CDD Fees in Lakewood Ranch Explained (With a Village-by-Village Table)

What is a CDD fee in Lakewood Ranch?

A CDD fee is an annual assessment that a special local government district puts on your property tax bill to repay the bonds that built your neighborhood’s infrastructure and to maintain it. Florida law created community development districts (CDDs) as a way to “manage and finance basic community development services” such as roads, stormwater systems, utilities and landscaping, without loading those costs onto existing county taxpayers.

In Lakewood Ranch, Florida (Manatee and Sarasota counties), you will see two kinds of districts:

• Lakewood Ranch Community Development Districts 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6. These are the original districts covering older villages such as Summerfield, Greenbrook, Edgewater and the Country Club.
• The Lakewood Ranch Stewardship District. Created by the Florida Legislature in 2005 (Chapter 2005-338), it covers more than 25,000 acres in both counties and finances the newer neighborhoods, including Waterside, Lakewood National, Del Webb, Cresswind, Azario, Star Farms and others.

Both levy two parts: a debt assessment that repays bonds, and an operations and maintenance (O&M) assessment that pays for the district’s yearly upkeep.

How is a CDD different from an HOA?

A CDD is a government district that bills you through the property tax bill; an HOA is a private association that bills you directly. They pay for different things, and many Lakewood Ranch homes pay both.

	CDD or stewardship district	HOA
What it is	Special-purpose unit of local government	Private nonprofit association
How you pay	Once a year, on the county property tax bill	Monthly, quarterly or yearly, billed by the association
What it typically funds	Bonds for roads, stormwater, utilities and landscaping; their maintenance	Neighborhood amenities, common areas, deed restriction enforcement, sometimes lawn care
Meetings	Public meetings under Florida’s open government rules	Association board meetings
Can it go unpaid?	No. It is collected with property taxes and follows the same delinquency process	No. Unpaid dues can lead to liens

HOA dues vary too much by neighborhood to publish a useful average. Ask for the HOA’s disclosure summary and current budget for any home you are considering.

How much are CDD fees, village by village?

In the fiscal 2026 schedules we checked, total yearly assessments for most neighborhoods ranged from about $740 per home to about $6,500 per home. Fiscal 2026 runs from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026, and these amounts appeared on the November 2025 tax bills. For the Stewardship District we show the “gross” amounts from its schedule; the schedule’s “net” amounts are about 5% to 7% lower. The older CDD figures are the proposed per-unit totals from each district’s published budget hearing notice.

District and neighborhood	Debt assessment	O&M assessment	Total per year
Stewardship District: Azario (2019 bond)	$313 to $575	$423	About $737 to $998
Stewardship District: Del Webb (2017 bond)	$627 to $985	$694	About $1,321 to $1,679
Stewardship District: Cresswind (2019 and 2018 bonds combined)	$1,137 to $1,333	$423	About $1,560 to $1,757
Stewardship District: Lakewood National (2017 bond)	$1,245 to $2,348	$423	About $1,669 to $2,771
Stewardship District: Polo Run (2017 bond)	$1,810 to $2,201	$423	About $2,233 to $2,624
Stewardship District: Waterside Neighborhoods 9 and 10 (Shellstone)	$1,059 to $2,117	$718	About $1,776 to $2,835
Lakewood Ranch CDD 1 (Summerfield area)	$0	$1,481 to $2,043	About $1,481 to $2,043
Lakewood Ranch CDD 4 (Greenbrook)	$0 to $402	$1,172 to $1,967	About $1,240 to $2,369
Lakewood Ranch CDD 6 (Country Club neighborhoods such as Edenmore, Greystone and Wexford)	$998 to $3,083	$2,006 to $4,011	About $3,003 to $6,515

Two more older districts show how wide the range can be. Lakewood Ranch CDD 2 (southern Country Club and Edgewater areas) has no debt assessment for fiscal 2026, but its proposed per-unit maintenance assessments ran from about $195 to $7,927 depending on the neighborhood. Lakewood Ranch CDD 5 proposed residential totals of roughly $3,200 to $6,034 per unit across neighborhoods such as Orchid Island, Sandhills and Teal Creek.

