Due to a systems outage at the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, our Cape Coral office will be closed on Friday, December 16^th. Customers with appointments may go to our office in North Fort Myers (15201 North Cleveland Avenue, North Fort Myers) or Downtown (2480 Thompson Street) where they will be assisted. Due to this movement of customers, we will not be able to take any walk-in customers at our Downtown, North or Cape locations today. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Real estate property taxes, also referred to as real property taxes, are a combination of ad valorem taxes (assessed value of your real estate) and non-ad valorem taxes (services or infrastructure that affect your property).

The Property Appraiser is responsible for determining the value of all property within the county, as well as any exemptions.

Taxing Authorities, like the Board of County Commissioners, School District and Water Management District, adopt a budget and levy millage rates to fund the budget. That millage rate is applied to the taxable value of your property. Taxing Authorities also determine the cost of non-ad valorem assessments like fire services and solid waste services etc.

The Tax Collector is responsible for printing, mailing and collecting tax payments after the Property Appraiser and the Taxing Authorities certify the tax roll.

Now that you know who does what, here is a breakdown of who you should contact if you have questions about your 2022 Property Tax bill. Please make sure to read through all of the information to ensure you are contacting the agency that can best assist you.

To print your 2022 Property Tax bill, visit this website.

Enter your name, address or account number in the search area. Then, find your property listing and click VIEW. Under the Add to Cart button is a link that says Print (PDF). Clicking on that link will generate a printable version of your bill.

On Wednesday, November 23rd, more than 538,000 property tax bills will be mailed to home and business owners in Lee County. This information can be accessed online at LEETC.com.

These bills reflect the value of the property as of January 1, 2022, when Florida law required them to be assessed. They do not reflect any damage or destruction caused by Hurricane Ian.

Those whose property was completely destroyed or rendered uninhabitable by the Hurricane will receive an extension on both the tax deadline and the discount period under the Governor’s Executive Order 22-242. If property owners feel they qualify, they must contact the Property Appraiser’s Office at leepa.org or 239-533-6100. Those who meet the criteria will have until May 31, 2023, to pay their taxes, with a 4% discount in November, December and January, 3% in February, 2% in March and 1% in April.

“We know that many in our community have lost everything, and we are focused on helping them to make a path forward,” says Matt Caldwell, Lee County Property Appraiser. “It is important that those who have suffered damage contact my office so we can take your information and keep you informed about any actions that could provide tax relief.”

If a property owner does not qualify under the Governor’s Executive Order, the Tax Collector has extended the 4% discount period until December 31, 2022, with taxes due March 31, 2023. Typically, that level of discount ends in November. Those paying in January will have a 2% discount, and those paying in February will see a 1% discount.

“We know that nearly every home and business owner in Lee County were affected by the storm and we are doing everything that we can to help them,” shares Noelle Branning, Lee County’s Tax Collector. “We are also working to be thoughtful of our Taxing Authorities whose resources have been depleted as they work toward recovery in the wake of Hurricane Ian.”

This year’s property tax collections are expected to be $2,060,969,659 before discount and any potential action by the Legislature which may come during a Special Session in December. Monies collected are distributed by the Tax Collector to the taxing authorities in Lee County which pay for many services, including fire and rescue, law enforcement protection, and infrastructure such as schools, roads, and utilities.

By law, the Tax Collector is required to mail and collect property tax bills. Property taxes are payable anytime between now and March 31, 2023, unless you qualify for an extension under the Executive Order.

Property owners whose property taxes are paid through an escrow account should contact their mortgage company for information about the company’s plan for remitting escrowed property tax payments.

Thank you to our area media partners for their coverage of the important changes to 2022 Property Taxes due to the impact of Hurricane Ian.

November 17, 2022

FOX 4 – What you need to know as property tax bills arrive this month
FORT MYERS BEACH OBSERVER – Tax bills will include extensions for discounts, payments
WINK NEWS – Lee County property tax bills to arrive in the mail next week
NBC 2 – SWFL residents worrying about home value plummeting after Hurricane Ian

November 16, 2022

SANIBEL CAPTIVA ISLAND REPORTER – Property Tax Bill Deadline extended in Lee County

November 15. 2022

NORTH FORT MYERS NEIGHBOR – The Chamber Luncheon is back 

First Lee Tag Agency, located at Grand Bay Plaza 18990 South Tamiami Trail Suite 5, Fort Myers, is a privately owned business operating under the authority of the Lee County Tax Collector.

Due to damage sustained during Hurricane Ian, FLTA will need to temporarily close its office on Saturday, November 5 and Saturday, November 12 in order to make needed repairs.

Those with appointments will be contacted to reschedule.

Weekly hours remain the same (Monday – Friday 9am – 5:30pm) and Saturday hours should resume on November 19.

Typically, Lee County property owners receive property tax bills the last week of October. However, because of Hurricane Ian, this year’s tax roll will instead open in early November for collection of payments, with tax bills being mailed later in the month. The 4% discount usually offered during the month of November, will be extended into December due to the delayed mailing, with a firm date set once the bills have been mailed.

Once the tax roll is open for collection, customers will be able to access and print their bills online or have them emailed, by visiting LEETC.com, clicking “Online Service Center,” then “Property Tax” and entering a name, address, or account number.

On October 20, 2022, Governor Ron DeSantis signed Executive Order 22-242 to extend property tax payment deadlines for those whose homes were destroyed or rendered uninhabitable by the Hurricane. He is working with Legislators to call a Special Session before the end of the year to address property tax obligations.

If your property was destroyed or rendered uninhabitable, please contact the Lee County Property Appraiser’s office at 239-533-6100 or visit their website.

If you have a vehicle, boat, trailer, ATV or motorcycle that does not belong to you but is on your property because of Hurricane Ian, there is now a way to report it.

If there is a vessel in the water that does not belong to you, you can report it by calling the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Hurricane Ian Vessel Hotline at 850-488-5600. Callers should be prepared to provide the registration number, current location and a description of the boat.

If the vehicle, vessel, trailer, ATV or motorcycle is on land, you can call 850-961-2002 or go to IanDebrisCleanup.com to report it. You will need to provide the registration number, current location and a detailed description of the property.

If you own a vehicle, vessel, motorcycle, trailer or ATV that has been missing since the storm, please report it by calling 850-961-2002 or through the IanDebrisCleanup.com website. The hope is to match the missing property with the proper owner to hasten our area’s recovery after the storm.