What Closing Costs Does a Seller Pay in Palm Beach County?
Short answer: A seller in Palm Beach County customarily pays the owner’s title insurance policy, documentary stamp tax on the deed at $0.70 per $100 of the sale price, the brokerage fee agreed in the listing agreement, any HOA or condominium estoppel fee, prorated property taxes up to the closing date, and the cost of clearing any liens.
For sellers
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Ask Ava about this dataPrice my home correctlyKey takeaways
- Your total depends on your sale price, any mortgage or lien payoffs and the brokerage compensation negotiated in your listing agreement, so ask for a seller net sheet that adds up every line for your sale.
- Documentary stamp tax on the deed is $0.70 per $100 of the sale price in Palm Beach County, which works out to $4,900 on a $700,000 sale.
- In Palm Beach County the seller customarily pays for the owner's title insurance policy, and because the seller pays, the seller usually also chooses the title and closing company.
- Figures on this page are the customary practice in Palm Beach County as of September 2026; documentary stamp rates are set by Florida statute and title insurance premiums follow Florida’s promulgated rate scale.
The line items, and who customarily pays them here
Florida law does not dictate who pays most closing costs. They are set by county custom and then confirmed or altered in the purchase contract. That is why a national article about “Florida closing costs” can be misleading in this county, and why the same transaction in Broward would divide differently.
| Cost | Customarily paid by | Typical amount here |
|---|---|---|
| Owner’s title insurance policy | Seller | Roughly 0.5% of the price, on Florida’s promulgated rate scale |
| Documentary stamp tax on the deed | Seller | $0.70 per $100 of the sale price |
| Brokerage fee | Seller, per the listing agreement | Negotiated, not fixed |
| Title search, settlement and closing fees | Usually seller, alongside the owner’s policy | Several hundred dollars |
| HOA or condominium estoppel certificate | Seller | Statutory cap applies; ask the association |
| Property taxes | Seller, prorated to the closing date | Depends on the tax bill and timing |
| Municipal lien search, open permits, lien payoffs | Seller | Varies |
| Recording the deed | Usually buyer | Nominal |
| Lender’s title policy, appraisal, loan fees | Buyer | Not a seller cost |
Your total depends on your sale price, any mortgage or lien payoffs and the brokerage compensation negotiated in your listing agreement, so ask for a seller net sheet that adds up every line for your sale. On a $700,000 sale, documentary stamps alone are $4,900.
The county difference that catches people out
In Palm Beach County the seller customarily pays for the owner’s title insurance policy and therefore usually chooses the title and closing company. In Broward and Miami-Dade the custom is reversed and the buyer customarily pays. If you are selling in Palm Beach County and buying in Broward, you can pay for that policy twice in the same month, which is exactly the kind of thing worth knowing before you sign anything. See who pays for owner’s title insurance in Palm Beach County for the detail.
What a net sheet does that an online calculator cannot
The list above is the customary framework. Your actual figure depends on your mortgage payoff, your tax proration date, your association’s estoppel charge, any open permits or municipal liens, and whatever the contract negotiates away from custom. We prepare a written net sheet before listing so the number you plan around is your number, not an average. No automated estimate is published on this site.
If you are underwater or behind
The arithmetic changes completely when the payoff exceeds the value. In a short sale the lender customarily absorbs the commission, the documentary stamps and the owner’s policy out of the proceeds it accepts, because a foreclosure costs it more. See how a short sale works in Palm Beach County and your options if you are behind on your mortgage.
Who prepared this
Gia Freer, our Broker of Record, holds NAR’s Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource (SFR) certification and has been licensed in Florida since 2000; Gia and Grant earned the Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) designation in 2012. Figures on this page are the customary practice in Palm Beach County as of September 2026; documentary stamp rates are set by Florida statute and title insurance premiums follow Florida’s promulgated rate scale. Tax questions belong with your CPA.
Selling in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach or Deerfield Beach? The corridor seller's guide puts these costs next to the current figures for all four cities, including the title-insurance difference at the county line.
Questions and answers
What closing costs does a seller pay in Palm Beach County?
A Palm Beach County seller customarily pays the owner's title insurance policy, documentary stamp tax on the deed at $0.70 per $100 of the sale price, the brokerage fee agreed in the listing agreement, title search and settlement fees, any HOA or condominium estoppel fee, property taxes prorated to the closing date, and the cost of clearing any liens or open permits. The total depends on your sale price, any payoffs and the brokerage compensation negotiated in your listing agreement; a seller net sheet adds up every line for your sale.
How much is documentary stamp tax on a deed in Palm Beach County?
Documentary stamp tax on the deed is $0.70 per $100 of the sale price in Palm Beach County, which works out to $4,900 on a $700,000 sale. Miami-Dade County uses a different rate. The tax is customarily paid by the seller here and is set by Florida statute rather than by local custom.
Does the seller pay title insurance in Palm Beach County?
Yes. In Palm Beach County the seller customarily pays for the owner's title insurance policy, and because the seller pays, the seller usually also chooses the title and closing company. The custom is the opposite in Broward and Miami-Dade, where the buyer customarily pays. Florida law does not set this; it is county custom and it can be negotiated in the contract.
Do sellers pay the buyer's closing costs in Florida?
Not customarily, but it is negotiable and it does happen. A seller concession toward the buyer's costs is simply a term of the contract, and in a slower market it is one of the levers used to hold a price. Lender fees, the appraisal and the lender's title policy are ordinarily buyer costs.
How do I work out my actual net proceeds?
Start from the sale price, subtract the mortgage payoff and every customary seller cost, then adjust for your specific tax proration, estoppel charge, lien payoffs and anything the contract shifts away from custom. That document is called a net sheet, and it should be prepared in writing before you list rather than estimated with a calculator.
What do closing costs include when selling in Boynton Beach?
For a Boynton Beach seller, closing costs usually include the brokerage commission, Florida documentary stamp tax on the deed at 70 cents per $100 of the price, the owner's title insurance policy, settlement and recording charges, association estoppel fees, prorated property taxes, and the mortgage payoff. Documentary stamp tax is set by statute (Fla. Stat. 201.02(1)(a)). Miami-Dade County uses a different rate. In Palm Beach County, the seller customarily pays for the owner's title policy. That is custom, not law, and it can be negotiated in the contract. Commission is negotiable. Property taxes are prorated to the closing date, so the seller pays for the days they owned the home. A net sheet puts these together as an estimate for your price; the closing agent's settlement statement has the final figures.
This page covers the real-estate side only. It is not legal or tax advice. Decisions about foreclosure defense, probate, bankruptcy or forgiven debt should involve a Florida attorney, and anything touching money or taxes should involve a CPA. We work alongside both every week and can refer you.
See what your home is worth
Every decision on this page depends on one number: what the property is actually worth today. Gia Freer, our Broker of Record, prepares a written opinion of value from our own BeachesMLS data. No automated estimate is published on this site and no price here is produced by software.
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