35 per $100 of the amount financed. 3. Intangible tax on a new mortgage: 0.002 (2 mills) of the loan amount. 4. Prorations: use 365 days and give the day of closing to the buyer, unless the question says otherwise. 5. Homestead: the classic exam setup is $25,000 off for all taxes plus another $25,000 that does not apply to school taxes. Everything else (commissions, net to seller, percent profit) works the same as in any state. Below, each one is worked out with real numbers. You can check your own answers with our free transfer tax calculator and proration calculator.

Florida's documentary stamp tax on deeds is $0.70 per $100 of consideration or any fraction of $100 (Section 201.02). The "fraction" part means you always round up. Example: a home sells for $287,450. $287,450 / 100 = 2,874.5, which rounds up to 2,875. 2,875 x $0.70 = $2,012.50. Consideration includes any mortgage the buyer assumes or takes subject to, not just the cash. If a buyer pays $300,000 by assuming a $180,000 mortgage and paying $120,000 cash, the tax is on the full $300,000: 3,000 x $0.70 = $2,100. Miami-Dade is the exception the exam likes. There the rate is $0.60 per $100, plus a $0.45 per $100 surtax on everything except a single-family residence. A $400,000 house in Miami-Dade costs 4,000 x $0.60 = $2,400. A $400,000 commercial building costs 4,000 x $1.05 = $4,200. By custom, the seller pays the deed stamps.

When the buyer signs a new note and mortgage, two more taxes apply, and the buyer customarily pays both: 1. Doc stamps on the note: $0.35 per $100 (or fraction) of the amount financed (Section 201.08). 2. Nonrecurring intangible tax: 0.002 of the mortgage amount. Example: a new $230,000 loan. Note stamps: 2,300 x $0.35 = $805. Intangible tax: $230,000 x 0.002 = $460. Total: $1,265. Watch for these traps. A purchase-money mortgage the seller carries back is a new loan, so it gets both taxes: on $50,000 that is $175 in note stamps and $100 in intangible tax. An assumed mortgage is not a new note, so no note stamps or intangible tax are due on it, even though it counts toward the deed stamps above.

Prorations split ongoing costs and income between buyer and seller. Florida exam questions use two conventions unless they tell you otherwise: divide by 365 days, and the buyer owns the day of closing. That matches the standard Florida Realtors/Florida Bar "AS IS" contract, which prorates as of the day before closing. Then ask two questions: has the item been paid, and so who owes whom? Property taxes in Florida are paid in arrears. The bill goes out in November for the current year, so at most closings the year's taxes are unpaid and the seller owes the buyer for the seller's days. Example: annual taxes of $4,380, unpaid, closing June 15 in a non-leap year. Daily rate: $4,380 / 365 = $12. Seller's days, January 1 through June 14: 31 + 28 + 31 + 30 + 31 + 14 = 165. Seller's share: 165 x $12 = $1,980. Debit the seller, credit the buyer. Rent works the other way because it is collected in advance. Monthly rent of $1,825 is $1,825 x 12 / 365 = $60 a day. With a June 15 closing the buyer owns June 15 through 30, which is 16 days: $960, debit seller, credit buyer. Tenant security deposits are never prorated; the whole amount is a debit to the seller and a credit to the buyer. For more examples, including interest on an assumed loan, see the closing and computations chapter.

Commission questions follow the money from the sale down to the sales associate. Example: a $425,000 sale at 6%. Total commission: $425,000 x 0.06 = $25,500. Listing and selling brokers split 50/50, so the listing broker gets $12,750. The listing associate is on a 60% split: $12,750 x 0.60 = $7,650. The broker keeps $5,100. Net-to-seller questions run backward. Divide the seller's desired net by (1 minus the commission rate). Example: the seller wants $300,000 after a 6% commission. $300,000 / 0.94 = $319,148.94. The trap answer is $300,000 x 1.06 = $318,000, which leaves the seller short. If the question adds other fixed costs, such as $5,000 of closing costs, add them to the net first: $305,000 / 0.94 = $324,468.09. Our commission calculator shows each step if you want to practice with your own numbers.

Florida taxes are figured as taxable value times millage, where 1 mill is $1 per $1,000 (0.001). The homestead exemption takes two bites out of assessed value, and only the first one applies to school taxes. Exam setup: a homestead assessed at $350,000, school millage of 6.5, non-school millage of 12, and the classic $25,000 plus $25,000 exemptions. School taxable value: $350,000 - $25,000 = $325,000. Tax: $325,000 x 0.0065 = $2,112.50. Non-school taxable value: $350,000 - $50,000 = $300,000. Tax: $300,000 x 0.012 = $3,600. Total tax: $5,712.50. The low-value trap: the second exemption only applies to value above $50,000. A homestead assessed at $60,000 gets the first $25,000 on all taxes but only $10,000 of the second, so school taxable value is $35,000 and non-school taxable value is $25,000. Since 2025 the second exemption is adjusted for inflation ($26,411 for 2026), but practice questions still commonly use the round $25,000. Use whatever figure the question gives. The property taxes chapter covers Save Our Homes and portability, which can also turn up as math.

Try these before looking at the answers. 1. A home outside Miami-Dade sells for $412,300. What are the doc stamps on the deed? 2. A buyer takes out a new $320,000 mortgage. What are the note stamps plus intangible tax? 3. Annual property taxes are $5,110 and unpaid. Closing is March 10 in a non-leap year. What is the proration, and who is debited? 4. A single-family home in Miami-Dade sells for $500,000. What are the deed doc stamps? 5. A seller wants to net $250,000 after a 5% commission. What must the property sell for? Answers: 1. 4,123 x $0.70 = $2,886.10. 2. Note stamps 3,200 x $0.35 = $1,120, plus intangible tax $640, for $1,760. 3. $5,110 / 365 = $14 a day. Seller's days January 1 through March 9 = 31 + 28 + 9 = 68. 68 x $14 = $952, debit seller, credit buyer. 4. 5,000 x $0.60 = $3,000. No surtax on a single-family residence. 5. $250,000 / 0.95 = $263,157.89. If you got all five, the math on the real exam should feel familiar. To see math mixed in with the rest of the content, take the free Florida practice exam.