State CRE Guide

Florida Commercial Real Estate Loans: Stamps, Taxes & C-PACE

What changes for a commercial property loan in Florida: deed stamps, a 0.55% tax on the mortgage itself, judicial foreclosure and wind-resistance C-PACE.

By BestLoanUSA Updated September 29, 2026 3 min read

Florida at a glance for commercial property loans
What	Florida
Documentary stamp tax on the deed	$0.70 per $100 of the price. Miami-Dade: $0.60 per $100, plus a $0.45 surtax on anything other than a single-family home. ^[1]
Documentary stamp tax on the note and mortgage	$0.35 per $100 of the loan amount. ^[2]
Nonrecurring intangible tax	2 mills (0.2%) of a loan secured by Florida real property, paid once when the mortgage is recorded. ^[3]
Foreclosure process	Judicial. The lender files a lawsuit and the property is sold only after a court judgment. ^[4]
C-PACE law	Covers energy-efficiency, renewable-energy and wind-resistance improvements, repaid as a non-ad valorem assessment. ^[5]
C-PACE availability	Runs through local PACE districts — confirm which district covers the property. No verified statewide volume figure. ^[6]

Checked 2026-09-29; sources are listed at the end of the page. Rates and rules change — your title company and closing attorney confirm the figures for a specific deal.

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Florida borrowers use the same commercial loan programs as everyone else — SBA 504, DSCR loans, bridge loans, bank and life-company permanent loans. What sets Florida apart is that the state taxes both the deed and the loan, forecloses through the courts, and lets C-PACE pay for wind-resistance work. Each of those changes the numbers on a deal.

Three state taxes at closing

A Florida purchase with financing carries three separate state taxes:

Deed stamps — $0.70 per $100 of the price ($0.60 plus a $0.45 surtax in Miami-Dade for property other than a single-family home).
Stamps on the note and mortgage — $0.35 per $100 of the loan.
Nonrecurring intangible tax — 0.2% of the loan, because it is secured by Florida real property.

Example: a $2,000,000 building bought with a $1,400,000 loan outside Miami-Dade.

Deed stamps: $2,000,000 ÷ $100 × $0.70 = $14,000
Stamps on the note: $1,400,000 ÷ $100 × $0.35 = $4,900
Intangible tax: $1,400,000 × 0.2% = $2,800

That is $21,700 in state taxes before title insurance, lender fees, the appraisal or legal costs. In Miami-Dade the deed stamps on the same commercial building would be $2,000,000 ÷ $100 × $1.05 = $21,000, for $28,700 in all. Who pays the deed stamps is set in the purchase contract; the loan taxes are usually a borrower closing cost. By contrast, the same deal in Texas carries no transfer or mortgage tax.

Refinancing: the taxes come back

Because the tax falls on the loan, a new mortgage on a refinance pays the note stamps and intangible tax again — together 0.55% of the new loan. On a $1,500,000 refinance that is $5,250 + $3,000 = $8,250. Whether an existing loan can instead be modified or renewed without a new tax depends on how the transaction is structured, and it is a question for your closing attorney before you commit.

Add the $8,250 to the lender and title fees when you test whether a lower rate pays for itself — the refinance break-even calculator shows the months to recover the cost. A new cash-out loan is taxed on its full amount, not only on the cash taken out.

Judicial foreclosure

A Florida lender can't sell a defaulted property without going to court: it files a foreclosure lawsuit, obtains a judgment, and only then is the property sold. A court process gives a borrower more time and a forum to raise defenses; for the lender it means a longer and more expensive path to recovery than in a non-judicial state such as Texas.

Lenders account for that in how much they will lend and how they structure recourse. Expect close attention to LTV and DSCR, and read the guaranty: a non-recourse loan limits the lender to the property, with carve-outs for things like fraud or unpaid taxes.

C-PACE in Florida — including wind resistance

Florida's PACE statute covers not only energy-efficiency and renewable-energy projects but also wind-resistance improvements, which the law ties to the state's hurricane-mitigation policy. The improvement is financed by a private capital provider and repaid through a non-ad valorem assessment on the property's tax bill.

Commercial PACE in Florida runs through local PACE districts rather than one statewide program, so the first step is to confirm which district covers the property's city or county. There is no verified statewide volume figure. The statute requires the owner to notify the mortgage holder before signing the assessment agreement, and many loan documents also require the lender's consent. C-PACE Desk, a BestLoanUSA site, tracks Florida C-PACE availability.

Where to start

Choose the program that fits the property — SBA 504 for an owner-occupied building, a DSCR loan for an income property, a bridge loan for a transition. Budget the state taxes from the start and size the loan with the commercial mortgage calculator. For financing that isn't tied to real estate, the Florida business loan guide covers SBA offices and lenders by region.

Ready to compare? Start a commercial real estate loan request — one application, compared across our lender network.

