Property Taxes in Fort Myers
Fort Myers property tax bills stack county, school district, and -- for property inside city limits -- a separate city millage on top of each other, rather than one flat number. The city's own millage rate is meaningfully higher than in some peer Florida cities, though Fort Myers' lower assessed values relative to Naples or Sarasota mean the dollar bills are generally smaller.
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Learn moreThe county millage rate
Lee County Commissioners held the county's general fund millage flat at 3.7623 mills for fiscal year 2025-2026 -- the same rate as the prior year, though that flat rate still runs about 4.04% above the 'rolled-back' rate as property values have climbed, per Gulfshore Business reporting on the county's budget hearing. Lee County's combined countywide layered millage (county, school, and other countywide levies) totals roughly 15.97 mills for 2025, of which the school portion accounts for about 5.32 mills, per TaxByCounty's compiled figures. These stack with any city or special-district rates specific to your parcel -- no single millage number represents your actual bill; check the specific parcel on the Lee County Property Appraiser's site.
Inside city limits, add Fort Myers' own millage
Properties within Fort Myers city limits also pay the City of Fort Myers' own general fund millage, set at 6.5000 mills for fiscal year 2025-2026 -- a small reduction from 6.5255 mills the prior year, and the tenth consecutive year the city has reduced its millage rate, per the city's FY2026 budget documents. That city rate is meaningfully higher than some peer Florida cities' municipal millage (for comparison, the City of Naples' general fund millage runs closer to 1.23 mills), which is a real, distinguishing fact about Fort Myers' local tax structure worth knowing before budgeting.
Illustrative math only -- not a real bill
As an illustrative example only -- combining the county general fund (3.7623), city general fund (6.5000), and an approximate school portion (5.32) mills, before any exemptions or special-district add-ons, comes to roughly 15.58 mills, close to Lee County's cited 15.97-mill total countywide combined rate. Applied to Fort Myers' 2026 median sale price of roughly $339,000, that works out to a rough $5,400-a-year gross tax bill before any homestead exemption or Save Our Homes cap -- illustrative only, since actual assessed value, exemptions, and special-district assessments vary by parcel. Lee County's overall effective property tax rate is estimated at 0.79%, with a countywide median annual tax bill of $2,858, per TaxByCounty -- that county-median figure reflects the whole county's housing stock, not Fort Myers city specifically, and is lower than the city-median illustrative math above because it includes many lower-valued parcels outside city limits.
What the homestead exemption actually removes
For a primary residence, Florida's homestead exemption for 2026 totals $51,411: a fixed $25,000 slice that reduces assessed value for all levies, including school taxes, plus a second, inflation-indexed slice ($26,411 for 2026) that reduces assessed value for non-school levies only. On Fort Myers' more moderate assessed values compared to Naples or Sarasota, this exemption removes a meaningfully larger share of the total bill in percentage terms than it would in those pricier markets.
The Save Our Homes cap protects long-term owners, not new buyers
Once homesteaded, a property's assessed value increase is capped each year at the lesser of 3% or the change in the Consumer Price Index -- 2.7% for 2026. Relocating buyers should budget their first-year tax bill off the purchase price, not off the seller's prior bill or the seller's much lower long-held assessed value.
Key takeaways
- Lee County's FY2025-26 general fund millage is 3.7623 (held flat); the combined countywide layered rate (county, school, other levies) is roughly 15.97 mills for 2025, of which about 5.32 mills fund schools.
- Properties inside Fort Myers city limits also pay the city's own general fund millage: 6.5000 mills for FY2025-26, down slightly and the tenth consecutive year of reduction -- notably higher than some peer Florida cities' municipal rates.
- Illustrative math only: combining county, city, and school millage (roughly 15.58 mills) against Fort Myers' ~$339K median sale price works out to about $5,400/year before exemptions -- actual bills vary by parcel.
- Lee County's overall effective property tax rate is estimated at 0.79%, with a countywide median annual bill of $2,858 -- a countywide figure, not specific to Fort Myers city.
- The 2026 homestead exemption ($51,411) and Save Our Homes cap (2.7% for 2026) apply the same way as elsewhere in Florida, but remove a larger percentage of Fort Myers' more moderate bills than they would in pricier markets.
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