1 D 1 Open Space Agricultural Valuation (Form 50-129) - Fill Out and Use This PDF

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Address, City, State, ZIP Code

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS

Article VIII, Section 1-d-1, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 23, Subchapter D, Texas Property Tax Code, provide for appraisal of open-space land.

Land qualifies for special appraisal (1-d-1 appraisal) if it has been (1) used for agriculture for five of the preceding seven years and is currently devoted principally to agricultural use as defined by statute, (2) used to protect federally listed endangered species under a federal permit, or (3) used for conser­ vation or restitution projects under certain federal and state statutes. The land must also be used for agriculture to the degree of intensity generally accepted in the area. The value of the land is based on the annual net income from a typical lease arrangement that would have been earned from the land during the five-year period preceding the year before the date of appraisal by an owner using ordinary prudence in the management of the land and the farm crops and livestock produced or supported on the land, including income received from hunting­ or recreational leases.

On or after Jan. 1, 2008, an individual is not entitled to have land designated for agricultural use if the land secures a home equity loan described by Article XVI, Section 50(a)(6), Texas Constitution.

If you have questions on completing this application or on the information concerning additional taxes and penalties created by a change of use of the land, you may consult the State Comptroller’s Manual for the Appraisal of Agricultural Land and your appraisal district staff. The manual may be found on the Comptroller’s Web site at www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/proptax under the section concerning appraisal manuals.

You must complete this application in full and file it with the chief appraiser before May 1 of the year you are applying for agricultural appraisal. To be accepted, this form must contain information necessary to determine the validity of the claim. If your application­ is approved, you do not need to file again in later years unless the chief appraiser requests a new application. The chief appraiser may disapprove the application and request additional information. The chief appraiser may deny the application and you may protest that determination to the county appraisal review board in a timely manner. If the chief appraiser requests additional information from an applicant, the information must be furnished within 30 days after the date of the request, or the application is denied. For good cause shown, the chief appraiser may extend the deadline for furnishing the information by written order for a single 15 day period.

You may file a late application up to midnight the day before the appraisal review board approves appraisal records for the year which usually occurs in July. If you file a late application and your application is approved, you must pay a penalty equal to 10 percent of the difference between the amount of tax imposed on the property and the amount that would be imposed if the property were taxed at market value.

OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION

If the initial application form does not contain all the information needed to determine whether property qualifies, the chief appraiser may request additional information. The chief appraiser may request only additional information that is necessary to determine whether the land qualifies for 1-d-1 appraisal.

You must notify the chief appraiser in writing if you: stop using your property for agriculture (e.g., you voluntarily decide to stop farming); change the category of your use (e.g., you change from dry cropland to irrigated cropland); change the level of your use (e.g., you substantially­ increase or decrease the number of cattle you raise); change the nature of your use (e.g., you switch from growing corn to growing ornamental plants); enter, leave or change governmental programs (e.g., you put 100 acres in Conservation Reserve Program); or if you begin using your land for something other than agriculture (e.g., you build a shopping center on most of your land). You must deliver this notice no later than the April 30 following the change in use or eligibility.

PENALTIES

If your land receives agricultural appraisal and you fail to notify the chief appraiser of a change in agricultural use, you may be required to pay a penalty. You will be required to pay a substantial additional tax plus interest (a “rollback” tax) if you stop using all or part of the property for agriculture.

STEP 1: State the Year for Which You are Seeking Agricultural Use Appraisal

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State the year for which you are seeking agricultural use appraisal

STEP 2: Provide Name and Mailing Address of Property Owner

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Name of Property Owner

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Mailing Address

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STEP 3: Describe the Property for Which you are Seeking Agricultural Use Appraisal

Give legal description, abstract numbers, field numbers or plat numbers. You may attach last year’s tax statement, notice of appraised value or other corre- spondence identifying the property, rather than completing this section.