💡 BestLoanUSA compares bank, SBA, DSCR and bridge lenders for Florida commercial property. See how it works — no hard credit pull to start.

Sources: Fla. Stat. §§201.02, 201.08 (Florida Department of Revenue, Documentary Stamp Tax); Fla. Stat. §199.133; Fla. Stat. ch. 702; Fla. Stat. §163.08; C-PACE Desk state data (checked 2026-08-30).

The bottom line

In Florida the loan itself is taxed, so every new mortgage — purchase or refinance — carries about 0.55% of the loan amount in state taxes before any lender fee. Put those taxes in your closing budget from the first day, weigh them against the rate saving on any refinance, and ask whether a wind-resistance C-PACE assessment can fund the roof or windows your insurer is asking for.

Commercial property by metro area in Florida

The state rules above apply everywhere in Florida. These are the local ones — county and city taxes, building mandates and programs — that change the numbers in its largest markets.

Miami Miami-Dade County

Building recertification: Buildings must be recertified by a Florida-licensed engineer or architect at 30 years old (25 for some coastal buildings) and every 10 years after; small buildings of 2,000 sq ft or less are exempt. Lenders ask for the current recertification on older buildings. ^[7]
County millage: Miami-Dade’s countywide operating millage is 4.5740 mills ($4.574 per $1,000 of taxable value) for FY 2025–26. ^[8]
City millage: The City of Miami adds 7.1364 operating mills for FY 2025–26, on top of the county. ^[9]

Tampa Hillsborough County

County millage: Hillsborough County’s countywide general fund millage is 5.4608 mills for FY 2026. ^[10]
City millage: The City of Tampa levies 6.2076 mills for FY 2026 (Resolution 2025-813), on top of county and school millage. ^[11]

Orlando Orange County

Energy benchmarking: Orlando’s BEWES ordinance requires commercial and multifamily buildings over 50,000 sq ft to report energy use every year, and buildings scoring below 50 to complete an energy audit or retro-commissioning every five years. ^[12]
County millage: Orange County’s countywide millage is 4.4347 mills for FY 2025–26, unchanged since 2008. ^[13]
C-PACE: The City of Orlando allows PACE through approved administrators — repaid on the property tax bill over 5 to 20 years for energy, water, wind-hardening and solar work. ^[14]

Fort Lauderdale Broward County

Building safety inspection: Broward’s Building Safety Inspection Program now requires the first structural and electrical inspection at 25 years of age, then every 10 years; buildings under 3,500 sq ft are exempt. ^[15]
County millage: Broward County’s general county millage is 5.6658 mills for FY 2026, before voted debt, city and school millage. ^[16]

Commercial loan rates and terms in Florida

Rates and leverage come from the lender, the property and the borrower, so they are the same national ranges in Florida as elsewhere — what changes here are the closing costs and rules in the table above. Typical terms as of September 2026:

Program	Rate	Max LTV / LTC	Term
Bank / credit union	6.5–8%	65–75% (80% multifamily)	5–10 yr
SBA 504	6.25–7.25%	Up to 90%	10–25 yr
SBA 7(a)	8.5–11.5%	Up to 90%	Up to 25 yr
DSCR	6.75–8.75%	Up to 75–80%	5–30 yr
CMBS	7–8%	Up to 75%	5–10 yr
Bridge	6.25–8.25%	65–80%	12–36 mo
Construction	6.75–10.5%	65–80% LTC	12–24 mo

How each range is built: commercial real estate loan rates by type.

Florida commercial real estate loan FAQ

What are commercial mortgage rates in Florida?

Commercial lenders price a loan on the property and the borrower rather than the state, so Florida rates follow national ranges: about 6.5–8% for a bank loan, 6.25–7.25% for SBA 504, 6.75–8.75% for a DSCR loan and 6.25–8.25% for a bank or debt-fund bridge loan (benchmarks as of September 2026).

How much down payment do I need for a commercial property in Florida?

Typically 25–35% for a bank loan and 20–25% for a DSCR loan. An owner-occupied building can qualify for SBA 504 with 10% down (15% for a business under two years old or a special-purpose building, 20% if both).

What taxes are due at a Florida commercial closing?

Deed stamps of $0.70 per $100 of the price ($0.60 plus a $0.45 surtax in Miami-Dade for property other than a single-family home), plus $0.35 per $100 in stamps on the note and a 0.2% intangible tax on the loan.

Does Florida foreclose through the courts?

Yes. Florida is a judicial foreclosure state: the lender files suit and the property is sold only after a court judgment (Fla. Stat. ch. 702).

Can C-PACE pay for wind-resistance upgrades in Florida?

Yes. Florida’s PACE statute (§163.08) covers wind-resistance improvements as well as energy-efficiency and renewable-energy projects. Programs run through local PACE districts, so confirm which one covers the property.

Sources

Checked 2026-09-29.