How to Fill Out and File a Miami-Dade Quit Claim Deed Form

A Miami-Dade quit claim deed transfers whatever interest one person holds in county real property to someone else, with no promise that the interest is valid or the title is clean. To use one, you fill out a deed that identifies both parties and the property, sign it before two witnesses and a notary, and record it with the Miami-Dade Clerk of the Court at the Osvaldo N. Soto Miami-Dade Justice Center. Recording starts at $10 for the first page, and most transfers also owe Florida documentary stamp tax at Miami-Dade’s local rate.

Information to Gather First

Missing details either stall recording at the counter or create title problems later. Before you start filling in the form, pull together:

Full legal names and mailing addresses for the grantor (person giving up the interest) and grantee (person receiving it), spelled exactly as they appear on government-issued ID. A misspelling can break the chain of title.
The property’s folio number, a 13-digit parcel identifier formatted 99-9999-999-9999. Look it up free on the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser’s site by street address.¹
The legal description. This is not the street address. It uses lot-and-block or metes-and-bounds language to define exact boundaries. Copy it verbatim from the most recent deed in the chain of title, which you can pull from the Clerk’s online Official Records search. Even a small discrepancy can cloud the record.
The grantor’s marital status. Florida law requires both spouses to join in any conveyance of homestead property, even if only one spouse holds title. If the grantor is married and the property is a homestead, the spouse must also sign, or the transfer is voidable.²
The consideration amount. Consideration is anything of value exchanged for the property: cash, an assumed mortgage balance, or forgiveness of a debt. Even a gift transfer for zero dollars needs a stated consideration, because the Clerk uses it to calculate documentary stamp tax.

Formatting the Deed

The Clerk’s office offers deed forms through its digital portal, and blank quit claim templates are widely available from legal document providers. Whichever you use, it must meet the formatting rules in Florida Statutes Section 695.26 or the Clerk will reject it.

Leave a 3-inch by 3-inch blank space in the top right corner of the first page for the recording stamp.³ Every additional page needs a 1-inch by 3-inch blank space in the same corner. Any text or images intruding on those areas will send the document back unrecorded.

The name and mailing address of whoever prepared the deed must be printed, typed, or stamped somewhere on it.³ If you drafted it yourself, use your own name and address. Place the folio number near the top so the Clerk’s office can route it correctly.

Signing, Witnessing, and Notarizing

Florida requires every deed to be signed in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, who must also sign the deed themselves.⁴ Under each witness signature, the witness’s name and mailing address must be legibly printed or typed.³ A signature without a printed name and address underneath makes the deed unrecordable.

A notary public must acknowledge the grantor’s signature. The notary block should include the notary’s printed name, signature, commission expiration date, and seal. Florida also permits remote witnessing and notarization by audio-video communication technology, so the parties do not all have to be in the same room.⁴

Recording the Deed

A quit claim deed is not effective against third parties until it is recorded in Miami-Dade’s Official Records. You have three options.

In Person or by Mail

Bring or mail the signed original, the recording fees, and a self-addressed stamped envelope to the Osvaldo N. Soto Miami-Dade Justice Center at 20 NW 1st Avenue, Suite 5.246, Miami, Florida 33128.⁵ The Clerk scans the deed into the Official Records and returns the original in your envelope.

Electronic Recording

Miami-Dade accepts electronic recording through authorized third-party vendors. Title companies and attorneys who record documents regularly tend to use this route. Check the Clerk’s website for the current list of approved e-recording providers.

Recording Fees

The base recording fee is $10 for the first page and $8.50 for each additional page.⁵ A typical one-page quit claim deed costs $10 to record before taxes. The Clerk’s website has an online recorder’s calculator that tallies the full cost, including documentary stamp tax, based on the number of pages and the consideration.

Documentary Stamp Tax in Miami-Dade

On top of recording fees, most property transfers owe Florida’s documentary stamp tax, and Miami-Dade has its own rate structure that differs from the rest of the state.

The standard Florida rate is $0.70 per $100 of consideration. Miami-Dade’s rate is $0.60 per $100.⁶ On a $300,000 transfer, that is $1,800. The tax applies to each $100 or any fraction of $100, so a $300,050 transfer is taxed as if consideration were $300,100.

