Ag Valuation Taxes Land on Productivity, Not Market Price

Texas law lets farmland be taxed on what it can produce, not on what it could sell for. This is called 1-d-1 open-space appraisal. For Calhoun County land used for cattle, hay, or other farming, the tax savings can be large. The land must have been used for farming for at least five of the past seven years. It also must be farmed at the level normal for this area.

You apply with Form 50-165 at the Calhoun County Appraisal District. The appraisal district — the local office that sets property values — publishes its own standards. Those standards spell out things like how many cattle per acre. If you stop farming or change how the land is used, you may owe a rollback tax. That means you pay the difference between what you paid under ag valuation and what you would have owed at market-value rates for the prior three years, plus interest.

Wildlife management can also qualify. The land must already have ag appraisal, and the owner must follow a plan approved by Texas Parks and Wildlife. Check the Texas Comptroller's agricultural appraisal page for current rules and forms before you apply.