STEP 4: Describe the Property’s Use

Agricultural use includes, but is not limited to, the following activities: (1) cultivating the soil; (2) producing crops for human food, animal feed, or planting seed or for the production of fibers; (3) floriculture, viticulture and horticulture; (4) raising or keeping livestock; (5) raising or keeping exotic animals or fowl for the production of human food or fiber, leather, pelts or other tangible products having a commercial value; (6) planting cover crops or leaving land idle for the purpose of participating in a governmental program provided the land is not used for residential purposes or a purpose inconsistent with agricultural use or leaving the land idle in conjunction with normal crop or livestock rotation procedures; (7) wildlife management; and (8) beekeeping.

Wildlife management is defined as actively using land that at the time the wildlife-management use began, was appraised as qualified open-space or timber land under Tax Code, Chapter 23, Subchapter D or E, to propagate a sustaining breeding, migrating or wintering population of indigenous wild animals

for human use, including food, medicine, or recreation, in at least three of the following ways: (1) habitat control; (2) erosion control; (3) predator control;

(4)providing supplemental supplies of water; (5) providing supplement supplies of food; (6) providing shelters; and (7) making census counts to determine population.

Wildlife management is also actively using land to protect federally listed endangered species under a federal permit if the land is included in a habitat preserve subject to a conservation easement created under Chapter 183 Natural Resources Code or part of a conservation development under a federally approved habitat conservation plan restricting the use of the land to protect federally listed endangered species or actively using land for a conservation or restoration project under certain federal and state statutes is wildlife management. These two types of wildlife management uses do not require showing a history of agricultural use but do require evidence identified in Step 4, Questions 4 and 5.

Agricultural land use categories include: (1) irrigated cropland, (2) dry cropland, (3) improved pastureland, (4) native pastureland, (5) orchard, (6) wasteland,

(7) timber production, (8) wildlife management, and (9) other categories of land that are typical in your area.

For more information, visit our website: www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/proptax

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Please answer the following questions fully. You may list the agricultural use of your property according to the agricultural land categories listed in the preceding paragraph. You may divide the total acreage according to individual uses to which the land is principally devoted.

1.Describe the current and past agricultural uses of this property as described above, starting with the current year and working back 5 years or until you have shown 5 out of 7 years of agricultural use.

2.(a) If you raise livestock, exotic animals, exotic fowl or manage wildlife on the property, list the livestock or exotics raised or the type of wildlife managed and the number of acres used for this activity. You may attach a list if the space is not sufficient.

(b) If you raise livestock or exotic animals, how many head (average per year) do you raise?

3.If you grow crops (including ornamental plants, flowers or grapevines), list the crops grown and the number of acres devoted to each crop. You may attach a list if the space is not sufficient.

4.If you have planted cover crops or your land is lying idle because you are participating in a governmental program, please list these programs and the number of acres devoted to each program. You may attach a list if the space is not sufficient.

5.Is this property now used for any non-agricultural activities? List all non-agricultural uses and the number of acres devoted to the use. You may attach a list if the space is not sufficient.

For more information, visit our website: www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/proptax

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STEP 5: Describe Wildlife Management Use

Do not complete this step if you are not using the land to manage wildlife as permitted by law.

If you are using the land to manage wildlife, list at least three of the wildlife management practices listed in the description found in Step 4 above in which you manage wildlife.

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B.__________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Please indicate the property’s agricultural land use category, as described in Step 4, for the tax year preceding the land’s conversion to wildlife management use. An example is that the land was categorized as native pasture before conversion to wildlife management. It is necessary that the category of use prior to conversion be identified in response to this request.

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Please attach a wildlife management plan completed on a form prescribed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for the property described in Step 3. A form may be obtained at http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/landwater/land/private/agricultural_land/.

For more information, visit our website: www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/proptax

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STEP 7: Read, Sign, and Date

By signing this application, you certify that the information provided in this application is true and correct to the best of your knowledge and belief.

If you make a false statement on this application, you could be found guilty of a Class A misdemeanor or a state jail felony under Section 37.10, Penal Code.

For more information, visit our website: www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/proptax

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