Grand Theft Charges in Florida: Where the Felony Lines Fall — and Why the State's Number Is Not the Last Word

Grand theft in Florida is felony theft, and in most cases one number decides it: the value of the property. Under Section 812.014, Florida Statutes, theft of property worth $750 or more is grand theft of the third degree, a felony punishable by up to 5 years. At $20,000 the charge becomes a second-degree felony carrying up to 15 years, and at $100,000 a first-degree felony carrying up to 30 years. Below $750, theft is a misdemeanor — petit theft — with two exceptions that surprise people: certain property, including any motor vehicle and any firearm, is grand theft regardless of value, and theft from inside a home crosses the felony line at just $40. Because the degree of the charge rises or falls with the State’s valuation, the dollar figure is not just a detail — it is often the most contested element in the case.

What the State must prove

Theft itself is defined broadly. Under § 812.014(1), a person commits theft if he or she “knowingly obtains or uses, or endeavors to obtain or to use, the property of another with intent to, either temporarily or permanently” deprive the owner of the property or a benefit from it, or appropriate it to his or her own use or the use of someone not entitled to it. That same “temporarily or permanently” language is also why a Florida theft conviction is commonly treated as a crime involving moral turpitude for immigration purposes — see Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude: Which Florida Charges Threaten Your Green Card or Visa.

Three things about that definition matter in real cases:

• “Obtains or uses” reaches more than taking. Under § 812.012, it includes exercising control over property, unauthorized use or transfer, obtaining property by fraud or false promise, and the conduct older law called larceny or embezzlement. A dispute over property someone was allowed to possess — a borrowed car, business funds, undelivered goods — can still be charged as theft. When the trust relationship is the centerpiece, the case looks like what we cover in Criminal Charges for Embezzlement in Florida.
• “Endeavors” means an incomplete theft can be charged the same way. The statute covers attempts within the theft definition itself.
• Intent is an element the State must prove. Honest belief in a right to the property, a genuine loan or business dispute, or the absence of any intent to deprive are not technicalities — they go to the heart of the charge.

The grading ladder: what each dollar range means

The degree of a theft charge, and the maximum sentence, come from § 812.014’s value tiers, with penalties set by § 775.082 and § 775.083:

Value of property	Charge	Degree	Maximum penalty
Less than $100	Petit theft (2nd degree)	2nd-degree misdemeanor	60 days jail, $500 fine
$100 – $749	Petit theft (1st degree)	1st-degree misdemeanor	1 year jail, $1,000 fine
$750 – $19,999	Grand theft (3rd degree)	3rd-degree felony	5 years prison, $5,000 fine
$20,000 – $99,999	Grand theft (2nd degree)	2nd-degree felony	15 years prison, $10,000 fine
$100,000 or more	Grand theft (1st degree)	1st-degree felony	30 years prison, $10,000 fine

A few points the table cannot show:

• The jump at each line is enormous. The difference between an alleged value of $19,900 and $20,100 is the difference between a 5-year maximum and a 15-year maximum. That is why valuation evidence gets fought over.
• First-degree grand theft is not only about $100,000. Under § 812.014(2)(a), using a motor vehicle as an instrumentality of the theft — more than a getaway car — and damaging real property, or causing more than $1,000 in property damage during the theft, can make the charge first-degree grand theft at much lower property values.
• Priors change the misdemeanor rows. A petit theft with one prior theft conviction is charged as a first-degree misdemeanor, and with two or more priors it becomes a third-degree felony under § 812.014(3) — the same escalation pattern we describe in Misdemeanor Criminal Charges in Florida.
• Group theft has its own tier. Recent legislation added a provision making it a second-degree felony to act in concert with others to commit theft exceeding $3,000 in value — aimed at organized retail theft.

Grand theft with no dollar minimum

Value is the usual measure, but § 812.014(2)(c) makes theft of certain property grand theft of the third degree no matter what it is worth:

Property	Why it matters
A motor vehicle	Any car theft is at least a felony — this is the charge people call “grand theft auto”
A firearm	A felony at any value; a prior firearm-theft conviction raises it to a second-degree felony
A will, codicil, or other testamentary instrument	Common in family and estate disputes
A controlled substance	Theft of any amount of a controlled substance is a felony
A stop sign	A felony because of the traffic-death risk
A fire extinguisher installed in a building	Same public-safety logic
Commercially farmed animals, bee colonies, aquaculture species	Carries an additional mandatory fine
Property from a posted construction site	Targets construction-site theft specifically

The pattern is deliberate: the Legislature treats some property as inherently serious to steal — because it is dangerous in the wrong hands, hard to value, or part of an industry Florida protects. If you are charged under one of these categories, the value argument that drives most theft defenses is off the table, and the fight shifts to the elements: possession, identity, intent, and consent.

Theft from a home: the felony line drops to $40

Florida grades theft from a dwelling more harshly. Under § 812.014(2)(d), property worth $40 or more taken from a dwelling or its curtilage — the enclosed area immediately around a home — is grand theft of the third degree, a felony. Only theft from a dwelling below $40 remains a misdemeanor. A houseguest, roommate, cleaner, or contractor accused of taking even modest items from inside a home can face a felony charge that the same allegation in a parking lot would not produce. The entry itself — into the home or its fenced yard — can be a separate burglary felony, graded by the place and who was inside; see Burglary Charges in Florida.

