Industrial revenue bonds in Florida
Volume cap, active issuers, the local buyer base and the steps to finance a manufacturing, recycling, water or housing project in Florida with tax-exempt bonds.
State facts verified October 2026Key takeaways
- $3.2B of volume cap in 2026 — the federal $135 per resident applied to 23.46 million residents; rank 3 of 51 by size.
- 232 Florida issuer entries appear in SEC-registered fund holdings, $5.6B in total, −$1.4B over the latest quarter (filers report some issuers under more than one name).
- 48 FDIC-insured banks headquartered in the state hold $3.3B of municipal securities — the natural direct purchasers for small issues.
- No single-state municipal fund focuses on this state (single-state funds exist mainly where residents pay state income tax), so placements rely on national high-yield funds, banks and separately managed accounts.
Issuers whose bonds funds already hold
Registered funds’ holdings show which Florida issuers buyers already know. The tables cover all conduit and private activity issuers in fund holdings — including transportation, housing, nonprofit and pollution-control issuers — so they are context for demand, not a list of issuers that do manufacturing bonds.
Issuer profiles: Florida Development Finance Corp · Hillsborough County Industrial Development Authority · Lee County Industrial Development Authority. Each lists the fees, size limits and board dates the issuer publishes.
| Issuer | Held by funds | Funds | 1 quarter | 4 quarters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Development Finance Corp | $4.3B | 93 | +$283.9M | −$896.1M |
| Hillsborough County Industrial Development Authority | $568.3M | 55 | −$37.0M | −$47.4M |
| Lee County Industrial Development Authority | $514.0M | 69 | +$83.3M | +$84.4M |
| Miami-Dade County Industrial Development Authority | $310.8M | 47 | +$212.8M | +$220.7M |
| Charlotte County Industrial Development Authority | $58.7M | 26 | −$2.3M | +$31.9M |
| Series | Held | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Florida Development Finance Corp | $1.2B | −$45.4M |
| Florida Development Finance Corp. | $909.3M | −$861.1M |
| FLORIDA DEV FIN CORP | $509.8M | +$500.3M |
| Florida Development Finance Corporation, Revenue Bonds, Brightline Florida Passenger Rail Expansion Project, Brightline Trains Florida LLC Issue, Seri | $339.6M | −$548.1M |
The local buyer base
Banks
48 FDIC-insured banks are headquartered in Florida, together holding $3.3B of municipal securities in the latest call reports. Banks often buy small industrial issues outright (direct purchase) or provide letters of credit that let money market funds buy variable-rate bonds.
Funds
National high-yield municipal funds are the core buyers of unrated industrial bonds. No single-state fund focuses on the state.
How Florida allocates volume cap
Allocating agency: Florida Division of Bond Finance (State Board of Administration), Private Activity Bond Allocation Program. Issuers file a Notice of Intent to Issue (after TEFRA approval, with a counsel opinion) and receive a Confirmation subject to cap in the right pool; notices received the same business day are treated together and a random drawing sets order if cap is short, with the balance on a pending list. Since the 2024 rewrite of Part VI, Chapter 159 (effective January 1, 2025), small issue (manufacturing) and exempt facility bonds draw on the Economic Development Allocation Pool, which gets 25% of the state volume limitation on January 1 (2026 initial amount $788,812,256.25); notices filed before May 1 are confirmed in an order set by the Secretary of Commerce by May 15, then first-come, first-served June 1 to September 30. Unused pools roll into the State Allocation Pool (October 1 to November 30, all bond types, first-come, first-served); confirmations expire November 30 unless a carryforward confirmation is obtained, and carryforward requests are taken December 1 to 15.
Volume cap status · page read October 28, 2026; the agency prints no date
Every 2026 allocation pool shows a $0.00 balance except the State Overall pool (October 1 – November 30, 2026), at $0.34.
Source: pab.sbafla.com. Figures exactly as published; cap moves daily in busy years.
State allocation fees. Nonrefundable fee on each Notice of Intent to Issue, set in the Division's fee schedule, not to exceed $500 (s. 159.811, F.S.). Local issuer example: Pinellas County Economic Development Authority charges a $2,000 IRB application fee.
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Economic Development Allocation Pool open | 1/1/2026 to 9/30/2026 |
| Deadline to file Notices of Intent for Secretary of Commerce priority order (annual) | May 1 |
| Secretary of Commerce sets confirmation order if requests exceed the pool (annual) | May 15 |
| Economic Development pool first-come, first-served period (annual) | June 1 - September 30 |
| Pending Economic Development pool requests rejected; pool dissolves into State Allocation Pool (annual) | September 30 / October 1 |
| State Allocation Pool open | 10/1/2026 to 11/30/2026 |
| Confirmations and State pool pending requests expire unless carryforward requested at least 3 business days before (annual) | November 30 |
| Carryforward Allocation Pool requests | 12/1/2026 to 12/15/2026 |
Issuers that do manufacturing bonds
| Issuer | Type |
|---|---|
| Florida Development Finance Corporation | statewide authority |
| Pinellas County Economic Development Authority (manufacturing IRBs up to $10 million under Chapter 159, Parts II and III) | county IDA |
State approvals
TEFRA approval under Code section 147(f) must be obtained before the Notice of Intent to Issue is filed, and the notice needs an opinion or statement of counsel that the project qualifies and requires an allocation; one project and one pool per notice. Under the Florida Industrial Development Financing Act (s. 159.29, F.S.), the local agency must determine the project serves a public purpose and that the borrower is financially responsible; its determination is final. Bonds must be issued for at least 90% of the current-year allocation granted, and the Division issues a final certification after the issuance report is filed.
