Ag Valuation Shapes Rural Tax Bills in Armstrong County

Texas calls this 1-d-1 open-space appraisal. Farm and ranch land can be valued by its productive use instead of its market price. That usually lowers the taxable value, but it is not automatic.

The land must be in real agricultural use now. It also must have been used that way for at least five of the past seven years. The use has to meet the local degree-of-intensity standard, so a small pasture or wheat field still has to fit what Armstrong County expects for working land.

Wildlife management can qualify too, but only when the land already has the right kind of agricultural appraisal and the owner follows a wildlife plan. If the land stops qualifying, rollback tax can reach back three years for the tax difference. Before buying rural land here, ask Armstrong County Appraisal District what valuation the parcel has and what could trigger rollback tax.