Miami-Dade also charges a surtax of $0.45 per $100 on most transfers. The surtax does not apply when the only property being transferred is a single-family dwelling.⁶ For commercial property, multi-family buildings, and vacant land, the combined rate is effectively $1.05 per $100.

If the property carries a mortgage, the outstanding loan balance counts as consideration even when no cash changes hands.⁷ Transfer a property with a $200,000 mortgage balance and the Clerk calculates tax on at least $200,000 whether the grantee pays anything else or not.

Common Exemptions

Florida law reduces or eliminates the tax in several situations:

A deed transferring a marital home between spouses or former spouses as part of a dissolution of marriage is exempt, even if consideration exists.⁸
A deed transferring homestead property between spouses (from one to the other, from one to both, or from both to one) is exempt when the only consideration is the existing mortgage balance.⁸
When there is no mortgage and no other consideration, a transfer between spouses generally owes no documentary stamp tax.⁹

If an exemption applies, note the statutory basis on the face of the deed or on an attached cover sheet so the Clerk can process it without charging the tax.

Property Tax Reassessment After the Transfer

Recording a quit claim deed can trigger a reassessment that significantly raises property taxes, especially on a home that has held a homestead exemption for years. Florida’s Save Our Homes provision caps annual assessment increases at 3 percent for homestead properties, and over time that cap can push the assessed value well below market value. When the property changes hands, even between family members, the county typically removes the cap and reassesses at full market value.

The grantee will need to apply for their own homestead exemption if they intend to use the property as a primary residence. A prior owner’s exemption does not carry over.

If you are adding a spouse or child to the title of a home you already live in, call the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser’s office before recording. Some spousal transfers do not trigger reassessment, but the rules are fact-specific and getting it wrong is expensive.

Federal Gift Tax and Cost Basis

A quit claim deed that transfers property for less than fair market value is treated as a gift for federal tax purposes.

If the property’s fair market value exceeds the annual gift tax exclusion, which is $19,000 per recipient for 2026, the grantor must file IRS Form 709.¹⁰ Filing does not necessarily mean owing tax. The excess counts against the grantor’s lifetime gift and estate tax exemption, which is $15,000,000 for 2026.¹¹ Most people never approach that ceiling, but failing to file when required can bring penalties.

Gifted property also carries the grantor’s original cost basis. If a parent bought a house for $80,000 and quit claims it to a child when it is worth $400,000, the child’s basis stays at $80,000. A later sale at $400,000 produces a $320,000 taxable gain. Inherited property, by contrast, gets a basis step-up to market value at the date of death. For high-value properties, that difference alone can make a quit claim deed the wrong tool compared to a transfer through a will or trust.

A federal tax lien against the grantor does not disappear when the property changes hands. The lien follows the property to the grantee.¹² Because a quit claim deed carries no warranty of clean title, the grantee has no legal claim against the grantor if a lien surfaces later. Anyone accepting property this way should search IRS lien records and the Miami-Dade Official Records for outstanding liens first.

When a Quit Claim Deed Is the Wrong Tool

Quit claim deeds make title insurance companies cautious. A warranty deed includes the grantor’s promise that the title is clear; a quit claim deed includes no such promise. When a future buyer’s title company reviews the chain of title and finds a quit claim deed, they may flag it as a potential break in the chain and require additional investigation before issuing a policy.

Title insurance is still available on property received by quit claim deed, but the process takes longer and may involve a more thorough search. If you plan to sell the property soon after receiving it, consider whether a warranty deed or special warranty deed would serve both sides better. For transfers between family members or divorcing spouses, where both parties already know the title history, a quit claim deed is the standard and sensible choice.

1
Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser. Folio Numbers
2
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 689111 – Conveyances of Homestead Power of Attorney
3
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 69526 – Requirements for Recording Instruments Affecting Real Property
4
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 68901 – How Real Estate Conveyed
5
Clerk of the Court and Comptroller of Miami-Dade County. Official Records
6
Florida Department of Revenue. Documentary Stamp Tax
7
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 20102 – Tax on Deeds and Other Instruments Relating to Real Property or Interests in Real Property
8
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 20102 – Tax on Deeds and Other Instruments Relating to Real Property or Interests in Real Property
9
Florida Department of Revenue. Documentary Stamp Tax
10
Internal Revenue Service. Gifts and Inheritances
11
Internal Revenue Service. Whats New Estate and Gift Tax
12
Internal Revenue Service. Federal Tax Liens