Incentives that commonly stack with the bonds
2 state programmes verified on official pages. Eligibility and amounts are set by each programme; the bonds do not confer them.
- Sales taxSales and use tax exemption for industrial machinery and equipment bought by manufacturers in NAICS 31, 32 or 33 for use at a fixed Florida location (s. 212.08(7)(iii), F.S., per the Department of Revenue).
- Property taxEconomic development ad valorem tax exemption (s. 196.1995, F.S.): after a local referendum, a county or city may exempt improvements and tangible personal property (not land) of new or expanding businesses from its own property taxes; apply by March 1 on Form DR-418.
Who to call
- Florida Division of Bond Finance, PAB Allocation Program (bond@sbafla.com, 850-488-4782)
- Pinellas County Economic Development, IRB program
Sources: pab.sbafla.com (1) · pab.sbafla.com (2) · pab.sbafla.com (3) · pab.sbafla.com (4) · pab.sbafla.com (5) · bondfinance.sbafla.com · leg.state.fl.us · pced.org · floridarevenue.com (1) · floridarevenue.com (2) · checked October 2026. Procedures and fees change; confirm with the agency and bond counsel.
How to finance a project in Florida
- Confirm eligibility. Manufacturing projects up to $10 million under the small-issue capital expenditure election, or an exempt facility such as solid waste, water or qualified housing. See the guide.
- Choose an issuer. In Florida, issuers with published industrial bond programs include Florida Development Finance Corporation and Pinellas County Economic Development Authority (see the issuer table above). A county or city industrial development authority, a port authority or a statewide finance authority can serve; the fund-holdings tables are context, not a directory. How to choose an issuer.
- Obtain a declaration of official intent (inducement resolution). Costs paid up to 60 days before it, and any time after, can be reimbursed from bond proceeds (Treas. Reg. §1.150-2).
- Apply for volume cap to the state’s allocating agency, Florida Division of Bond Finance. Florida’s 2026 ceiling is $3.2B; allocation is at the state’s discretion, by round, lottery or first-come, and the ceiling is not the amount still available.
- Hold the TEFRA hearing after at least seven days’ public notice (the issuer’s website may be used) and obtain the elected official’s approval. If the issuer sits outside the project’s jurisdiction, an elected official of the host jurisdiction must also approve; approval lapses if bonds are not issued within a year.
- State approvals, documents and closing. Some states add their own steps — attorney general review, court validation or a state commission’s approval. Bond counsel drafts the documents; a bank buys the bonds directly or a placement agent places them with investors.
The order of these steps varies by state: some require the public hearing and local approval before they allocate volume cap.
Questions borrowers ask
Do industrial revenue bonds in Florida need volume cap?
Most do. Federal law (IRC §146) requires small-issue manufacturing bonds and most exempt-facility bonds to receive an allocation of the state’s annual cap, which for Florida is $3.2B this year. Governmentally owned airports, docks and solid waste facilities, and qualified 501(c)(3) bonds, do not.
Who issues industrial revenue bonds in Florida?
Issuers with published industrial bond programs in Florida include Florida Development Finance Corporation and Pinellas County Economic Development Authority. County and city development authorities, port authorities and statewide finance authorities issue depending on the state, and national conduits can issue with the host jurisdiction’s approval. The allocating agency (Florida Division of Bond Finance) can confirm who is active.
Who buys Florida industrial revenue bonds?
National high-yield municipal funds, banks — including the 48 headquartered in the state — insurers and separately managed accounts.
How long does it take?
Typically three to six months from engagement to closing; volume cap rounds and issuer board calendars can add time.
Check whether your project qualifies Read the complete guide
Methodology
Volume cap is the 2026 federal formula — $135 per resident with a $397,625,000 small-state minimum (Rev. Proc. 2025-32) — applied to Census Vintage 2025 population estimates; where a state publishes its own figure, the state’s figure governs. It is the annual ceiling, not the amount still available. Issuer and bond figures are holdings reported by SEC-registered funds on Form N-PORT, classified by Securitief; bank figures are municipal securities in FDIC call reports for banks headquartered in the state.
Important information. Securitief Research is published by Securitief, operated by Applied America. Securitief is not a placement agent or underwriter and does not seek or receive compensation from any financing, including financings of issuers and borrowers discussed here. It is not acting as a municipal advisor and owes no fiduciary duty to any issuer or obligated person unless separately engaged in writing.
This material is general information. It is not tax, legal, investment or municipal advice, a recommendation, or an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. Offers are made only by offering documents and only where permitted by state securities laws. State allocation procedures change; confirm current rules with the allocating agency and bond counsel.
Sources: SEC Form N-PORT and FDIC call reports (holdings), IRS and Census (volume cap and population), state agency publications. Issuer classification and aggregation are Securitief’s own and may contain matching errors; figures may be revised. No licensed index levels (MMD, BVAL, ICE) or EMMA trade data are used. Past holdings do not indicate future demand, pricing or the availability of financing. Interest on private activity bonds may be subject to the alternative minimum tax; tax treatment depends on the facts and the opinion of bond counsel.