4th DCA holds that if a Loan Modification increases the principal balance, documentary stamps and intangible taxes must be paid.

​On September 18, 2019, the Fourth District Court of Appeal in Schroeder v. MTGLQ Investors, L.P.,  Case No. 4D18-3177, 44 Fla. L. Weekly D2370b, held that the final judgment must be reversed as the amount included in the final judgment included an increased principal balance resulting from a loan modification agreement, on which documentary and intangible taxes were not paid.  In reaching this holding, the Fourth District Court of Appeal cited to Florida Statutes 201.08(1)(b) and 199.282(4). 

Florida Statute 201.08(1)(b),  states in part that “the mortgage, trust deed, or other instrument shall not be enforceable in any court of this state as to any such advance unless and until the tax due thereon upon each advance that may have been made thereunder has been paid;” while Florida Statute 199.282(4), states in part that “no mortgage, deed of trust, or other lien upon real property situated in this state shall be enforceable in any Florida court . . . until the nonrecurring tax imposed by this chapter, including any taxes due on future advances, has been paid and the clerk of circuit court collecting the tax has noted its payment on the instrument or given other receipt for it.”

This case is not yet final and is subject to rehearing.  

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