As a real estate lawyer practicing in Lakewood Ranch, our profession constantly navigates the interplay of property law, financial mechanisms, and state taxation. The recent enactment of Florida House Bill 999 (HB 999), effective July 1, 2026, which formally recognizes qualifying gold and silver coins as “specie legal tender,” will undoubtedly have wide-reaching implications. However, being a real estate closing attorney, upon reviewing the text of HB 999, I read a sentence that immediately had me pondering how this new law may impact the real estate transactions my offices closes, specifically on some of the closing costs.
What was the sentence?
Among the new provisions set out in House Bill 999, the specific language that had me thinking was the following:
“The exchange or conversion of one type or form of legal tender for another type or form of legal tender does not give rise to any state tax liability.”
“[A]ny state tax liability…” Hmmm.
Real estate transactions have a few typical aspects related to taxes: federal reporting of the sale and issuance of a Form 1099-S, county real estate tax collecting and prorating, and state taxes in the form of documentary stamp taxes and non-recurring intangible tax collected and paid on deeds and mortgages. It’s the last point that HB 999 had me thinking about. Specifically, does the payment for real property or the lending of money to be secured by a mortgage with gold or silver exempt a deed or mortgage from Florida’s documentary stamp tax scheme?
Understanding Florida’s Documentary Stamp Tax
To answer this, it is essential to review the nature of Florida’s documentary stamp tax and the specific language of HB 999.
Florida imposes documentary stamp tax under Chapter 201 of the Florida Statutes. This tax is levied on instruments that transfer an interest in real property, such as deeds. Critically, the tax is computed based on the “consideration” for the conveyance. “Consideration” refers to the value exchanged for the property, whether that value is in the form of monetary payment, other property, or services. It even applies to the amounts of outstanding mortgages encumbering the property in a number of situations. The tax is fundamentally tied to the act of transferring real property for value, irrespective of the medium of exchange.
Analysis of HB 999’s Tax Provisions
The language of HB 999 is key. It states that state taxes will not be imposed on the act of exchanging gold (as specie legal tender) for U.S. dollars, or vice versa. This provision aims to facilitate the use of gold as a transactional medium by removing a potential tax burden on the direct conversion of currency.
Why Documentary Stamp Tax Remains Applicable
Despite the general wording regarding “any state tax liability” in HB 999, I don’t believe the exemption extends to documentary stamp tax or intangible tax, for the following reasons:
- Nature of the Taxed Event: The HB 999 exemption applies to the “exchange or conversion” of legal tender. Documentary stamp tax, however, is a tax on the conveyance of real property for consideration. These are distinct taxable events. The documentary stamp tax arises from the transfer of the property interest, not from the specific method of payment or the exchange of currencies.
- Definition of Consideration: HB 999 does not alter the legal definition of “consideration” as it applies to real estate conveyances. If a buyer pays for a property with gold coins, those coins represent a quantifiable value that serves as the consideration for the transfer of the real estate interest. For example, if gold coins valued at $600,000 are used to purchase a property, the consideration for that property remains $600,000, and the documentary stamp tax is calculated based on that amount.
- Specific Statutory Amendments Required: A fundamental change to the application of a longstanding tax like the documentary stamp tax, particularly one that would create an exemption based on the form of payment, would typically necessitate explicit amendments to Chapter 201 of the Florida Statutes. HB 999, while significant in its scope regarding specie, does not contain such amendments.
Same Ol’ Real Estate Transactions
For real estate professionals managing closings in Florida, I don’t believe the implementation of HB 999 will introduce a pathway to avoid documentary stamp tax on conveyances. And so I believe I will still be collecting and disbursing these as normal, calculated on the full consideration paid for the property, regardless of whether the payment is made in U.S. dollars or gold and silver coins recognized as specie legal tender. While the form of currency may expand, the fiscal realities of real estate transfers in Florida remain consistent.
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