Page 4 of 5
Copyright 2009 David Ashcroft
appraised value - not from a mass assessment, but from looking at your house in particular in comparison
with others.
The process is straightforward.
1. Compile all of your notes and research for your tax appeal, including the appraisal report
delivered to you by a Certified Residential Appraiser in Southwest Florida. Once you have these
in order, you can start filing. Typically, the application for a hearing with the Appraisal review
Board would require your contact information, a description of the property involved and the
reason for your appeal. You might also need an application form or affidavit notarized. Be sure to
check the county’s website (use the links on our site to get there) for the requirements, or call
them or contact us for any needed clarifications.
2. Attend your appeal. Be sure to bring all you data and have them arranged in detailed, readable
notes. Be cool, calm and collected. Don’t forget to be polite. Some cases are thrown out just
because the person making the appeal goes overboard in expressing the injustice of being
overtaxed for so long - you can't call the board SOBs. Keep it cool, and remember that 1 in 3
appeals are granted. That alone should tell you how strong a case you may have for a
successful appeal.
3. Do what you want with the money you save in property taxes (and/or on your house payment).
Lee County Tax Appeal Links
www.leeclerk.org: The Court Clerk of Lee County, Florida site offers information about court offices, traffic
citations, court case inquires, tax appeals, delinquent taxes, passport applications and renewals,
marriage licenses and more.
www.leepa.org: The Lee County Property Appraiser site offers information on tax appeals, applying for
change of address online, several years of aerial photography of the county, for viewing and printing, a
searchable property database, flood insurance rate maps, storm surge maps, mobile home tax
information, more.
www.leetc.com: The Lee County, Florida Tax Collector site offers online services including: online
payments, address change applications, drivers license information, local business tax info, etc. The site
is also available in Spanish.
www.leecountybusiness.com: The website of The Economic Development Office, Lee County, Southwest
Florida provides a “Business Resources” section and includes information about the business
environment in the county, a property locator for businesses, a business directory, and information on the
various incentives available for new businesses. The site also provides lot of information about the county,
such as maps, publications, a data center, and community information.
www.lee-county.com: The website of the Lee County Government provides services to over 600,000
residents of Lee Country, Florida and its cities. The site has details about the members of the
Government, a visitor guide, information about the county and news. An interesting feature is “LeeTV
Live” - a channel about the county that airs events, weather updates, etc.
Collier County Tax Appeal Links
www.collierappraiser.com: The Collier County Property Appraiser site offers information about tax
appeals, as well as static maps, searchable databases, mobile home taxes, homestead declaration,
exemptions, agricultural classifications and more. A unique feature is GIS Maps, which are interactive
maps of the entire county with borders and labels. The maps also allow measuring distance between
points.