On Tuesday Lee County Property Appraiser Matt Caldwell released final tax roll values for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. Last month Caldwell estimated the tax rolls on Fort Myers Beach would increase by 3%. His final number is much higher.
The final tax rolls from Caldwell’s office are now set at 12% higher than the final numbers from the 2024-2025 tax rolls. Last month Caldwell estimated that Fort Myers Beach would see $4.3 billion in taxable property, an increase of $125,411 (3%) over last year. Now Caldwell says the taxable property value total is $4.6 billion, $514,240 more than 2024-2025. That translates to an increase in property value of 12.33% over last year and surpasses the total property value number in 2022, before Hurricane Ian damaged or destroyed nearly every standing structure on the island. For reference, just after the storm in 2023, Fort Myers Beach had $2.6 billion worth of property that could be taxed. Before Hurricane Ian in 2022, the total taxable value of properties on Fort Myers Beach in 2022 was $4.5 Billion.
We asked Caldwell why the estimate last month was so much lower than the final this month. He said, “We finished all of the “uninhabitable” review. Between Sanibel and Fort Myers Beach, we brought about 2,000 condos back on the roll.” The Sanibel estimated increase from Caldwell’s preliminary numbers was plus 1%. Caldwell’s final number is plus 20% over the final 2024-2025 numbers. Sanibel’s taxable property total for next year is $5.6 billion…