top of page

Qualifying land for 1-d-1 Open Space Tax Valuation

with Agriculture

Four eligibility requirements.

 

1. Degree of Intensity test-

Land must be currently devoted principally to an agricultural use to the degree of intensity generally accepted in the area (county appraisal district agriculture intensity standards). 

 

2. Principal or Primary Use test-

Land must be devoted principally to agricultural use. If the land is used for more than one purpose, the most important or primary use must be for agricultural use.

 

3. Time Period test-

The land must have been devoted principally to agricultural use or for the production of timber or forest products for five of the seven years proceeding the application. The degree of intensity test does not apply to these proceeding years, only the tax year of application and every year thereafter.

 

4. Applied only to land and appurtenances-

Agricultural Special Valuation applies only to land and appurtenances. It does not apply to improvements (structures) on the land.

​

 

Definition of Agricultural Use - Property Tax Code Sec. 23.51 (2)

​

"Agricultural use” includes but is not limited to the following activities: cultivating the soil, producing crops for human food, animal feed, or planting seed or for the production of fibers; floriculture, viticulture, and horticulture; raising or keeping livestock; raising or keeping exotic animals for the production of human food or of fiber, leather, pelts, or other tangible products having a commercial value; planting cover crops or leaving land idle for the purpose of participating in a governmental program, provided the land is not used for residential purposes or a purpose inconsistent with agricultural use; and planting cover crops or leaving land idle in conjunction with normal crop or livestock rotation procedure. The term also includes the use of land to produce or harvest logs and posts for the use in constructing or repairing fences, pens, barns, or other agricultural improvements on adjacent qualified open-space land having the same owner and devoted to a different agricultural use. The term also includes the use of land for wildlife management. The term also includes the use of land to raise or keep bees for pollination or for the production of human food or other tangible products having a commercial value, provided that the land used is not less than 5 or more than 20 acres.

​

​

​

 

 

Qualifying land for 1-d-1 Open Space Tax Valuation with Wildlife Management

Land can only qualify for wildlife management if it currently qualifies for and is appraised as 1-d-1 Open Space agriculture. It is important to note that the law only allows landowners to convert to wildlife management. The land must be used to propagate a sustaining breeding, migrating or wintering population of indigenous wild animals for human use, including food, medicine or recreation.

 

At least three of the following wildlife management categories must be performed to the minimum standards created by TPWD (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department) to qualify:

 

  • Habitat control

  • Erosion control

  • Predator control

  • Providing supplemental supplies of water

  • Providing supplemental supplies of food

  • Providing supplemental shelter

  • Making census counts to determine populations

 

Minimum Acreage Requirement

 

There is no minimum acreage requirement to qualify for wildlife management tax valuation unless the tract of land has been reduced in size since January 1 of the preceding tax year. A tract of land is all contiguous land under the same ownership (name on the deed). If the tract has been reduced in size, then the minimum acreage selected by the local appraisal district (from a range of acreages derived by a formula based on the ecoregion of Texas in which the appraisal district is located) will apply. 

​

Primary Use Requirement

 

Wildlife management must be the primary use of the land. The following factors will be considered in making that determination:

 

  • Is the land being actively managed through the implementation of a wildlife management plan?

 

  • Does the landowner give priority to wildlife management practices and activities over other uses of land?

 

  • Do the secondary uses of the land significantly interfere with the wildlife management practices and activities or are they detrimental to the target species being managed?

bottom of page