Property Taxes

[2manyrocks]

Tennessee has a greenbelt program that you can put your land in that will keep it taxed at the lower rates even if it just grows up in weeds. Maybe your state has something like it.

You need to find out the real criteria for the assessment before you go to the hearing or they'll run you into a dead end and keep the land at the higher assessment.

 

[dooleysm]

Regarding dad's land, he doesn't live there, it's just 30 acres he bought next door to me that we use for hunting. We had a meeting with the district forester last spring, who just happened to be dad's college room mate. He offered to put dad's land into the Classified Forest program, but dad wasn't interested, as his property taxes were low at the time. That is an option he will absolutely pursue if he doesn't get relief in his assessment.

I've been reading some more about it, and still as best as I can tell, the determination of whether land is classified as agricultural is pretty subjective. There is another document I am going to attempt to locate that I think may shed some more light on the subject. So far it appears to me that my property (minus my 'homestead' acreage) is agricultural.

 

[scootr2d]

An update on my original post...

My dad went in to talk to the assessor (or at least someone in her office) on Friday. He was told that his land was re-assessed as 'residential' since he is not living there and farming it. Now, his use of the land is identical to its use by the previous owner; he does nothing to it. It just sits there. It's about 3 acres of former pasture and 27 acres of woods. He was told that the previous owner (who still owns 100's of surrounding acres) files income taxes as a farmer, so his land is considered agricultural and is taxed at the fair use rate vs. the fair value rate. Understandable, except that the 60 or so acres that he has left surrounding our property is unused. It just sits there. He bush hogs it every other year or so, that's it. No animals, doesn't cut hay off it, doesn't harvest anything or use it in any way. His surrounding land is assessed at $600/acre. Dad's land is assessed at $2100/acre. Mine is assessed at $2200/acre. I'm not buying it.

I haven't seen anything yet about how land gets classified as agricultural, residential, whatever. I don't for one minute believe that the assessor is looking at IRS records to find out how you file your income taxes. I'm not entirely sure that would be legal. If there's some other way to declare your land as agricultural, I haven't found it...yet. I do more agricultural type things with my land than my neighbor does. My dad does just as much agricultural with his land as our common neighbor as well.

I talked to my dad about this before I went in to the assessor. I filed my appeal and was told hearings would begin in June. That gives me more time to track down this issue of how land gets qualified as agricultural. I have a feeling it's at the assessor's discretion.

Throw some goats on it to keep the Brush down.
register it as small farm - probably costs 35.00.
Create a small business (buying and selling goats to promote healthy breeding stock)
and re-file it as AG land.
write off your tractor and implements used over a period of years to maintain
the AG land for your business.

 

[2manyrocks]

, the determination of whether land is classified as agricultural is pretty subjective.

Look at this carefully--it might be loosely defined or they might look at whether there is any active "farming" in the sense of raising crops, animals, etc.

 

[dooleysm]

I found an assessor's guidebook put out by the state last night. I read through chapter 2, which is 130 pages and seemed to be the most appropriate. Again, it seems subjective, but it does define a variety of agricultural subtypes, several of which clearly match up to my use of my land. Things like tillable land - vegetable crop, poultry farm, legal ditch and associated access land, fallow pasture, non-tillable land - less than 50% canopy cover. There is no minimum acreage for any of the types.

As far as registering myself as a farmer through whatever means, if it is a federal registration (something along the lines of a Classified Forest), that is considered sufficient for an agricultural designation. It is clearly not required though.

I have printed off these sections and will bring them along to my 'hearing'.

For what it's worth, I talked to a buddy that lives SE of Indianapolis, near Shelbyville. He's got 3 chickens. His wife talked to the assessor and got their land re-assessed as agricultural. He said it couldn't have been easier.

 

[Bird]

For what it's worth, I talked to a buddy that lives SE of Indianapolis, near Shelbyville. He's got 3 chickens. His wife talked to the assessor and got their land re-assessed as agricultural. He said it couldn't have been easier.

