Business Incentives in Indian River County

Indian River County lists two incentive programs for businesses, an ad valorem property tax exemption for new and expanding businesses and a Local Jobs Grant paid for each new job in targeted industries, plus case by case review of Projects of Significant Impact.

The county Economic Development Division lists both under County Incentives, along with a Projects of Significant Impact review for catalytic projects (Indian River County Economic Development Division). The division describes its role as working with state, municipal, regional and local stakeholders on business attraction, expansion and retention to diversify the economy of Indian River County.

The county's Economic Development Strategic Action Plan, dated January 2026, sets out the wider Existing Incentives Toolbox, sourced to Indian River County Planning and Development Services (county strategic action plan, Figure 10 toolbox).

The county's adopted 2025/2026 budget summarizes the same two programs: a Tax Exemption depending on the type of industry, number of new jobs created, and the capital investment made, and a Local Jobs Grant program for new and expanding businesses creating higher wage jobs and maintaining them over multiple years (Indian River County Annual Budget 2025/2026, economic profile). Last verified: October 22, 2026, by rereading the county Economic Development Division page, section 196.1995 of the Florida Statutes, form DR-418, the January 2026 strategic action plan and the adopted county budget for 2025/2026.

Voters approved the Indian River County Ad Valorem Tax Exemption Program by referendum in 2020 under section 196.1995, Florida Statutes, and the county commission grants each exemption by ordinance.

According to the Economic Development Division, the program gives new businesses and expanding businesses in Indian River County a tax exemption on new capital investments in real and tangible personal property, with the percentage and term of the exemption based upon the levels of capital investment, job creation, and wages (county Ad Valorem Tax Exemption Program description). Approval of each application takes an ordinance of the Indian River County Board of County Commissioners.

The statute sets the outer limits on what Indian River County can grant. After a majority vote in favor, a county may by ordinance exempt as much as 100 percent of the assessed value of improvements to real property and tangible personal property of a new business, or of the added improvements and net increase in tangible personal property for an expansion (section 196.1995(5), Florida Statutes). The improvements must be made or the property added after the governing body approves them, it covers only taxes that the granting government itself levies, and it never reaches taxes for bonds or other voter-approved levies.

The referendum also fixes how long the county may keep granting exemptions. Subsection (7) says the authority expires 10 years after the date it was approved in an election and may be renewed for subsequent 10-year periods if each renewal is approved in a referendum (section 196.1995(7)); subsection (4) allows such a referendum only once in any 12-month period. For Indian River County, the division page dates the voter approval to 2020 (Economic Development Division).

An applicant files the Florida Department of Revenue form DR-418 with the Board of County Commissioners, which sends it to the county property appraiser before deciding whether to adopt an exemption ordinance.

Form DR-418, Economic Development Ad Valorem Property Tax Exemption, carries the instruction To be filed with the Board of County Commissioners, the governing boards of the municipality, or both, no later than March 1 of the year the exemption is desired to take effect (Florida Department of Revenue form DR-418). It asks for the business name, the exact location of the property, descriptions and dates for the improvements and the tangible personal property, and the number of full-time employees to be employed in Florida, and it requests the adoption of an ordinance granting an exemption.

Section 196.1995 then sets the county's process. Under subsection (9), the Board of County Commissioners delivers a copy of the application to the property appraiser, who reports the total ad valorem revenue available, revenue already lost to earlier exemptions, the estimated revenue loss from the new exemption, and whether the property qualifies as a new business or expansion (section 196.1995(8) to (12)). Under subsection (10), the board must take into account net new jobs, the average wage, the capital investment, whether the business is a targeted industry, its environmental impact and how much it sources locally.

An approved exemption is adopted as an ordinance naming the business and its address, the revenue figures and the expiration date (section 196.1995(11)). Under subsection (12), the county and the applicant may sign a written agreement with performance criteria; it must require the applicant to report the actual number of new, full-time jobs and their actual average wage before the exemption expires, and it may let Indian River County revoke the exemption in whole or in part if the expectations are not met (section 196.1995(12)).

