Agricultural appraisal
Farm and Ranch Land Can Be Taxed on Productivity, Not Market Value
Landowners who farm, ranch, or manage timber in Anderson County can apply for special appraisal based on what the land produces, not what it would sell for. This often means a much lower tax bill.
Texas law lets the appraisal district (the office that sets your property value) tax qualifying farm and timber land based on productivity. Productivity means what the land earns from crops, livestock, or timber — not what it would sell for. In Anderson County, cattle ranching, timber, and crop production are common. This can lower your property tax bill by a large amount.
To qualify, the land must have been used mainly for farming or timber for at least five of the past seven years. It must also meet the 'degree of intensity generally accepted in the area.' Each appraisal district sets its own local standards for that.
If you later change the land to a non-farm use, you will owe rollback taxes. That means you pay the difference between what you owed and what you would have owed at full market value, going back three years.
Wildlife management can also qualify if the land already had an agricultural valuation and you switch to an approved wildlife management plan. Apply at the Anderson County Appraisal District. The Texas Comptroller's website has statewide rules and all the forms you need.
Source to confirm: Texas Comptroller — Agricultural, Timberland and Wildlife Management Use Special Appraisal