Lee County, Florida: business personal property tax return, 2027

Businesses in Lee County report the equipment, furniture, computers and other tangible property they owned on January 1, 2027 to the Lee County Property Appraiser (county property appraiser) on DR-405. The return is due April 1, 2027, or May 3, 2027 with an extension. The first $25,000 of assessed value per location is exempt; tax applies to value above that. After an initial return, the annual return is waived while value stays at or under $25,000.

Form
DR-405
Tangible Personal Property Tax Return
Due
April 1, 2027
no weekend roll
Extension
May 3, 2027
on request
Exemption
$25,000
deduction, per location
Est. tax rate
1.7%
of assessed value, typical in-city
Files via
—
Depreciation
19 classes
statewide table
Notice of value
August
typical mailing

Lee County Property Appraiser does not publish its own depreciation table; the Florida statewide guideline table is applied. The appraiser may use a county-specific table.

Who files

Any business with tangible personal property at a Lee County location on January 1.

Furniture and fixtures, kitchen and other machinery, computers and point-of-sale systems, signage, leasehold improvements that are trade fixtures, supplies are reported at original cost by year acquired; the appraiser depreciates them on the schedule below. Inventory held for sale, licensed vehicles and intangibles are not reported in Florida.

The exemption applies per location, so a company with three sites in Lee County files three returns and gets three exemptions.

Deadlines and extensions

Assessment date
January 1, 2027
DR-405 due
April 1, 2027
Extension
To May 3, 2027. Statutory 30-day extension (plus up to 15 discretionary days) under F.S. 193.063, requested from the Tangible Department ((239) 533-6140, TPP@leepa.org) before April 1. The Lee FAQ and forms pages do not describe a county-specific procedure; see https://leepa.org/Tangible/TangibleImportantDatesToRemember.aspx.
Notice of value
August
Protest deadline
Notices of Proposed Property Taxes arrive mid-August (Lee FAQ); VAB petition filed with the Clerk of Courts Minutes Department ($15 fee per the FAQ) on or before the 25th day after the TRIM mailing (F.S. 194.011(3)(d)). (County Value Adjustment Board (petition filed with the Clerk of the VAB; special magistrates hear TPP petitions))
Bills
November 1 (taxes are due and payable November 1, or as soon thereafter as the certified tax roll is received by the tax collector — F.S. 197.333). Due: Delinquent April 1 following the year of assessment (or 60 days after mailing of the original tax notice, whichever is later) — F.S. 197.333. Early-payment discounts under F.S. 197.162: 4% within 30 days after the tax notice is sent (November), 3% in December, 2% in January, 1% in February, 0% in March.

Exemption

The first $25,000 of assessed value per location is exempt; tax applies to value above that. After an initial return, the annual return is waived while value stays at or under $25,000.

Statute
Fla. Stat. § 196.183
In force
Tax years 2008–present
Under the threshold
An initial DR-405 must be filed to claim the exemption (the return is the application). In later years the annual return is waived while the value listed on the return stays at or below $25,000; a return is required again in any year the value exceeds $25,000, and the waiver can be regained only by filing a return showing value at or below $25,000. By February 1 the property appraiser mails a notice (optional form DR-405W) to waived taxpayers reminding them a return is required if value exceeds the exemption.
As stated by the county
$25,000 — FAQ: a timely return must be filed the first year; thereafter no return is needed until total assessed value exceeds $25,000; if no return is filed the $25,000 exemption does not apply.

Depreciation schedule

Lee County Property Appraiser does not publish its own table; the Florida Department of Revenue guideline table is applied by default, and the appraiser may use a county-specific one.

ClassLifePercent good, years 1 → 6
4-year economic life4 yr83% · 65% · 43% · 24% · 18%
5-year economic life5 yr85% · 69% · 52% · 34% · 23% · 18%
6-year economic life6 yr87% · 73% · 57% · 41% · 30% · 23%
7-year economic life7 yr89% · 76% · 62% · 48% · 37% · 28%
8-year economic life8 yr90% · 79% · 67% · 54% · 43% · 33%
9-year economic life9 yr91% · 82% · 72% · 61% · 51% · 41%
10-year economic life10 yr92% · 84% · 76% · 67% · 58% · 49%
11-year economic life11 yr93% · 86% · 78% · 70% · 62% · 54%
12-year economic life12 yr94% · 87% · 80% · 73% · 66% · 58%
13-year economic life13 yr94% · 88% · 82% · 75% · 69% · 62%
14-year economic life14 yr95% · 89% · 84% · 77% · 71% · 65%
15-year economic life15 yr95% · 90% · 85% · 79% · 73% · 68%
16-year economic life16 yr96% · 91% · 86% · 81% · 75% · 71%
17-year economic life17 yr96% · 91% · 87% · 82% · 77% · 73%
18-year economic life18 yr96% · 92% · 88% · 83% · 79% · 75%
19-year economic life19 yr97% · 93% · 89% · 85% · 81% · 77%
20-year economic life20 yr97% · 93% · 90% · 86% · 82% · 78%
25-year economic life25 yr98% · 95% · 93% · 90% · 87% · 84%
30-year economic life30 yr98% · 97% · 95% · 93% · 91% · 89%

Source: leepa.org/webforms/tangible/Untrended%20Depreciation.pdf

Lee County publishes, under 'Tangible Depreciation Schedules & Economic Life Tables' on its TPP forms page, the Florida DOR documents verbatim: 'Untrended Depreciation Schedule (For Use on Replacement Cost New)' (1997 DOR, Marshall Valuation Service based — the table transcribed in fl/state.json was taken from this Lee copy), 'Life Expectancy Guidelines' (DOR Attachment D, leepa.org/webforms/tangible/Life%20Expectancy.pdf) and 'Equipment Index Factors' (leepa.org/webforms/tangible/Equipment%20index.pdf, not read — the DOR 2026 factors are in fl/state.json trend). inheritsState: the percent-good classes and the trend factors are those in fl/state.json.

