Buying a home in Miami vs Dubai 2026: fees, property tax, visa

A home in Miami or Dubai: what it costs.

The taxes and fees to register a purchase, the property tax every year after, and what the home opens, from the Miami-Dade Clerk, Florida statutes, the Dubai Land Department and the UAE government, on 2026 figures.

In short, current to October 2026

On a $5M home the deed stamps in Miami-Dade come to $30,000. In Dubai the buyer's 2% registration fee comes to $100,000, and the seller pays another 2%.
A $5M home in Miami Beach pays about $93,341 a year in property tax at the 2026 millage, $933,405 over 10 years. The UAE's list of taxes carries no annual property tax.
In Dubai a home of AED 2M, about $544K, opens a 10-year residence permit. The US grants no residence for buying a home.
A Miami buyer who makes the home a permanent residence gets Florida's homestead exemption and a cap on the yearly rise in assessed value.
Published fees and rates only, current to October 2026. Agent commissions, insurance, service charges and legal fees vary by deal and are not shown. Not tax, legal or financial advice.

Official sources: Miami-Dade Property Appraiser, US Internal Revenue Service, US Code, 8 USC 1153. Checked against them between 22 October 2026 and 23 October 2026.

Source: the Patrician.ch board, an original ranking of 100 residence addresses across 47 countries and territories. Tax rates, thresholds and routes are sourced. Cost, safety, schools, sun and beauty are Patrician.ch editorial indices. Figures current to October 2026. Updated 4 November 2026. Cite as: Patrician.ch, Buying a home in Miami vs Dubai 2026: fees, property tax, visa, patrician.ch/answers/cost-of-buying-a-home-in-miami-and-dubai/, October 2026.

On the purchase

The taxes and fees a buyer pays to register.

Miami: the Miami-Dade documentary stamp tax on the deed, single-family rate, a cash purchase. Dubai: the Dubai Land Department fee of 2% from each side, and the fixed fees (title deed, knowledge and innovation fees, the trustee fee with 5% VAT), converted at the board's reference rate.

Price	Miami-Dade deed stamps	Dubai, 2% buyer	Dubai, 2% seller	Dubai, fixed fees
$1M	$6,000	$20,000	$20,000	$1,216
$2M	$12,000	$40,000	$40,000	$1,216
$5M	$30,000	$100,000	$100,000	$1,216
$10M	$60,000	$200,000	$200,000	$1,216

Florida law does not say which side pays the deed stamps, and the Dubai Land Department page does not say which side pays the fixed fees, so the table follows each source as written. Sources: Miami-Dade Clerk of the Court and Comptroller, Official Records, checked 4 November 2026, Dubai Land Department, Property Sale Registration, checked 4 November 2026.

Miami-Dade, the rest of the rule. Miami-Dade adds a surtax of 45 cents for each $100 on a deed for property other than a single-family residence. A single-family residence, a detached home or a condominium unit, is exempt. A mortgage carries a documentary stamp tax of 35 cents for each $100 borrowed, with no cap on the mortgage itself. A loan secured on Florida real property also carries the nonrecurring intangible tax of 2 mills, 0.2% of the loan.

Dubai, the rest of the rule. A mortgage is registered at 0.25% of the loan, plus the same fixed fees as a sale. An off-plan purchase is registered on the interim register at the same 2% for the buyer and 2% for the seller. The first sale of a new home within 3 years of completion is zero-rated for VAT, and later sales are exempt. Sources: Dubai Land Department, Request for Mortgage Registration, checked 4 November 2026, Dubai Land Department, Request to Register the Initial Sale, checked 4 November 2026, Federal Tax Authority, FAQs, checked 4 November 2026.

Every year after

Property tax in Miami, none in Dubai.

Taxable value	Miami Beach	Miami	Coral Gables
$1,000,000	$18,668	$19,954	$18,152
$2,000,000	$37,336	$39,909	$36,304
$5,000,000	$93,341	$99,772	$90,759
$10,000,000	$186,681	$199,544	$181,518

Every authority on the bill together, at the 2026 adopted millage (City of Miami Beach 18.6681 mills, City of Miami 19.9544 mills, City of Coral Gables 18.1518 mills). Source: Miami-Dade Property Appraiser, 2026 adopted millage chart, total of all taxing authorities (municipal codes 0200, 0100, 0300).

