AGRICULTURAL LAND VALUE AND TAXATION
Information excerpted from: Texas Property Taxes, Taxpayers' Rights, Remedies & Responsibilities, Revised
January 1998, Comptroller of Public Accounts, Publication # 96-295.
Agricultural appraisal lowers the value of land owned by qualified farmers and ranchers. It values rural land based
on the land's capacity to produce crops, livestock, or timber, instead of its value on the real estate market. This
lower value reduces property taxes on the land.
How to File for Agricultural Appraisal
Get an application from at your local appraisal district office.
Fill out the form completely and return it to the appraisal district office after January 1, but no later than April 30.
Remember, making false statements on your application is a criminal offense.
If your property is valued by more than one appraisal district, you must file an application in each appraisal district
office. If you don't, you could end up paying taxes on your property's full market value to one or more taxing
units. This occurs when your property is located in a taxing unit that is also in a neighboring county. Contact the
appraisal district if you aren't sure.
If you need more time to complete your application form, submit a written request to the chief appraiser before the
April 30 deadline. The chief appraiser can grant up to 60 extra days if you have a good reason for needing extra
time.
If you miss the April 30 deadline, you may file an application any time before the ARB approves the appraisal
records (usually about July 20). However, in such a case, you will be charged a penalty for filing late. The penalty
is 10 percent of the tax saving you obtained by getting agricultural appraisal for your land. Once the ARB
approves the records, you can't apply for agricultural appraisal for that year.
If the chief appraiser asks you for more information, you will have at least 30 days to reply. You may ask for more
time but you must have a good reason. If you don't reply, the chief appraiser must deny your application.
If the chief appraiser denies or modifies your agricultural appraisal, he or she must tell you in writing within five
days. This notice must explain how you can protest to the ARB.
Once you receive agricultural appraisal, you don't have to apply again in the following years unless your
qualifications change. However, the chief appraiser may request a new application to verify that you still meet the
qualifications. If you get a notice to verify that you still meet the qualifications. If you get a notice to reapply, be
sure to do so. If you don't, you will lose your eligibility. If you become the owner of land that is already qualified,
you must reapply in your own name by April 30. If you don't, you lose your eligibility. You must notify the
appraisal district in writing by April 30 if your land's eligibility changes. Failure to do so results in a penalty
charge.
The agricultural appraisal is based on an estimate of the typical annual income during the five-year period
preceding the year before the appraisal. The agricultural appraisal may change annually based on this income and
the capitalization rate.
What land qualifies?
Tax payers may qualify for agricultural appraisal under two different laws. The land must devoted principally to
agricultural use. Agricultural use includes production of crops, livestock, poultry, fish, or cover crops. It also can
include leaving the land idle for a government program or for normal crop or livestock rotation. Land used for
raising certain exotic animals ( including exotic birds) to produce human food or other items of commercial value
and cutting wood for use in fences or structures on adjacent agricultural land also qualifies. Using land for wildlife
management is an agricultural use. Such land was previously qualified open-space land and is actively used for
wildlife management. Wildlife management land must be used in at least three of seven specific ways to propagate
a breeding population of wild animals for human use. Contact your local appraisal office for details.
Timberland must be used with the intent to produce income and be devoted principally to the production of timber.
Both agricultural land and timberland must be devoted to production at a level of intensity that is common in the
local area.
The land must have been devoted to agricultural and\or timber production for at least five of the past seven years.
However, land within the city limits must have been devoted continuously for the preceding five years, unless the
land did not receive substantially equal city services as other properties in the city.
If your land qualified for agricultural appraisal and you change its use to a non-agricultural use, you will
owe a rollback tax for each of the previous five years in which your land got the lower appraisal.
The Walker County Extension Office
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This page last modified on: January 5, 2000