How to file

By mail.

By email
TPP@leepa.org
Form
DR-405 — Tangible Personal Property Tax Return (rev. R. 01/18 (Rule 12D-16.002, F.A.C.))

Business DR-405 (county PDF leepa.org/WebForms/Tangible/TppBusinessCompleteWeb.pdf) is filed on paper; the only online filing offered is the 'Online Tangible Rental Property Return' for residential rental units (leepa.org/Membership/Actions/TangibleReturn/TangibleRentalReturnForm.aspx, account required).

The forms page says the DR-492 pollution-control form may be e-mailed to tpp@leepa.org; TPP@leepa.org is the department's contact address. Mailing address for returns is not printed on the FAQ or forms pages, and the county DR-405 PDF (R. 01/18) says only 'Mail this form to your County Property Appraiser' — set null rather than guessed (the office's street address is on leepa.org, not fetched).

Tangible Department phone (239) 533-6140, fax (239) 533-6289.

Penalties

  • Late return: 5% of the tax for each month (or part) it is late, capped at 25%.
  • No return filed: 25% of the tax.
  • Property omitted from a return: 15% of the tax on the omitted property.
  • Fraud or intent to evade: 50% of the tax.

F.S. 193.072 as cited in the Lee FAQ: 5%/month late (cap 25%), 15% unreported property, 25% no return (and loss of the exemption).

Estimated tax

For a typical in-city location, about 1.7% of assessed value.

Lee County PA millage book, taxing district 064 City of Fort Myers: 2025 final ('PREVIOUS' column of the 2026 preliminary book, which matches the 2025-26 adopted rates in www.leepa.org/TaxRoll/LeeTaxesLevyData.pdf) total 16.5034 mills = Lee Co. general revenue 3.7623 + school local 2.2480 + school state 3.0710 + City of Fort Myers 6.5000 + Lee County Library District 0.4218 + SFWMD district-wide 0.0948 + Everglades Construction 0.0327 + Okeechobee Basin 0.1026 + Hyacinth Control 0.0192 + Mosquito Control 0.2116 + West Coast Inland Navigation 0.0394 + Fort Myers parks voted debt 0.0000.

(2026 proposed total 17.4449.) Cape Coral 2025 15.3806, Bonita Springs 12.7970. Estimate only.

Questions

DR-405 is due to Lee County Property Appraiser by April 1, 2027. A 30-day extension to May 3, 2027 is available: Statutory 30-day extension (plus up to 15 discretionary days) under F.S. 193.063, requested from the Tangible Department ((239) 533-6140, TPP@leepa.org) before April 1. The Lee FAQ and forms pages do not describe a county-specific procedure; see https://leepa.org/Tangible/TangibleImportantDatesToRemember.aspx.

The first $25,000 of assessed value per location is exempt; tax applies to value above that. After an initial return, the annual return is waived while value stays at or under $25,000.

By mail.

Late return: 5% of the tax for each month (or part) it is late, capped at 25%. No return filed: 25% of the tax. Property omitted from a return: 15% of the tax on the omitted property. Fraud or intent to evade: 50% of the tax.

For a typical in-city location the combined 2025 rate of overlapping taxing units is $1.65 per $100 of assessed value, so about 1.7% of assessed value. Your exact rate depends on the city, school district and special districts at the address.

Sources

Every figure above is taken from one of these documents; the date is when Rendition last read it.

  1. 01Lee County Property Appraiser — business personal property filing pageleepa.org/Tangible/TPPTaxReturnForms.aspxread 2026-11-02
  2. 02Filing deadlineleepa.org/Tangible/TangibleFAQ.aspxread 2026-11-02
  3. 03Extension deadlinem.flsenate.gov/Statutes/193.063read 2026-11-02
  4. 04DR-405 — Tangible Personal Property Tax Returnfloridarevenue.com/property/Documents/dr405.pdfread 2026-11-02
  5. 05Exemption rule — Fla. Stat. § 196.183flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2024/196.183read 2026-11-02
  6. 06Florida statewide depreciation tableleepa.org/webforms/tangible/Untrended%20Depreciation.pdfread 2026-11-02
  7. 07Adopted tax rates used for the estimateleepa.org/TaxRoll/Millage Books/2026 Taxing District Millage Book Prelim.pdfread 2026-11-02
  8. 08Penalty statutem.flsenate.gov/Statutes/193.072read 2026-11-02
  9. 09Florida notice and appeal rulesm.flsenate.gov/statutes/194.011
  10. 10Tax bill due datem.flsenate.gov/Statutes/197.333read 2026-11-02
  11. 11Lee County Property Appraiser websiteleepa.org
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