Moving from New Jersey to Florida: luxury buyers' guide

Taxes at the transaction

New Jersey sellers pay the Realty Transfer Fee, a graduated fee whose top bracket is $6.05 per $500 on the portion of consideration above $1 million for sales over $350,000. Until mid-2025 buyers of residential property over $1 million also paid a separate 1% fee, commonly called the mansion tax. Legislation effective July 10, 2025 moved that fee to the seller and made it progressive: 1% on sales over $1 million up to $2 million, 2% over $2 million to $2.5 million, 2.5% over $2.5 million to $3 million, 3% over $3 million to $3.5 million, and 3.5% above $3.5 million. A seller of a $5 million home in Alpine or Rumson now pays that 3.5% on top of the standard transfer fee.

New Jersey also requires sellers who are not residents at closing to file the GIT/REP forms and prepay estimated income tax on the gain, at a minimum of 2% of the sale price, before the deed can be recorded. Residents file a different form and pay with their annual return. This is not an extra tax, but it does mean that a seller who has already moved to Florida writes a large check at closing and recovers any excess only after filing a New Jersey nonresident return the following year. The sequence of domicile change and sale matters.

Florida's closing costs are simpler. The documentary stamp tax on the deed is $0.70 per $100 of price, customarily paid by the seller, with Miami-Dade charging $0.60 per $100 on single-family homes plus a $0.45 surtax on other property. A financed buyer pays $0.35 per $100 in documentary stamp tax on the note and a nonrecurring intangible tax of two mills on the mortgage. There is no buyer-side transfer tax and no graduated fee at higher prices. Who pays for the owner's title policy varies by county custom, and in South Florida it is often the buyer.

Taxes on holding: income, property and estate

New Jersey's top income tax rate is 10.75% on income above $1 million. Florida has none, and its constitution prohibits one. New Jersey treats anyone who keeps a permanent home in the state and spends more than 183 days there as a resident, so a family that keeps the shore house and spends summers in it needs to count days. New Jersey continues to tax New Jersey-source income, including rent and gain from New Jersey property, after a move. Florida allows a Declaration of Domicile to be filed with the clerk of court, which helps establish intent but does not by itself settle a New Jersey audit.

New Jersey property taxes are the highest in the country by most measures, and there is no cap on assessment growth for a primary residence. Florida's homestead exemption removes up to $50,000 of assessed value and, more importantly, caps annual assessment growth on a homestead at 3% or CPI, whichever is lower, under Save Our Homes. Non-homestead property is capped at 10% for non-school levies. The assessment resets to just value on sale, so a buyer inherits a new base, and the Save Our Homes portability benefit of up to $500,000 applies only between Florida homesteads. Insurance is the other holding cost that changes: wind and flood premiums in coastal Florida are a real line in the budget and should be quoted before contract.

New Jersey repealed its estate tax for deaths on or after January 1, 2018 but kept its inheritance tax. Transfers to a spouse, children, grandchildren, parents and other Class A beneficiaries are exempt; transfers to siblings and to children's spouses are taxed at 11% to 16%, and transfers to most other individuals at 15% to 16%. Florida has neither an estate tax nor an inheritance tax. Florida's homestead protects unlimited value from most creditors, limited to half an acre in a municipality or 160 acres outside one, and restricts how the homestead may be devised when a spouse or minor child survives. The federal estate tax exemption is $15 million per person in 2026.

Agency and disclosure law

New Jersey licensees must give the Consumer Information Statement on business relationships at first contact, and disclosed dual agency is permitted with the informed consent of both parties. Contracts prepared by real estate licensees carry a three business day attorney review period during which either party's attorney may cancel or propose changes, and attorneys handle most closings. There is no general statutory seller disclosure form; sellers have a common-law duty not to conceal known material defects, and the New Jersey Realtors Seller Property Condition Disclosure Statement is the standard instrument. Since March 2024 sellers must also disclose flood risk facts, including whether the property is in a FEMA flood zone and whether they know of prior flood damage.

Florida presumes a transaction broker under Chapter 475 unless a single agent relationship is established in writing, and dual agency is not permitted. A transaction broker gives limited representation and limited confidentiality, which is a lighter duty than a New Jersey buyer's agent owes. There is no statutory attorney review period; contracts on the Florida Realtors and Florida Bar forms bind on signing, with inspection and financing periods written into them. Sellers must disclose known material defects that are not readily observable under Johnson v. Davis and must deliver a statutory flood disclosure since October 2024. Condominium resales carry statutory disclosures with a three-day rescission right, and buildings of three or more stories are subject to milestone inspection and structural integrity reserve study rules that affect assessments and value.

What to ask an agent on each side

On the New Jersey side, ask the listing agent for a net sheet that includes both the Realty Transfer Fee and the seller-paid graduated fee at your likely price, and ask whether a price just under a tier boundary changes the outcome. Ask your attorney how the GIT/REP estimated payment will be calculated and whether it is better to close before or after domicile changes. Ask whether the brokerage practices disclosed dual agency and how it handles offers from its own buyers. Ask for the flood disclosure early if the property is near the shore or a river.

On the Florida side, ask whether the agent will act as a single agent or a transaction broker and get the answer in writing. Ask for the flood zone, any elevation certificate, and current wind and flood insurance quotes, and for condos ask for the milestone inspection report and reserve study. Ask who pays for title insurance in that county. Confirm the March 1 homestead filing deadline for the year after purchase and understand that the seller's assessment will not carry over to you. The site's Florida directory lists agents by market, which helps when the destination is a specific community such as Palm Beach, Naples or Jupiter.