Indian River County, Florida Government and Taxes Guide

Twenty Indian River County government and tax guides sit under this hub, grouped below by the question each one answers, from who sits on the Board of County Commissioners to how a tax deed sale works.

For the people in charge: the Board of County Commissioners guide, the Property Appraiser guide, the Tax Collector guide, the Clerk of the Circuit Court guide, the Sheriff's Office guide and the Supervisor of Elections guide. For property taxes: the county budget and millage guide, the property tax bills and payment guide, the homestead and property tax exemptions guide, the tangible personal property tax guide, the Value Adjustment Board appeals guide and the tax deed and tax certificate sales guide. For other county taxes: the local business tax receipts guide, the tourist development tax guide and the one-cent sales tax projects guide. For building and land in the unincorporated county: the building permits guide, the planning and zoning guide, the code enforcement guide and the public works and road repairs guide. Pets and strays are in the animal services guide.

Each answer in that table is sourced in the sections that follow. City matters are separate: the Cities of Fellsmere, Sebastian and Vero Beach and the Towns of Indian River Shores and Orchid each levy their own millage (Florida Department of Revenue).

Indian River County is governed by a five-member Board of County Commissioners, chaired by Deryl Loar of District 4, which meets at 9:00 a.m. on 22 approved dates in 2026.

The board calls itself the body that sets the laws and policies under which the county runs (Board of County Commissioners). Each commissioner is listed by district with a direct office line, shown below. The county's general contact is 1801 27th Street, Vero Beach, 772-567-8000, with office hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The remaining 2026 meetings fall on October 20, November 3, November 17, December 1 and December 15, all at 9:00 a.m. (2026 BCC meeting dates). November 3 is also the 2026 General Election, with polls open 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. (Supervisor of Elections), the same day as that commission meeting. Speakers at a meeting give a name and address at the microphone and get three minutes unless the chair allows more; there is a comment period at the start for agenda items that are not public hearings and one at the end for items not on the agenda (commission rules).

Five constitutional officers work alongside the Indian River County commission: Property Appraiser Wesley Davis, Tax Collector Carole Jean Jordan, Clerk Ryan Butler, Supervisor of Elections Leslie Rossway Swan and Sheriff Eric Flowers.

Sources: Property Appraiser, Tax Collector, Clerk, Supervisor of Elections, Sheriff. Ryan L. Butler became the county's eighth Clerk of the Courts and Comptroller on July 1, 2023, appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis after Jeffrey R. Smith retired (Clerk of the Circuit Court).

Several of these offices also have Sebastian locations. The Property Appraiser keeps a Sebastian office at 1921 U.S. 1 (772-226-1133), open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday (Property Appraiser); the Tax Collector lists a Sebastian Office in Sebastian Corners at the same address, with other branches at 1860 82nd Avenue and 3003 Cardinal Drive (Tax Collector locations); and the Clerk's Sebastian office there opens Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Clerk). The Sheriff's lobby stays open until 7 p.m. on Tuesdays and closes at 5 p.m. the other weekdays (Sheriff).

For 2025-26 the Indian River County commission adopted a general county rate of 3.5475 mills, plus a county MSTU rate of 1.1506 and an Emergency Service District rate of 2.3531, according to the Florida Department of Revenue.

Together the three Indian River County levies total $194,227,244 in taxes levied for 2025-26, against $178,965,416 in 2024-25 (Florida Department of Revenue, Table 1).

The county kept its three rates the same as 2024-25, while Sebastian, Vero Beach and Fellsmere each adopted a higher rate. School board and special district levies are not part of this county and municipal table. The county budget and millage guide walks through where the general fund goes.

The Indian River County Tax Collector mails real estate tax bills by November 1 each year, with a 4 percent discount for paying in November that steps down to 1 percent in February before gross taxes come due in March.

The discount follows the postmark of the payment. An owner with no bill by November 9 is asked to call the Tax Collector at 772-226-1343 for a duplicate (Tax Collector, real estate property tax). Owners whose taxes are at least $100 may pay next year's taxes in installments, but waiting until the November bill arrives is too late for that year.

Homestead exemption is filed with the Property Appraiser, not the Tax Collector. The owner must be a permanent Florida resident on January 1, and the application is due by March 1 (Indian River County Property Appraiser). The Property Appraiser also notes that as of September 6, all homestead applications submitted are for the 2027 tax year.

An Indian River County owner who disagrees with a value or an exemption denial files a petition with the Value Adjustment Board, run through the Clerk of the Circuit Court at 2000 16th Avenue, Vero Beach.

The board is an independent forum created by Florida Statute Chapter 194 and hears appeals of property value and of denied exemptions, classifications and tax deferrals (Clerk, Value Adjustment Board). It has five members: two county commissioners, one School Board member and two citizen members, one appointed by the county commission and one by the School Board. Special magistrates, independent appraisers and attorneys hired by the board, hold the hearings and recommend a decision, and the board makes all final decisions. The Clerk's VAB page links online petition filing for the 2025 tax year, and the Clerk's main line is 772-226-3100.

The Property Appraiser's main office is at 1800 27th Street, Building B, Vero Beach (772-226-1469) (Property Appraiser). Deadlines, the petition fee and evidence rules are in the Value Adjustment Board appeals guide.

Building permits for unincorporated Indian River County and for the City of Vero Beach come from a joint Indian River County and City of Vero Beach Building Division, reached at 772-226-1260 and run on the MyGovernmentOnline portal.

The county moved permitting to MyGovernmentOnline with a go-live date of July 10, 2023, and contractors correct the email on their license record through Contractor Licensing at 772-226-1960 (Indian River County Building Division). The 8th Edition Florida Building Code took effect December 31, 2023. The division's stated jurisdiction is the unincorporated county and the City of Vero Beach; the building permits guide explains which office handles an address.

One stale notice is worth knowing about. As of October 15, 2026 the Building Division page still leads with a Hurricane Milton storm damage permit exemption that ran from October 14, 2024 through January 17, 2025 for one and two family homes (Building Division). That window closed on January 17, 2025. Last verified: October 15, 2026, against the Indian River County, constitutional officer and Florida Department of Revenue websites.