Property tax bills and payment — Indian River County, Florida

The Indian River County Tax Collector mails real estate tax bills by November 1, pays the largest discount in November, and treats March as the last month before the April 1 delinquency date.

One bill covers every authority that taxes a parcel, whether it sits in Sebastian, Vero Beach, Fellsmere, Indian River Shores, Orchid or the unincorporated county. In the Tax Collector's description the bill is a combined notice: ad valorem taxes follow the value of the real estate and its improvements, while non-ad valorem assessments rest on factors other than value, such as acreage (Indian River County Tax Collector). The Property Appraiser's Notice of Proposed Taxes arrives first, in August (Indian River County Property Appraiser).

Early payment is rewarded on a sliding scale. Florida Statutes section 197.162 sets 4 percent in November or within 30 days after the original notice is sent, 3 percent in December, 2 percent in January, 1 percent in February and zero in March, and the Tax Collector applies the discount by the postmark on the payment. When a discount period ends on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the statute carries it to the next working day for a payment delivered to the Tax Collector's collection office.

Florida law puts the burden of finding a lost bill on the owner. The Tax Collector mails each statement to the address on the certified tax roll, asks owners to call (772) 226-1343 for duplicate bills, and asks anyone without a bill by November 9 to notify the office. Address changes go to the Property Appraiser, not the Tax Collector.

The Indian River County Tax Collector lists Property Tax among the services at its Main Office in Vero Beach and runs three other offices: the West and Oceanside offices in Vero Beach and the Sebastian Office at Sebastian Corners.

The Tax Collector's locations page lists the Main Office in the County Administration Complex at 1800 27th Street, Building B, Vero Beach; the West Office in the Vero West Commercial Center at 1860 82nd Avenue, Suite 102; the Oceanside Office in the Oceanside County Complex at 3003 Cardinal Drive, Suite C; and the Sebastian Office in Sebastian Corners at 1921 U.S. Highway 1. The Main Office lists Property Tax among its available services, alongside motorist services and local business tax.

The Main Office keeps split hours, 8 AM to 12 PM and 1 PM to 5 PM on weekdays, with Wednesday opening at 8:40 AM and the lobby closed from noon to 1 PM. Its drive thru stays open during all business hours, including the noon hour. The Tax Collector's mailing address is PO Box 1509, Vero Beach, FL 32961, and the general line is (772) 226-1338.

Paid receipts can be printed from the Tax Collector's online payment center at any time. A bill stamped 'Duplicate Bill, Do Not Pay' means a mortgage company requested the original for an escrow account; an owner whose taxes are not escrowed may still pay with that notice, according to the Tax Collector's real estate tax FAQ. The office cannot accept partial payments on current or delinquent real estate tax bills, so each payment covers the full amount due.

The Tax Collector's installment plan splits next year's taxes into June, September, December and March payments, with discounts of 6, 4.5, 3 and 0 percent, for owners whose estimated bill tops $100.

Timing is the catch. The Installment Payment Plan page says the Indian River County Tax Collector will accept applications for the 2026 tax year starting on November 1, 2026, and they must reach the office by April 30th, 2027. An application form also travels with each November bill. The plan covers real estate, tangible personal property or both. The Tax Collector's FAQ warns that waiting until the November bill arrives is too late to pay by installment for that year.

The first two payments, in June and September, are figured from the prior year's taxes; the December and March payments reflect the new roll certified to the Tax Collector in October, and any change from a new assessed value or exemption is split evenly across those last two. The June payment decides membership: under Florida law an owner who skips it is dropped from the plan and receives a full November bill with the usual discounts, although a July payment keeps the account on the plan without the 6% discount. Each later installment is accepted only in the month it falls due.

Sales do not cancel a plan midyear. If a parcel in Vero Beach, Sebastian or elsewhere in the county changes hands after one or more installments, the account stays on the plan for that year, and the Tax Collector suggests sellers tell the closing agent so the prorations at closing reflect the payments.

Homestead owners who meet state age and household income conditions can defer some or all of their taxes through the Tax Collector, with the unpaid amount carried as a priority lien on the home.

The Tax Deferral Plan page requires an application to the Indian River County Tax Collector on or before March 31st following the tax year, renewed every year. The applicant must qualify for homestead, show prior-year income, and keep fire and extended coverage insurance above the liens and deferred taxes, with a clause requiring the insurer to notify the Tax Collector of cancellation. A home mortgage cannot exceed 70% of the assessed value, and liens plus deferred taxes cannot total more than 85%.

Interest runs on the deferred amount at a formula rate that may not exceed 7%. Everything comes due when the use or ownership changes so the owner no longer qualifies, with amounts for prior years payable November 1 of that year and delinquent April 1 of the next, or when insurance lapses. Deferral differs from the installment plan offered at the same Tax Collector counters: installments pay the full tax on a schedule, while deferral postpones it until a sale, transfer or death.

Non-ad valorem lines are charges based on factors other than property value, set by levying authorities such as the Solid Waste Disposal District, street light districts and city stormwater and garbage programs, and exemptions do not reduce them.

The Tax Collector's non-ad valorem page names solid waste, drainage and street lighting as typical examples and notes that tangible taxes carry no such assessments. Which lines appear depends on location. Mandatory waste collection assessments now sit on bills in unincorporated Indian River County (effective tax year 2025), in the Town of Indian River Shores (2025) and in the City of Sebastian (2024). The countywide Solid Waste assessment pays for recycling pickup, landfill operations and the customer convenience centers.

Questions about a line go to the authority that set it, not the Tax Collector. The page lists the Board of County Commissioners and its street light districts, including Roseland Road, Gifford and Oslo Park, at (772) 226-1214; the Solid Waste Disposal District at (772) 226-3212; the Sebastian Stormwater Services and Sebastian Waste Collection assessments at (772) 581-0111; the Vero Beach Stormwater Assessment at (772) 978-4850; the Indian River Shores Waste Collection Assessment at (772) 231-1771; and the Fellsmere Farms Water Control District at (772) 571-0640. The Vero Lake Estates MSBU and the North County Water Assessment appear on the same list. Because these charges are not based on assessed value, homestead and other exemptions leave them unchanged.

An unpaid real estate bill held by the Tax Collector turns delinquent on April 1 with a 3% penalty, is advertised in May, and becomes a tax certificate sold by June 1.

The Tax Collector's delinquency page gives the example that 2025 property taxes become delinquent on April 1, 2026 if unpaid. On that date a 3% penalty is added to the gross tax; accounts still open in May are charged an advertising fee and published weekly in a local newspaper for three consecutive weeks. If the tax is still unpaid, the Tax Collector must sell a tax certificate, a first lien against the real property, on or before June 1 through its online certificate sale.

Older debts can ride along on a new bill. The message 'BACK TAXES REMAIN UNPAID' on a November bill means delinquent taxes are also due on the account, and the Tax Collector asks owners to call (772) 226-1343 for the amount. Buyers also inherit the full bill: whoever owns a Sebastian or Vero Beach parcel when the November bill is mailed pays the entire year, with the seller's share handled as a credit at closing rather than a payment to the Tax Collector.

Last verified: October 12, 2026, on the Indian River County Tax Collector website, using its help center articles on real estate tax.