I think a lot depends on the individual assessor, or that particular jurisdiction. I know in 1995, when I talked to the assessor, he said selling pecans from a dozen trees, selling fruit and vegetables from a garden and a couple of plum trees, raising and selling rabbits wouldn't do it, but if there was one cow on the property, it qualified. And I was already letting a neighbor use my pasture for his cattle.:laughing:

 

[Dargo]

I found an assessor's guidebook put out by the state last night. I read through chapter 2, which is 130 pages and seemed to be the most appropriate. Again, it seems subjective, but it does define a variety of agricultural subtypes, several of which clearly match up to my use of my land. Things like tillable land - vegetable crop, poultry farm, legal ditch and associated access land, fallow pasture, non-tillable land - less than 50% canopy cover. There is no minimum acreage for any of the types.

As far as registering myself as a farmer through whatever means, if it is a federal registration (something along the lines of a Classified Forest), that is considered sufficient for an agricultural designation. It is clearly not required though.

I have printed off these sections and will bring them along to my 'hearing'.

For what it's worth, I talked to a buddy that lives SE of Indianapolis, near Shelbyville. He's got 3 chickens. His wife talked to the assessor and got their land re-assessed as agricultural. He said it couldn't have been easier.

I also live in Indiana and we couldn't have a worse assessor. I can't recall if I mentioned it in this thread, but I bought a rent house last year for $64k. I just got my property tax bill for that home. My bill was based on a value of $98,800. My understanding is that your property in IN is supposed to be based on actual value. Paying taxes for last year, which is what this bill is for, how can they be so dumb as to miss the value by that much especially when it shows right on the assessment what I paid for the home?!??

 

[MossRoad]

Regarding dad's land, he doesn't live there, it's just 30 acres he bought next door to me that we use for hunting. We had a meeting with the district forester last spring, who just happened to be dad's college room mate. He offered to put dad's land into the Classified Forest program, but dad wasn't interested, as his property taxes were low at the time. That is an option he will absolutely pursue if he doesn't get relief in his assessment.

I've been reading some more about it, and still as best as I can tell, the determination of whether land is classified as agricultural is pretty subjective. There is another document I am going to attempt to locate that I think may shed some more light on the subject. So far it appears to me that my property (minus my 'homestead' acreage) is agricultural.

If he is never going to build on it or crop farm it, he will most likely never get a better break on his taxes by going Classified Forest. It is even less than Ag. And he can hunt, harvest timber, etc... and still use the land.

 

[brin]

Just a word of caution about changing the classification of your land to save on Property taxes...Here in Ga. we have a conservation reserve program you can place your property in and save a great deal on your property taxes for a period of 10 yrs. and then it is up for renewal Here is the warning, at least here in Georgia if you sell your property during the time it is in reserve or otherwise withdram it from the program you have to pay a penalty and pay back all of the property taxes you saved and believe me it is a substantial amount. You want to be absolutely sure about your plans before you enter a program like this if your state is the same.

 

[dooleysm]

I also live in Indiana and we couldn't have a worse assessor. I can't recall if I mentioned it in this thread, but I bought a rent house last year for $64k. I just got my property tax bill for that home. My bill was based on a value of $98,800. My understanding is that your property in IN is supposed to be based on actual value. Paying taxes for last year, which is what this bill is for, how can they be so dumb as to miss the value by that much especially when it shows right on the assessment what I paid for the home?!??

From everything I've read, you have an excellent case to take before the assessor. Assessment values should be based on surrounding properties and recent sales. If you bought it for $64k a year ago it's obviously not worth $98,800 now. If you file an appeal with the assessor and can't come to an agreement with that person, your appeal gets bumped up to the county's property tax board (it has an official name, which I don't recall at the moment). Fill out Form 130 and give it to your assessor, it's very easy to start the appeal process.