Property tax in Lee County, Alabama
In Lee County, the property tax bill comes from the Lee County Revenue Commissioner. The Tax Year 2026 bill is due December 31, 2026. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from Lee County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Lee County, Alabama is $1,252 a year, which is about 0.48% of the county's median home value of $262,200. That effective rate is higher than the typical Alabama county (0.32%) and lower than the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.
Who sends the property tax bill in Lee County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Lee County Revenue Commissioner. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Lee County Appraisal Department, which is who to ask if the value looks wrong. For how to look up and pay the bill, go to the county's own payment information.
Two county offices share the work: the Appraisal Department sets the market value, and the Revenue Commissioner takes the assessment return, grants exemptions, sends the bill and collects the tax, with offices in Opelika, Auburn and Smiths Station. The bill goes to whoever owned the property on October 1 of the previous year, taxes are not prorated, and a buyer can be held liable for the whole year's unpaid tax. Partial payments must be at least 25% of the amount due as of October 1. Mailed payments go to the Lee County Revenue Commissioner, P.O. Box 2413, Opelika, AL 36803-2413. Any business personal property tax must be paid before a real property payment is accepted. Online card payments go through a separate payment portal the county links to.
When are property taxes due in Lee County?
For the Tax Year 2026 (due October 1, 2026, delinquent after December 31, 2026) bill, Lee County has one due date: December 31, 2026. Taxes become due October 1 and are delinquent if not paid before January 1, so December 31 is the last day to pay without penalty; it falls on a Thursday in 2026. Alabama law sets the same schedule for every county. The county mails a courtesy notice before October 1, but a missing notice does not extend the deadline. Under state law, a payment sent by U.S. mail counts as paid on the date of its U.S. Postal Service postmark, so a mailed payment postmarked by December 31 is on time (Code of Alabama 40-1-45). Real estate taxes unpaid after December 31 become delinquent on January 1. Interest is 12% a year (1% a month), and additional delinquent charges are added after January 1. The office takes no checks on real property after January 31, and unpaid taxes are sold at the tax sale held the first Wednesday in May at the Lee County Courthouse in Opelika.
From Lee County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. If a date falls on a weekend or holiday, the county's own rules on the next business day apply.
Estimate the property tax on a home in Lee County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Lee County's average effective rate of 0.48% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $1,259 / year
Property tax in Lee County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $1,252 |
| Median home value | $262,200 |
| Effective tax rate | 0.48% |
| Typical Alabama county rate | 0.32% |
| National median county rate | 0.81% |
Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.
How does Lee County compare in Alabama?
Among Alabama's 67 counties, Lee County has the 4th highest effective property-tax rate: 3 rank higher and 63 rank lower. That places it among the most heavily taxed counties in the state. Nationally, it ranks 2677th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Alabama county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Lee County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Lee County's 46,064 owner-occupied homes, 5.9% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 18.1% pay at least $2,000, and 25.4% pay under $800. Another 12.7% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 11,712 | 25.4% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 13,328 | 28.9% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 6,874 | 14.9% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 5,607 | 12.2% |
| $3,000 or more | 2,702 | 5.9% |
| No property tax paid | 5,841 | 12.7% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $1,306 and owners without one pay $1,122. Owners who have paid off a home have usually held it longer, and in states that cap how fast an existing owner's assessment can rise, long-held homes carry lower assessed values. Census table B25103.
How does the Lee County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $1,252 is about 1.4% of the median income of Lee County homeowner households, $89,774 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 66.3% of Lee County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.
Have property taxes gone up in Lee County?
Yes. The median bill went from $877 in 2015-2019 to $1,252 in 2020-2024, a 42.8% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 54.9%, from $169,300 to $262,200. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.
Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.
Property tax in counties next to Lee County
Lee County borders 6 counties, 2 of them across the state line.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muscogee County, GA | 0.86% | $1,660 | $193,900 |
| Harris County, GA | 0.85% | $2,578 | $302,800 |
| Macon County, AL | 0.5% | $509 | $102,000 |
| Lee County, AL (this county) | 0.48% | $1,252 | $262,200 |
| Chambers County, AL | 0.39% | $523 | $135,800 |
| Russell County, AL | 0.38% | $629 | $165,700 |
| Tallapoosa County, AL | 0.3% | $481 | $158,500 |
How is a home assessed in Lee County?
Alabama assesses homes at 10% of market value in every county, Lee County included. How Alabama assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Lee County?
Yes. Alabama exempts $4,000 of assessed value from the state portion of the tax and $2,000 from county tax (not school taxes). Apply with the county tax assessing official between October 1 and December 31. That is the Alabama rule, and it applies in Lee County. Alabama's exemptions and relief programs in full.
Lee County does not add relief programs of its own beyond the Alabama ones (checked September 23, 2026).
How to appeal your Lee County property assessment
In Lee County you appeal to the Lee County Board of Equalization. The deadline: A written protest must be postmarked within 30 calendar days of the date on your Notice of Valuation; a protest received later is heard the following year. The protest gives your name, address, daytime phone, parcel number and why you think the value is wrong, and goes to P.O. Box 3050, Opelika, AL. A county appraiser contacts you first, and if that does not settle it, the Board hears you, usually in the spring or early summer. A Board decision can be appealed to Circuit Court within 30 calendar days of the date of the notice the Board mails you with its decision. To keep that appeal alive, you must pay the taxes due at the prior year's assessment before they become delinquent, or post a bond for double the tax. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.
How Alabama's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.
Alabama rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Alabama page.
Work out your own numbers
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How much house can I afford?
Your income, debts and down payment against the 28/36 rule lenders actually use, with Lee County's tax rate to hand.
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Mortgage calculator
Monthly payment with principal, interest, tax and insurance, plus what an extra payment saves you.
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Alabama income tax
Brackets, standard deduction and what Alabama actually taxes.
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Sales tax in Lee County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Lee County, Alabama: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.