A Pasture Fence Does Not Prove an Agricultural Appraisal

A fence around a Cat Spring pasture does not prove its tax status. Texas may value some farm, ranch, timber, and wildlife land for what it can produce instead of what it might sell for. This is called productivity appraisal. For open-space agricultural appraisal, the land must be used mainly for farming or ranching at the level common in the area. It usually needs such use in five of the past seven years.

Wildlife management is not a way to start from scratch. The land must already qualify as open-space agricultural land or timberland. It must then use at least three of seven state methods for wildlife. Austin County Appraisal District links Form 50-129, its local ag rules, the TPWD wildlife plan, and the yearly report.

Do not rely on the seller's tax bill alone. Ask for the current appraisal record and the papers that support the use. A later switch to nonfarm use can bring a rollback tax for each of the prior three years that got the lower value. The land use, not the pasture view, carries the tax treatment.