Florida LLC law for real-estate investors changed materially in 2025–2026 — a new series structure, a documentary-stamp-tax trap on transferring an owned property, and a due-on-sale risk many investors don't see coming. We form your Florida LLC, or protected series, and tell you plainly where the real risks are.
Effective July 1, 2026, Florida law authorizes protected series LLCs for the first time — a genuinely new option if you hold more than one rental property.
Fla. Stat. §§605.2101–605.2802 let one "umbrella" LLC create internal "protected series" — each with its own assets and liabilities, shielded from claims against the LLC or any other series.
Put each rental property in its own protected series under one umbrella LLC — one Sunbiz filing and EIN structure instead of a separate LLC per property — while keeping the liability wall between them.
One property, or several under a series structure? Tell us in your intake and we'll recommend the right setup. Series-LLC setup is a new service — ask us for a quote.
If you're moving a property you already own into your new LLC and it carries a mortgage, Florida's documentary stamp tax likely applies — and it isn't small.
Florida's Department of Revenue treats the outstanding mortgage balance at the time of transfer as consideration for the deed. Documentary stamp tax (Fla. Stat. §201.02) is computed on that balance — often the single biggest surprise cost of "just retitling" a property you already own.
For a mortgage-free property deeded to an LLC you wholly own, Florida DOR's own guidance treats the transfer as nominal consideration, so only the minimum $0.70-per-$100 tax generally applies. The math changes completely the moment a mortgage is involved.
Unlike moving a property into a revocable living trust, deeding a mortgaged property into an LLC gives you no federal protection against your lender calling the loan.
The federal due-on-sale statute (12 U.S.C. §1701j-3(d)) lists nine specific transfers a lender can't accelerate on — including a transfer into a living trust where the borrower stays a beneficiary. A transfer to an LLC is not one of the nine.
A lender can, at its option, call the loan due in full once title moves to an LLC. In practice many lenders don't exercise that right on a wholly-owned single-member LLC — but there is no legal protection the way there is for a trust transfer. Talk to your lender, and to counsel, before you transfer a mortgaged property.
Maua Consulting is a tax and accounting practice, not a law firm. Some of what a real-estate LLC needs is squarely legal work — here's the line.
Company name check, Florida Articles of Organization, Operating Agreement, and EIN.
Registered agent, annual report, and the bookkeeping that keeps the entity in good standing.
Transferring title into the LLC, title search, and title insurance — licensed legal and title work we refer out.
Everything above is general information, not legal advice. For deed preparation, title transfer, or lender negotiation, consult a Florida-licensed real estate attorney.
A clear path, with the legal work flagged plainly the moment it comes up.
How many properties, already owned or a new purchase, mortgaged or free and clear, and whether any owner may be a foreign national.
Day oneA single LLC, or a protected series for multiple properties — matched to how you actually hold real estate.
StructureArticles of Organization, EIN, Operating Agreement, registered agent — filed and confirmed with you before anything is submitted.
FilingDoc-stamp-tax exposure or due-on-sale risk — we tell you plainly when it's time to bring in a Florida real-estate attorney.
OngoingMAUA is led by Rafael Dantas — a finance executive with 20+ years in mergers & acquisitions, controllership, financial planning, internal controls, auditing, and treasury. He is currently a finance executive at Universal Studios (a U.S. Fortune 500), and has held an executive role at one of the ten largest companies in Brazil.
He has led due-diligence and post-merger integration across Brazil, the U.S., Mexico, Argentina, and the UK.
Every company we form is reviewed by a real person, in your language — and we never file anything without confirming it with you first.