On April 21, 2008, Florida Governor Crist signed House Bill 7019, which takes effect on June 1, 2008. House Bill 7019 repeals Section 201.022 of the Florida Statutes that required the filing of a tax return at the time of recording a deed or other instrument transferring an interest in real property indicating, among other things, the consideration paid for the real property interest. Accordingly, as of June 1, 2008, the Florida Department of Revenue Return for Transfers of Interest in Real Property (Form DR-219) will no longer be required to be filed when recording deeds or other instruments conveying an interest in Florida real property.

Florida imposes an excise tax, also known as a documentary stamp tax, on deeds and other instruments that convey an interest in Florida real property. The elimination of the DR-219 filing requirement does NOT eliminate the requirement to pay the appropriate amount of documentary stamp tax due and owing in connection with the conveyance. Failure to pay the documentary stamp tax can result in impositions of penalties and interest. Currently, in all Florida counties other than Miami-Dade County, the tax rate on documents that transfer an interest in real property is $0.70 for each $100 (or fraction thereof) of the total consideration paid for the transfer. In Miami-Dade County, the tax rate is $0.60 for each $100 (or fraction thereof) of the total consideration paid when the property is a single-family residence, and $0.60 plus $0.45 surtax per $100 (or fraction thereof) of the total consideration paid for property other than a single-family residence.

County clerks have previously relied upon the filed DR-219 in collecting the appropriate documentary stamp tax at the time of recordation of deeds and other instruments conveying real property interests. Since the amount of consideration paid for the conveyance is not required to be included on the deed or other instrument conveying the real property interest, it is unclear what information, if any, the county clerks may require in order to collect the appropriate documentary stamp tax. Prior to recording deeds and other instruments conveying real property interests, you should verify with the county clerk's office what information, if any, the clerk will require to be submitted along with the deed or other instrument for purposes of collecting the documentary stamp tax.

For the full text of House Bill 7019, see: http://www.myfloridahouse.com/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=_h7019er.xml&DocumentType=Bill&BillNumber=7019&Session=2008.

For Further Information

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