Moving to Florida from Massachusetts

The tax picture for a Massachusetts household

Massachusetts has a flat income tax with an added surtax on income above roughly $1 million, and it has its own estate tax. Florida has neither a state income tax nor a state estate tax. For a household with a large business sale, stock options or a big estate, those two differences can outweigh everything else on this page.

• Timing matters. If a liquidity event is coming, the date you become a Florida resident, and how clearly you leave, can change which state taxes it.
• Keeping a Cape house or a Boston condo is allowed, but it is one of the ties a home state looks at. Plan the summer place with your advisor.
• Estate documents: a Massachusetts trust usually works in Florida, but have a Florida attorney review it, along with your health care directives.

This isn't legal or tax advice. A CPA who handles Massachusetts part-year returns should be part of the move plan.

Property tax: what Florida gives a full-time resident

Massachusetts towns set a single residential rate. Florida bills stack several millage rates (county, city, school board, special districts) on the taxable value, so the address matters. A full-time resident gets two protections:

• Homestead exemption of up to $51,411 in 2026: $25,000 off all levies and up to $26,411 more off non-school levies.
• Save Our Homes: after the first homestead year, the assessed value can climb no more than 3% a year or the CPI change, whichever is less.

The assessment resets to market value after you buy, so the prior owner's bill tells you very little. A snowbird who keeps Massachusetts residency gets no homestead and only a 10% cap on non-school levies. Also note that Florida denies homestead to anyone claiming a residency-based tax break in another state, so you cannot hold both. Voters also take up Amendment 3, a property tax measure, on November 3, 2026; it needs 60%, and the result was not in at writing.

Closings run through a title agent, and the costs look different

Massachusetts buyers are used to an attorney handling the closing. In Florida, most residential closings are handled by a title company, though many buyers and sellers use a real estate attorney, and some counties lean that way by custom. Either can close your purchase. Hiring your own attorney is optional and sometimes wise, especially for estates, trusts or a complicated condo.

• Deed stamps: $0.70 per $100 of price, customarily paid by the seller (Miami-Dade uses $0.60, plus a $0.45 surtax on property other than single-family homes).
• Mortgage taxes: $0.35 per $100 on the note and 0.2% intangible tax on the loan amount, paid by the buyer.
• Owner's title policy: the premium is set by the state. Who pays follows local custom; buyers pay in Miami-Dade and Broward, for example.

The standard Florida contract also differs. Many sales use an as-is form where the buyer has an inspection period to cancel, rather than negotiating each repair item.

Younger houses, no basements, different weak points

Much of Massachusetts housing is old wood-frame stock. Florida's is mostly built since the 1970s, often concrete block with stucco, and almost never has a basement because the water table is too close to the surface. The things that fail are different:

• Roofs wear out faster under sun and storms, and roof age drives insurability.
• Air conditioning runs most of the year. An old system is a near-term cost.
• Plumbing and electrical in homes from certain eras get extra scrutiny from insurers, which is what the 4-point inspection checks.
• Water intrusion around windows and slab edges matters more than frozen pipes.

A wind mitigation inspection, which documents roof-to-wall connections, roof shape and opening protection, can lower the wind portion of the premium. Order one with your general inspection.

Heating is the opposite story. Most Florida homes heat with a heat pump that runs a few weeks a year, so there is no oil tank, boiler or chimney to inspect. What replaces them is humidity control. A house left closed in August without the AC set properly can grow mold in weeks, which matters if you plan to spend summers back in New England. Ask the inspector to check the air handler, the condensate line and the attic for signs of past moisture, and plan for someone to look in on the house when you are away during hurricane season.

Insurance is the cost to price first

• Hurricane deductible: a percentage of dwelling coverage (2%, 5% or 10%), applied once per calendar year. On $400,000 of coverage, 5% is $20,000.
• Flood: a separate policy through the NFIP or a private carrier. Lenders require it in FEMA A and V zones, and it is worth pricing even outside them near the coast.
• Fallback: Citizens Property Insurance, the state-backed insurer of last resort, writes policies when private companies decline.
• Condos: the association insures the building; you insure the interior and your belongings. Ask what the master policy deductible is and how a hurricane assessment would be split.

Boston condo owners should read Florida reserve rules

If you are selling a Boston condo and buying another, expect more paperwork. Since the 2022 law, Florida condo buildings three or more habitable stories tall need a milestone inspection around year 30 (25 where local officials require) and every 10 years after, plus a Structural Integrity Reserve Study every 10 years. Starting with budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, a unit-owner vote cannot waive or reduce the required structural reserves. Monthly fees in older buildings have risen to cover them. You get 7 days, not counting weekends and legal holidays, after receiving the association documents to cancel a resale purchase, so have someone who reads condo budgets look at them quickly.

Matching a Massachusetts lifestyle to a Florida region

• Walkable city and water: St. Petersburg at $351,862 and Fort Lauderdale at $509,743, both with downtown condo options.
• Quieter coastal towns with an older population: Palm Coast, where 29.5% of residents are 65 or older per Census data, and Boca Raton at 24.6%.
• A college-town feel: Gainesville at $291,789 and Tallahassee at $291,188.
• The highest-priced markets: the Keys in Monroe County at $962,885 and Walton County at $660,738.

Across the state, values are down 0.9% in the past year and up 18.6% over five. If you can tell me which of these settings feels closest to the town you are leaving, a shortlist of a few neighborhoods is the logical next step.