The Indian River County Local Jobs Grant pays new and expanding targeted industries for each job created during a job creation term, after the jobs are substantiated in an annual report.

Under the Economic Development Division's terms, a business qualifies with a minimum of 5 new jobs paying an average wage at or above the Indian River County average wage, the size of the grant depends on the average wage of those new jobs, and payment comes only once the jobs exist and an annual report substantiates them (Local Jobs Grant Program, Indian River County).

The adopted budget carries the grant as its own line. In its table of state agencies, non-profit and quasi-non-profit organizations, the line 110 Local Jobs Grants shows 61,248 in actual 2022/23 spending and a dash in the columns for actual 2023/24, budget 2024/25 and budget 2025/26 (Annual Budget 2025/2026, General Fund detail). The same table lists the Economic Development Division line at 237,911 for 2022/23, 204,826 for 2023/24, 238,725 budgeted for 2024/25 and 245,885 budgeted for 2025/26.

The 2014 Gifford Neighborhood Plan defined target industries as businesses that pay wages near or above the County's annual average wage or sell services or products outside the county, and listed local jobs grants, impact fee financing, utility deposit waivers and tax abatement among the county's target industry incentives (2014 Gifford Neighborhood Plan, economic development). The January 2026 strategic action plan names four target industries for Indian River County: Healthcare; Agriculture, Aquaculture, and Light Industrial; Aerospace and Manufacturing; and Finance, Insurance, and Professional Services (strategic action plan, Goal 1).

Beyond the two county programs, Indian River County reviews large projects case by case as Projects of Significant Impact and points employers to CareerSource Research Coast for hiring and training help.

For Projects of Significant Impact, the division page says proposed catalytic projects that demonstrate significant economic and fiscal impact are considered to be in the public interest, and that the Economic Development Division will evaluate whether specialized County support may be warranted (Projects of Significant Impact). Under Regional Partner Incentives, the page lists CareerSource Research Coast services such as candidate recruitment, workforce training grants, registered apprenticeship program development and On-the-Job Training programs that can reimburse employers for a portion of a new employee's wages during training, with a contact number of (866) 482-4473.

The division page also links regional and municipal partners, among them the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, Vero Beach Regional Airport, Sebastian Municipal Airport, the town governments of Orchid and Indian River Shores and the city governments of Fellsmere, Sebastian and Vero Beach, and its footer gives the county's main contact as 1801 27th Street, Vero Beach, phone 772 567 8000 (Economic Development Division partner links).

The 2025/2026 budget narrative adds that further incentives are granted for businesses located within the Enterprise Zone (county budget, economic profile). The 2014 Gifford plan records that Indian River County and the City of Vero Beach jointly established an Enterprise Zone in 2005, covering properties in and around the Vero Beach Municipal Airport and within the Gifford community (Gifford Neighborhood Plan 2014, Enterprise Zone).

The January 2026 Economic Development Strategic Action Plan recommends a comprehensive review of Indian River County incentives and lists new programs the county could consider.

Action 3.1.4 of the plan reads Conduct a comprehensive review of the County's incentives and revise strategies accordingly, considering tax increment financing, tax abatements, grants, and matching fund provisions (Economic Development Strategic Action Plan, Goal 3). The incentives policy section then lists options the county could add: talent relocation assistance, a revolving loan fund, brownfields programs, sustainability-driven incentives such as reduced impact fees for green building, transportation impact fee financing, utility deposit waivers and flexible financing for water and sewer impact fees for target industries. It also says Indian River County should encourage its municipal partners to provide matching incentives in conjunction with the county offerings.

On permitting, the plan calls for an integrated development review software system, concurrent reviews by multiple departments and a dedicated staff liaison for fast-tracking applications for commercial developments that meet certain established criteria such as jobs added and capital investment (strategic action plan, 3.4 Permitting Process). It asks the county to review the strategic plan on a biennial basis, every two years. The plan presents these as recommendations, and the county Economic Development Division page lists the current programs (current county incentives).