Answers by Rodrigo Campos

Hey Mark, great question. The good news is you don’t pay sales tax when you buy a home in Florida. That only applies to things like cars or furniture—not real estate. Here’s what you actually pay when buying a $70,000: Doc stamp tax: Florida charges 70 cents for every $100 of the price. On $70,000, that comes out to about $490. Recording fee: Small county fee, usually around $10–$20. Property taxes: This is yearly, not a one-time closing fee. For a $70,000 home, you’re looking at roughly $700–$1,000 a year, depending on the county’s rate. Closing costs: Not a tax, but you’ll also pay for things like title insurance and the title company’s work. That usually runs $1,000–$2,500 depending on the deal. So bottom line: no sales tax. At closing, the biggest tax you’ll see is that doc stamp of about $490. Then moving forward, you’ll just have your regular yearly property taxes.