Ag valuation can cut your property tax bill on rural land

Sherman County wheat and cattle ground can have two tax values: what it might sell for and what it can produce. Texas ag appraisal uses productive value for qualifying farm and ranch land.

It is not automatic. The land generally has to be mainly in ag use, meet local intensity standards, and show ag or timber history for at least five of the past seven years.

If the land changes to a non-ag use, a rollback tax can reach the previous three years. A buyer eyeing a house pad instead of a wheat field should run that number before closing.