Property tax / Agriculture
Agricultural Valuation Can Sharply Lower Your Land Tax
Land in Bastrop County actively used for farming, ranching, or wildlife management can be taxed on its agricultural production value rather than its market value.
An agricultural valuation — often called an ag exemption — is not a true exemption. Instead, Bastrop CAD taxes the land on what it can produce rather than what a developer might pay for it. That difference can be large in a county that sits on Austin's eastern growth edge. The land must have been in qualifying use for at least five of the past seven years.
Qualifying uses include crops, livestock, orchards, hay, and wildlife management. Each year Bastrop CAD's Agricultural Department collects income and expense data to set productivity values for different land types. You apply using the standard Texas form (50-129) by the April 30 deadline.
If you convert ag-valued land to non-ag use, you owe a rollback tax covering the difference for the prior three years, plus interest. That can be a significant bill on land near a growing area. Contact Bastrop CAD's Agricultural Department at (512) 303-1930 or visit bastropcad.org for current guidelines and deadlines.
Source to confirm: Bastrop CAD – Agricultural Appraisal