Florida real estate exam math
Last updated: October 6, 2026
Math questions feel scary, but almost all of them use a handful of formulas. Here are the most common ones, each with a worked example. The numbers are made up for practice. Commission percentages, rates and taxes in each example are assumptions: on the exam, always use the figures in the question.
Before you start
Turn percentages into decimals before multiplying: 6% is 0.06 and 0.5% is 0.005.
Read what the question asks. Total commission is not the same as one associate’s share, and the sale price is not what the seller takes home.
When you finish, check the result backwards. If it fits the figures, you are on track.
Commission
Commission = sale price × rate.
Example: a house sells for $350,000 with an agreed 6% commission. $350,000 × 0.06 = $21,000.
If the commission is split evenly between the listing and the buyer’s office, each gets $21,000 ÷ 2 = $10,500. If the associate’s agreement with their broker is 60%, the associate gets $10,500 × 0.60 = $6,300.
Commissions are negotiable. The 6% and 60% in this example are assumptions, not set rates.
Price so the seller nets a given amount
Price = net amount ÷ (1 − commission rate).
Example: the seller wants $282,000 after paying a 6% commission. $282,000 ÷ 0.94 = $300,000. Check: $300,000 − $18,000 commission = $282,000.
Common mistake: multiplying $282,000 × 1.06. That gives $298,920, which falls short.
Loans: LTV, points and interest
LTV (loan-to-value) = loan ÷ appraised value. A $240,000 loan on a home appraised at $300,000: $240,000 ÷ $300,000 = 0.80, or 80%.
One discount point is 1% of the loan, not of the price. Two points on $240,000: $240,000 × 0.02 = $4,800.
One year of interest = balance × annual rate. For one month, divide by 12. At $240,000 and 5.5%: $240,000 × 0.055 = $13,200 a year, or $1,100 the first month.
Property tax
One mill is $1 of tax per $1,000 of taxable value, or 0.001.
Tax = taxable value × millage ÷ 1,000.
Example: taxable value of $250,000 and a millage of 18.5. $250,000 × 18.5 ÷ 1,000 = $4,625 a year.
Taxable value is what remains after subtracting any exemptions that apply. In exercises, use the exemption and millage the question gives you.
Prorations
A proration splits a cost between seller and buyer by the days each one owns the property. The official course teaches two methods, so first check which one the question uses: a 365-day year (the actual days in each month) or a 360-day year (12 months of 30 days). Also check who owns the day of closing.
Example: the year’s taxes are $3,650 and are paid at the end of the year, so nobody has paid them yet. Closing is July 1 and the buyer owns the day of closing. The seller owned the property from January 1 to June 30.
With a 365-day year: that is 181 days (in a non-leap year). $3,650 ÷ 365 = $10 a day. 181 × $10 = $1,810.
With a 360-day year: that is 6 months of 30 days, 180 days. $3,650 ÷ 360 × 180 = $1,825.
Because the buyer will pay the full bill, the seller owes their share: a debit to the seller and a credit to the buyer. If the cost was prepaid, it works the other way: the buyer pays the seller back for the remaining days.
Florida documentary stamp and intangible taxes
Deed: $0.70 per $100 of the price or portion thereof. In Miami-Dade the rate is $0.60 per $100, plus a $0.45 per $100 surtax that does not apply when only a single-family home is transferred.
Note or mortgage: $0.35 per $100 of the loan or portion thereof.
Intangible tax on the mortgage: 2 mills, that is, loan × 0.002.
Example: a $300,000 sale with a $240,000 loan, outside Miami-Dade. Deed: $300,000 ÷ 100 × $0.70 = $2,100. Note: $240,000 ÷ 100 × $0.35 = $840. Intangible: $240,000 × 0.002 = $480.
“Portion thereof” means a partial $100 counts as a full $100. With a $300,050 price, 3,001 units are taxed: 3,001 × $0.70 = $2,100.70.
Value of an income property
Value = net operating income ÷ capitalization rate.
Net operating income is what remains of the rent after operating expenses. Mortgage payments are not subtracted.
Example: a building brings in $36,000 of net operating income a year and the cap rate is 8%. $36,000 ÷ 0.08 = $450,000.
Area and acres
Area of a rectangle = length × width. One acre is 43,560 square feet.
Example: a 120 × 363 ft lot measures 43,560 square feet, exactly 1 acre.
Sources
Test yourself
Answer 5 free practice questions, no account needed. At the end you see your score and the explanation for each answer, in English or Spanish.
Try 5 free questions