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Estimating Property Taxes when buying real estate in Lee County

The information displayed on this page serves as a guideline and is not guaranteed. This webpage does not warrant nor certify the tax information displayed; nor is it representative of past, current or future taxes. For more information please contact the Lee County Property Appraiser’s office directly at 239-533- 6100

Florida property taxes are relatively unique because:

• They are levied annually.
• Taxes must be paid in full and at one time (unless the property owner has filed for the installment program for homestead tax deferrals) 
• Taxes may be paid from November through March 31. Substantial discounts are extended for early payment.
• Five months elapse before real property owners can be penalized for non-payment of taxes
•  

The basic timing of the real estate property tax system in Florida is as follows:

• January 1:     All Property in the State must be assessed on its condition on that particular date
• March 1:       The general deadline to submit homestead exemption applications and others like widow, widower, disability etc. You must own the property as of January 1 of the taxing year to qualify.
• July 1:           Local property appraisers generally have their values determined.
• Mid August: TRIM notices are mailed to inform owners of their proposed assessment and tax bill for that year.
• September:   25 days from the date of mailing the TRIM's, the appeal period expires if you want to appeal through the Value Adjustment Board.
• November : Tax Bills are sent out. Payment is due by March 31 of the following year. Substantial discounts apply if paid early

Estimating Ad Valorem Real Estate Property Taxes.

All Florida real estate property is assessed on its January 1 value of the tax year. The actual assessed value won't be known until TRIM notices are ready in August. The tax estimator assumes 90% of the sales price to be the assessed value for estimating property taxes. Tax rates vary in Lee County by location and are used by the tax estimator to determine Ad Valorem property taxes. Non-Ad Valorem assessments, like assessments for waste removal, are not considered here but are added to the total property tax liability. CDD assessments are often collected with your annual taxes under non-ad valorem assessment on your tax bill. The tax rate is also referred to as a millage rate because it applies to $1000 per assessed value. The tax rate is the sum of individual tax rates levied by individual taxing authorities like County, School etc. against the property. The tax rate varies by location because of the individual taxing authorities. If you know the address, call me at 239-851-4512 and I will tell you the tax rate currently used by the tax estimator for that location.

Estimate example

The Tax estimator assumes the assessed property value to be 90% of the sales price and multiplies that by the tax rate.

Most basic example: Sales price = $100,000. Tax estimator's assumed assessed value = $100,000 x 90% = $90,000.

The tax rate used in this example is $15.3885 per $1000 of assessed value.

Estimated ad valorem taxes are $90,000 x ($15.3885/$1000) = $1,385

This is only an estimate. There are many other considerations which affect the actual total property tax liability. For example if you qualify for homestead exemption which is $25,000 for each claimant and you and your spouse claim homestead exemption, the calculation could change to>

($90,000 - (2x $25,000)) x ($15.3885/$1000) = ($90,000 - $50,000) x  ($15.3885/$1000)  =   $40,000  x  ($15.3885/$1000)  =  $615.54. 

Non-ad valorem assessments are added to ad valorem taxes as part of the total property tax liability. This is one of the reasons why your actual tax bill will be different. Also the actual assessed value will likely be different.

The actual tax rate used to calculate Ad Valorem property taxes is set every year by the various taxing authorities in Lee County. Historically, tax rates have fluctuated within a fairly narrow range. The below tax rates were used by the tax estimator on October 19, 2019. 

This table shows you a few selected tax rates on October 19, 2019 in Lee County.

For more information please contact the Lee County Property Appraiser’s office directly at 239-533- 6100.