How value is proven — and why it is a battleground

Because the degree of the charge depends on value, § 812.012(10) defines how value is measured, and each rule creates room for the defense to push back:

• Market value, not sticker price. Value means “the market value of the property at the time and place of the offense” — what the property was actually worth then and there, not what it cost new or what the owner feels it was worth. Used electronics, worn tools, and depreciated equipment are worth less than their replacement cost, and owners’ estimates routinely run high.
• Replacement cost only as a fallback. If market value “cannot be satisfactorily ascertained,” the statute allows the cost of replacement within a reasonable time — a fallback, not the default.
• If value cannot be established, the charge falls. Where the trier of fact cannot ascertain a minimum value, the statute sets value at less than $100 — which grades the offense as second-degree petit theft, the lowest tier. A State that cannot prove its number cannot hold its felony.
• Separate takings can be added together. Under § 812.012(10)(c), amounts from thefts “committed pursuant to one scheme or course of conduct” — even from different victims — may be aggregated into a single, higher-degree count. Aggregation is how months of small alleged takings become one 15-year-maximum charge, and whether the takings truly form one scheme is a genuine legal fight. Where the allegation is an ongoing course of deception rather than takings, prosecutors may instead reach for organized fraud — a framework with no misdemeanor tier at all, covered in Criminal Charges for Fraud in Florida.

What a grand theft case looks like from the inside

A grand theft charge follows the same arc as other Florida felony cases — arrest or notice to appear, first appearance, the State’s filing decision, arraignment, and the discovery and motion phase we walk through in What Do Pending Criminal Charges Mean in Florida?. Along that arc, theft cases have their own pressure points:

• The filing decision is where degrees move. The prosecutor chooses the value tier to charge, and early defense work on valuation — appraisals, receipts, depreciation, ownership disputes — can influence whether a case is filed as a felony at all.
• First-time accusations may qualify for diversion. Florida’s pretrial intervention framework under § 948.08 covers misdemeanors and third-degree felonies for eligible first offenders, and successful completion ends in dismissal. The paths out of a theft charge — diversion, dismissal motions, and the rest — are covered in How to Get Criminal Charges Dropped in Florida.
• Restitution shapes resolutions. Returning property or repaying value is not a defense — the offense, if proven, was complete at the taking — but restitution is central to how theft cases actually resolve. How and when to address it is a decision to make with counsel, never unilaterally, because payments made before advice can be treated as admissions.
• A theft record follows you. Employers and licensing boards treat theft as a crime of dishonesty. Whether a resolved case can be sealed or expunged depends on how it ended — see If Charges Are Dismissed, Do You Have a Criminal Record?

The bottom line

Grand theft in Florida is a felony built on two questions: did a theft happen at all, and what was the property actually worth? The first question turns on intent, consent, and ownership — real elements the State must prove, not formalities. The second turns on evidence that is far more contestable than an arrest report makes it look: market value at the time of the offense, the legitimacy of aggregating separate takings, and dollar lines where a small difference in proof is the difference between a 5-year and a 15-year maximum. If you have been arrested for grand theft, contacted about missing property, or told an investigation is underway, the time to involve a defense attorney is before the filing decision, not after. MK Law’s partners are trial attorneys who defend theft cases across Broward County — contact us or call 954.865.6032.

Frequently asked questions

Is grand theft a felony in Florida?

Yes, always. Grand theft is by definition felony theft: third-degree ($750 to under $20,000), second-degree ($20,000 to under $100,000), or first-degree ($100,000 or more), with maximums of 5, 15, and 30 years respectively. Petit theft — generally below $750 — is a misdemeanor, though prior theft convictions or theft from a dwelling can push lower amounts into felony territory.

How much do you have to steal for it to be a felony in Florida?

The general line is $750. But there are important exceptions: theft from inside a dwelling becomes a felony at $40, theft by someone with two or more prior theft convictions is a felony at any amount, and some property — including any motor vehicle, any firearm, and any controlled substance — is grand theft regardless of value.

What if the property was returned or paid back?

Returning property is not a legal defense — if the State can prove the property was taken with intent to deprive, the offense was complete at the taking. In practice, though, restitution matters enormously to how theft cases resolve, and the circumstances of a return can also support a defense that there was never intent to deprive at all. This is a conversation to have with a defense attorney before making any payment or statement.

Can grand theft be reduced to petit theft?

There is no automatic reduction, but the degree of a theft charge follows the provable value of the property. When the defense shows the State’s valuation is inflated — wrong market value, improper aggregation, disputed ownership of part of the property — the charge that survives may be a lower felony or a misdemeanor. Where value cannot be established at all, the statute grades the offense at the lowest tier. No outcome is ever guaranteed; valuation is simply one of the most contestable parts of these cases.

Can grand theft charges be dropped?

They can be — by the prosecutor, through diversion, or by dismissal — but not by the alleged victim alone, and never automatically. Eligible first offenders may enter pretrial intervention, which ends in dismissal on successful completion. We cover every path in How to Get Criminal Charges Dropped in Florida.

How long does the State have to file grand theft charges?

Florida’s theft statutes carry their own five-year limitation period under § 812.035(10), and the clock can be extended while an accused is out of state or cannot be located. Theft cases are often built from records and reported losses well before an arrest, so charges arriving long after the alleged conduct are common — and the age of the evidence is itself something the defense examines.