Heirs rarely ask what the house is worth. They ask what is left after everything is paid, and how it splits. This calculator answers that using the two things that actually change county to county in Florida: the documentary stamp rate on the deed, and whether the buyer or the seller customarily pays for the owner's title policy.
What Actually Changes County to County
Two line items move, and between them they can swing an estate's proceeds by several thousand dollars on an ordinary house.
The deed stamp rate. Florida charges documentary stamps on the deed at $0.70 per $100 of the sale price in 66 counties. Miami-Dade is the exception at $0.60 per $100 on a single-family residence. The tax is owed whether or not the estate made any money on the sale, and it comes off the top.
Who pays for the owner's title policy. This is a county custom, not a statute, and it is the bigger number. In most of Florida the seller customarily pays, which on an estate sale means the premium comes out of the heirs' proceeds. In Broward, Charlotte, Collier, Lee, Manatee, Miami-Dade and Sarasota the buyer customarily pays, and the estate keeps that money. The premium is promulgated by the state, so it is identical at every title company in Florida — the only question that ever matters is who pays it, and that is negotiable in the contract.
The Tax Question
The most common fear we hear is that selling will trigger a large tax bill. For most heirs it does not.
Florida has no inheritance tax and no estate tax. The state's estate tax was tied to a federal credit that no longer exists, so it has been zero for people who died after 2004. Only the federal estate tax can apply, and its exemption is high enough to reach very few estates.
The cost basis resets at death. Under IRC §1014 an heir's basis is the property's fair market value on the date of death, not what the decedent paid. A house bought for $60,000 in 1978 and worth $400,000 at death has a $400,000 basis in the heirs' hands, so selling near that value produces little or no taxable gain. And under IRC §1223(9) the sale is automatically long-term no matter how quickly the heirs sell.
Two practical consequences. Get a defensible date-of-death value, which usually means a retroactive appraisal if none exists, because that number is the basis. And take the tax question to a CPA: we handle title, escrow and closing, and we make sure your closing statement gives your CPA the figures they need.
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Submit a Contract →Before the Estate Can Sell At All
The calculator assumes the estate can convey. Often it cannot yet. Title does not pass to heirs automatically — it passes through probate, or through a deed mechanism that avoids probate, and which one applies depends on how the deed read on the date of death. A survivorship deed or a tenancy by the entireties between spouses leaves title with the survivor. A funded trust puts it with the successor trustee. A Lady Bird deed vests it in the named beneficiaries without any court involvement.
Where the property stood in the decedent's name alone, probate is required, and the timing decides which kind. Past two years, creditor claims are barred under section 733.710 and a summary administration is available at any estate value. Inside two years, that route is capped at $75,000 excluding exempt property, and everything else is a formal administration. Our full guide to selling inherited Florida property walks through each path, and what to do when one heir will not agree covers the harder version.
Inherited Property by County
Each county page carries this calculator preset to that county's rate and custom, where probate is filed, and the cities we close in there.
Alachua · Baker · Bay · Bradford · Brevard · Broward · Calhoun · Charlotte · Citrus · Clay · Collier · Columbia · DeSoto · Dixie · Duval · Escambia · Flagler · Franklin · Gadsden · Gilchrist · Glades · Gulf · Hamilton · Hardee · Hendry · Hernando · Highlands · Hillsborough · Holmes · Indian River · Jackson · Jefferson · Lafayette · Lake · Lee · Leon · Levy · Liberty · Madison · Manatee · Marion · Martin · Miami-Dade · Monroe · Nassau · Okaloosa · Okeechobee · Orange · Osceola · Palm Beach · Pasco · Pinellas · Polk · Putnam · Santa Rosa · Sarasota · Seminole · St. Johns · St. Lucie · Sumter · Suwannee · Taylor · Union · Volusia · Wakulla · Walton · Washington
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this calculator include?
The costs that are set by Florida law or by county custom: documentary stamps on the deed, the promulgated owner's title insurance premium, and deed recording. It also subtracts the things you enter, meaning any mortgage payoff, an HOA or condo estoppel, and the real estate commission. It excludes settlement and closing fees, tax prorations, and probate costs, because those vary by file.
Why does the county change the answer?
Two reasons. Documentary stamps on the deed are $0.70 per $100 in 66 counties but $0.60 per $100 in Miami-Dade on a single-family residence. And who customarily pays for the owner's title policy is a county custom: in most of Florida the seller pays, which on an estate sale comes out of the heirs' proceeds, but in seven counties the buyer customarily pays and the estate keeps that money.
Is the title insurance premium negotiable?
The premium itself is not. Florida promulgates owner's title insurance rates, so the same policy costs the same at every title company in the state. What is negotiable is who pays it, and on an inherited sale that is worth raising in the contract.
Do the heirs owe tax on the sale?
Usually far less than they expect. Florida has no inheritance tax and no estate tax. Under IRC section 1014 an heir's cost basis resets to the property's fair market value on the date of death, so selling near that value produces little or no gain, and under section 1223(9) the sale is automatically long-term. Confirm your own situation with a CPA; we handle title and closing, not tax returns.
Do the heirs have to be in Florida to close?
No. Florida allows remote online notarization, and we also close by mail-away. Most inherited-property files we handle have heirs in another state.