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St. Johns County closing costs

The county-specific transfer tax and deed recording fees for St. Johns County, Florida - the local details that change your total beyond the statewide rate.

St. Johns County county closing-cost photography
Source-verified · 2026-Q2FIPS 12109 Official source ↗
Effective transfer tax
0.7%
≈ $2,800 on a $400,000 home
Typical lender + 3rd-party fees
$7,503
median of 6,359 purchase loans · HMDA 2023

St. Johns County compared with Florida counties

In the verified Florida county records we have, St. Johns County's effective transfer-tax rate ranks #1 of 18 by highest rate. At $400,000, the county-specific transfer tax is $2,800, which is the same as the state-level calculation before city surtaxes.

County rank
#1 of 18
within verified Florida county pages
Tax at $400,000
$2,800
state baseline $2,800
HMDA fee sample
6,359
purchase loans in 2023

St. Johns County transfer-tax data: official source linked on this page, reviewed 2026-Q2.

Transfer tax in St. Johns County

No county-level transfer tax. Florida levies a STATE documentary stamp tax on deeds at $0.70 per $100 of consideration (0.0070 of price), with a $0.70 minimum — this is state-level, not county. St. Johns County is NOT Miami-Dade, so the only county with an extra surtax (Miami-Dade: $0.60/$100 base + $0.45/$100 surtax on non-single-family) does NOT apply here; St. Johns uses the standard statewide $0.70/$100 rate with no county add-on. Customarily the SELLER pays the documentary stamp tax on the deed in Florida (negotiable). Documentary stamp tax is paid to the Clerk at recording. Recording fees per Florida Statute 28.24. The Florida Dept. of Revenue (floridarevenue.com/taxes/taxesfees/Pages/doc_stamp.aspx) confirms no county surtax exists outside Miami-Dade.

Recording fees in St. Johns County

Deed recording: $10.00 first page, $8.50 each additional page (or fraction thereof), plus $1.00 indexing fee per name over four. Source: St. Johns County Clerk of Courts & Comptroller (stjohnsclerk.com/recording/).

Official recorder: St. Johns County recorder ↗ — the authoritative source for the current recording fee schedule.

What lenders actually charge in St. Johns County

Across 6,359 home-purchase mortgages originated in St. Johns County in 2023, the median total loan costs — lender fees plus third-party services such as appraisal and title, excluding prepaids and escrow — were $7,503, of which about $3,554 was the lender’s own origination charges. That is reported loan-level data from every lender under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act — not a national average — so it reflects what buyers in this county actually paid. Lender fees vary widely, so comparing a few rate quotes is the single biggest lever on your closing total.

Source: FFIEC HMDA Data Browser ↗ (2023 purchase originations, FIPS 12109, ODC-BY 1.0). Median total loan costs exclude prepaids and escrow.

Estimate your St. Johns County closing costs

Pre-set to Florida. County-level taxes above may add to this estimate.

$
%

Estimated closing costs

$9,385

≈ 2.35% of the home price · excludes your down payment

Cash to close

$89,385

incl. down payment

0 of 3 line items settled

Based on dataset June 2026. View rule changes

Get notified when this dataset is revised

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Line-by-line breakdown

Transfer tax (buyer share) verified source $0
Deed & mortgage recording fees verified source $70
Owner's title insurance estimate $2,300
Lender's title insurance estimate $1,288
Lender fees (origination, underwriting, processing) $2,350
Appraisal $550
Credit report & flood cert $70
Home inspection $450
Homeowners insurance (first year) $1,800
Property-tax escrow (~2 months) estimate $507

Frequently asked questions

What is the transfer tax in St. Johns County?

St. Johns County (Florida): the applicable real-estate transfer tax works out to about 0.7%. No county-level transfer tax. Florida levies a STATE documentary stamp tax on deeds at $0.70 per $100 of consideration (0.0070 of price), with a $0.70 minimum — this is state-level, not county. St. Johns County is NOT Miami-Dade, so the only county with an extra surtax (Miami-Dade: $0.60/$100 base + $0.45/$100 surtax on non-single-family) does NOT apply here; St. Johns uses the standard statewide $0.70/$100 rate with no county add-on. Customarily the SELLER pays the documentary stamp tax on the deed in Florida (negotiable). Documentary stamp tax is paid to the Clerk at recording. Recording fees per Florida Statute 28.24. The Florida Dept. of Revenue (floridarevenue.com/taxes/taxesfees/Pages/doc_stamp.aspx) confirms no county surtax exists outside Miami-Dade.

What are recording fees in St. Johns County?

Deed recording: $10.00 first page, $8.50 each additional page (or fraction thereof), plus $1.00 indexing fee per name over four. Source: St. Johns County Clerk of Courts & Comptroller (stjohnsclerk.com/recording/).

How much are closing costs in St. Johns County?

Closing costs in St. Johns County follow Florida's structure plus this county's specific transfer-tax and recording fees. Use the calculator below for an estimate; for the exact recording schedule, the county recorder is the authoritative source.

What do lenders charge in fees in St. Johns County?

In 2023, the median total loan costs — lender fees plus third-party services like appraisal and title, excluding prepaids and escrow — across 6,359 home-purchase mortgages in St. Johns County were about $7,503, of which roughly $3,554 was the lender's own origination charges. This is reported loan-level data under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act; actual fees vary by lender, so comparing quotes matters.

Closest Florida county comparisons

Sibling links are ordered by nearby verified effective transfer-tax rate, so each county page connects to genuinely comparable counties.

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