By Brenden Rendo, Realtor · Updated September 3, 2026
Every seller asks the same question eventually, and most ask it far too late: what do I actually walk away with? Not the sale price, not the equity number on a portal, the figure that lands in your account. Here is every line that stands between those two numbers in Orange, Seminole, Lake and Volusia counties, with the real Florida rates and a worked example you can run against your own house.
- Your net is the sale price minus payoff, commission, doc stamps, title, prorated taxes and any concessions.
- Florida doc stamps on the deed run 70 cents per 100 dollars, about 0.7 percent of the price.
- Title insurance is rate-regulated in Florida, so the premium is not something you shop for. In Central Florida the seller customarily pays it.
- Buyer agent compensation is a separate decision that is entirely yours, negotiable, and not set by any association.
- Concessions are the line most sellers forget, and they come off your net exactly like a price reduction does.
The seven lines between price and net
1. Mortgage payoff. Not your balance from last statement. The payoff figure includes interest to the closing date and any prepayment items, so ask your lender for a written payoff good through your expected closing.
2. Commission. My listing fee is 2 percent. Compensation to an agent representing the buyer is a separate decision and it is yours to make. It is negotiable, it is not set by law or by any association, and you may choose to offer nothing at all. We talk through what that choice does to your buyer pool before you decide.
3. Documentary stamp tax on the deed. Florida charges 70 cents per 100 dollars of consideration, or fraction thereof, everywhere except Miami-Dade. The Florida Department of Revenue publishes the rate. Customarily the seller pays it here.
4. Owner's title insurance policy. Florida promulgates title rates, which means the premium is set by regulation rather than by shopping. It runs 5.75 dollars per thousand on the first 100,000 dollars of coverage, then 5.00 dollars per thousand up to 1 million. In Orange, Seminole, Lake and Volusia the seller customarily pays this and selects the title company.
5. Prorated property taxes. Florida property taxes are paid in arrears, so at closing you credit the buyer for the portion of the year you owned the house. On a mid-year closing that is roughly half your annual bill.
6. Settlement and search fees. Closing fee, municipal lien search, recording, wire fees, and an HOA or condominium estoppel fee if your property has an association. Individually small, collectively real.
7. Concessions. Whatever you agree to contribute to the buyer's costs, or credit for repairs after their inspection. This is the line that moves most between the day you list and the day you close.
A worked example on a $450,000 sale
Assume a 450,000 dollar sale price, a 210,000 dollar mortgage payoff, a 4,800 dollar annual tax bill with a June closing, an HOA, and a seller who chooses to offer 2.5 percent to the buyer's agent. Your numbers will differ, and that is the point of building your own.
| Line | Amount | How it is figured |
|---|---|---|
| Sale price | $450,000 | contract price |
| Listing fee, 2 percent | -$9,000 | 450,000 x 0.02 |
| Buyer agent compensation, if offered | -$11,250 | 450,000 x 0.025, your choice entirely |
| Documentary stamp tax | -$3,150 | 450,000 / 100 x 0.70 |
| Owner's title policy | -$2,325 | 100 x 5.75 plus 350 x 5.00 |
| Prorated property taxes | -$2,000 | roughly five months of a 4,800 bill |
| Settlement, lien search, recording, estoppel | -$1,200 | varies by title company and association |
| Mortgage payoff | -$210,000 | lender payoff good through closing |
| Estimated net proceeds | $211,075 | before any concessions |
Two things jump out of that table. Commission is the largest controllable line, and buyer agent compensation is roughly half of it and entirely optional. And the taxes, title and fees together come to 6,675 dollars, about 1.5 percent of the price, which is the number most sellers have no idea about until closing week.
The lines sellers forget
Concessions. A 7,000 dollar credit toward the buyer's closing costs reduces your net by exactly as much as a 7,000 dollar price cut. Sellers treat these as smaller because they arrive late and feel like a rounding item in a negotiation. They are not.
Repair credits after inspection. The other renegotiation. This is the one a covered pre-listing inspection is designed to prevent, because it moves the discovery to a point where you still have leverage.
The second mortgage or HELOC. If there is a line of credit against the house, it pays off at closing too, and people routinely leave it out of their mental arithmetic.
Pre-listing work you funded. If you used a pay-at-closing product to get the house market ready, the balance comes out here. That is by design, and it belongs on the sheet so the picture is honest.
What is not on the sheet
A net sheet is not a tax document. Your proceeds and your taxable gain are different numbers, and gain is measured against your adjusted basis rather than your purchase price. Florida has no state income tax on the sale, and there is a federal exclusion for a main home that many sellers qualify for, but the specifics belong with your CPA rather than with me.
It is also not a closing statement. The title company produces the binding figures. A net sheet is the estimate you make decisions with, which is why it matters that it is built before the decisions, not after.
Questions sellers ask about net proceeds
Who pays closing costs when selling a house in Florida?
In Central Florida the seller customarily pays the documentary stamp tax on the deed and the owner's title insurance policy, and typically selects the title company. The buyer customarily pays their own loan costs, the lender's title policy, the survey and inspections. The contract controls and every line of it is negotiable.
What is the documentary stamp tax on a Florida deed?
Outside Miami-Dade County the rate is 70 cents per 100 dollars of consideration, or a fraction of 100 dollars, which works out to about 0.7 percent of the sale price. On a 450,000 dollar sale that is 3,150 dollars.
How much is title insurance in Florida?
Florida promulgates the rate. The owner's policy runs 5.75 dollars per thousand on the first 100,000 dollars of coverage and 5.00 dollars per thousand from 100,000 up to 1 million. On a 450,000 dollar sale that is 2,325 dollars before any reissue credit.
What is a seller net sheet?
A seller net sheet is a line by line estimate of what you walk away with. It starts at the sale price, subtracts your mortgage payoff, commission, taxes, title, prorations and any concessions, and ends at your estimated net proceeds. It is an estimate, not a closing statement, and the title company produces the binding numbers.
Get the real number for your house
The table above is a worked example, not your house. Your payoff, your tax bill, your association and your price all move the answer.
I will build you an exact net sheet for your address before you sign anything, and you can see the rest of how I run a listing on my selling page.
Call or text me at 407-616-9019 and I will run your numbers before you list.