Within a neighborhood, larger lots usually carry a larger debt assessment. Some newer lots also sit in more than one bond area. Use the table to compare neighborhoods, then confirm the exact figure for the address you want.

Where does the CDD fee appear?

It appears on the county property tax bill as a “non-ad valorem assessment” with the district’s name, separate from the millage-based taxes above it. That means:

• It is due when your property taxes are due, starting in November.
• The same early payment discounts apply under Florida law: 4% in November, 3% in December, 2% in January and 1% in February.
• If your lender escrows taxes, the CDD amount is included in your monthly mortgage payment.

Because CDD assessments are added to the bill, a home’s total property tax line can look much higher than the millage rate alone suggests. Our Lakewood Ranch cost of living breakdown shows how the CDD fits into a monthly budget.

How do I look up the CDD fee for a specific address?

Pull the most recent tax bill from the county tax collector and read the non-ad valorem lines. Step by step:

1. Find the county. Northern Lakewood Ranch is in Manatee County and the southern part is in Sarasota County.
2. Look up the parcel. Search the address on the Manatee County Property Appraiser (manateepao.gov) or the Sarasota County Property Appraiser (sarasotapropertyappraiser.gov) site to get the parcel ID.
3. Open the tax bill. Search the parcel on the Manatee County Tax Collector or Sarasota County Tax Collector site. The bill lists each non-ad valorem assessment by district.
4. Check the district’s schedule. The Stewardship District and the CDDs publish their annual assessment schedules and budgets. Look up the neighborhood, lot size and bond series.
5. Ask about changes. Budgets are set each summer, so next year’s figure can differ. Ask the seller or the district about any new bonds or projects.

For a new home bought directly from a builder, Florida law requires the sales contract to carry a bold CDD disclosure just above your signature line, stating that the district “may impose and levy taxes or assessments” in addition to county taxes. The contract will not always state the dollar amount, so check the schedule yourself. A local real estate agent can pull these figures before you write an offer.

Do CDD bonds pay off, and what happens after?

Yes, the debt part ends when the bonds are repaid, but the maintenance part continues. Lakewood Ranch’s oldest districts show what that looks like. For fiscal 2026, CDD 1 (Summerfield area) and CDD 2 list $0 in debt assessments, yet both still levy maintenance assessments of roughly $1,500 to $2,000 per home in CDD 1 and a wide range in CDD 2. CDD 4 (Greenbrook) still carries debt amounts of up to about $400 on some neighborhoods.

What this means for buyers:

• Newer neighborhoods usually carry the highest debt assessments, because their bonds are recent.
• Older neighborhoods may have little or no debt, but their maintenance assessments can be higher because aging roads, ponds and landscaping cost more to keep up.
• The total is what matters. Compare debt plus O&M plus HOA dues, not just one line.

Are CDD fees tax deductible?

Usually only in part. IRS Publication 530 says you generally cannot deduct assessments for local benefits such as streets, sidewalks and water or sewer systems; those are added to your home’s cost basis. You can deduct the portion that is for maintenance, repair or interest, but only if you can show how much that is. Ask the district for its breakdown and talk to a CPA about your own return.

What should I ask before buying in a CDD?

Ask five questions about any home in a CDD or stewardship district.

1. What were the debt and O&M assessments on the last tax bill?
2. Which bond series covers this lot, and when does it mature?
3. Has the district proposed a new budget or new bonds for next year?
4. What do the HOA dues cover, and are they separate from the CDD?
5. How do the total fees compare with similar homes in other villages?

To compare neighborhoods side by side, see every Lakewood Ranch village compared. For the full first-year picture, read the true cost of owning a home in Lakewood Ranch.