Dubai. The UAE levies no income tax on individuals, and the government's list of taxes in the UAE carries no annual property tax. Building service charges are approved by RERA and published for every jointly owned building in the Service Charge Index. A tenant pays the Dubai Municipality housing fee of 5% of the yearly rent, added to the electricity and water bill. Sources: UAE Government portal, Taxation and Other taxes, checked 4 November 2026, Dubai Land Department, Service Charge Index, checked 4 November 2026, UAE Government portal, Leasing a property in the UAE, checked 4 November 2026.

Miami, a permanent home. An owner who makes the home a permanent residence in good faith on 1 January gets the homestead exemption: the first $25,000 of assessed value is exempt from every levy, and a second amount, indexed each year, on value between $50,000 and $75,000 is exempt from levies other than school. On a homestead the assessed value may rise each year by no more than 3% or the change in the consumer price index, whichever is lower. A home that is not a homestead, a second home included, has its assessed value capped at a rise of 10% a year on levies other than school. Sources: Florida Statutes 196.031(1), checked 4 November 2026, Florida Statutes 193.155(1), checked 4 November 2026, Florida Statutes 193.1555, checked 4 November 2026.

The price and the route in

What US$1M buys, and what it opens.

At the prime price Knight Frank, The Wealth Report 2026 publishes for Miami (Q4 2025), a 200 m² home costs about $3.4M and US$1M buys about 58 m². At the prime price Knight Frank, The Wealth Report 2026 publishes for Dubai (Q4 2025), a 200 m² home costs about $3.2M and US$1M buys about 62 m².

Dubai. Property worth at least AED 2M at purchase, owned in the buyer's own name, opens a 10-year renewable residence permit. Several properties may add up to it, a mortgaged home counts with the bank's no-objection letter, and the spouse and children are covered, the parents on a separate permit. Source: Dubai Land Department, Golden Visa application (Investor), and GDRFA Dubai, checked 4 November 2026.

Miami. The US grants no residence for buying a home. The routes the board records: E-2 treaty investor for treaty nationals, L-1, O-1, or EB-5 from $800K.

Selling from abroad. When a foreign person sells US real property the buyer generally withholds 15% of the price. For a buyer who will live in the home it is 10% up to $1M and nothing up to $300,000. Source: IRS, FIRPTA Withholding, and the Instructions for Form 8288, checked 4 November 2026.

Moving to Miami from: New York · Chicago · Los Angeles · San Francisco · Boston · New Jersey · Toronto · London · São Paulo · Mexico City.

Moving to Dubai from: New York · Chicago · London · Mumbai · Toronto · Paris · Munich · Johannesburg · Hong Kong · São Paulo.

Questions

The short answers.

What are the closing taxes on a home in Miami?

The Miami-Dade deed carries documentary stamp tax of 60 cents per $100, $6,000 on a $1M home. A mortgage adds 35 cents per $100 borrowed and the 0.2% intangible tax.

Miami-Dade Clerk, Florida Statutes 201.08 and 199.133.

What are the fees to buy a home in Dubai?

Dubai Land Department lists 2% of the price for the buyer and 2% for the seller, AED 250 for the title deed and a trustee fee of AED 4,000 plus VAT from AED 500,000.

Dubai Land Department, Property Sale Registration.

Is property tax higher in Miami or Dubai?

Miami-Dade bills 1.82% to 2.00% of taxable value a year at the 2026 millage. The UAE's list of taxes carries no annual property tax.

Miami-Dade Property Appraiser and the UAE Government portal.

Which gives residence, a home in Miami or in Dubai?

Dubai: a home of AED 2M or more opens a 10-year renewable permit. The US grants no residence for buying a home.

Dubai Land Department and GDRFA Dubai.

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