Application for 1-d Agricultural Appraisal Form 50-165
For additional copies, visit: comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax Page 3
Important Information
GENERAL INFORMATION
Tax Code Section 23.45(a) states that an application for agricultural designation filed
with a chief appraiser is confidential and not open to public inspection.
Agricultural use means the raising of livestock or growing of crops, fruit, flowers and
other products of the soil under natural conditions as a business venture for profit,
which business is the primary occupation and source of income of the owner.
Land qualifies for special appraisal (1-d appraisal) if it has been devoted exclusively for
agricultural use or continuously developed for agriculture for three successive years of
the preceding five years and is currently devoted principally to agricultural use.
On or after Jan. 1, 2008, an individual is not entitled to have land designated for agri-
cultural use if the land secures a home equity loan described by Texas Constitution,
Article XVI, Section 50(a)(6).
To be accepted, this form must contain all information necessary to determine the
validity of the claim. The chief appraiser may disapprove the application and request
additional information or the chief appraiser may deny the application and you may
protest that determination to the county appraisal review board in a timely manner. If
the chief appraiser requests additional information, the property owner must respond
within 30 days after the date of the request or the application will be denied. For good
cause, the chief appraiser may extend the deadline to allow additional information. An
extension cannot exceed 15 days.
You may file a late application before the appraisal review board approves appraisal
records.
FILING INSTRUCTIONS
This form must be filed with the appraisal district office in each county in which the
property is located on or before May 1 of each year. For good cause shown, the chief
appraiser may extend this deadline for a single period not to exceed 60 days. Do not
file this document with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.
OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
After you file this application, your chief appraiser may require additional information
from you before qualifying your land. The additional information may only relate to
your current and past agricultural use or to the level at which you use your land for
agriculture.
You must notify the chief appraiser in writing if you: stop using your property for agri-
culture (e.g., you voluntarily decide to stop farming); change the category of your use
(e.g., you change from dry cropland to irrigated cropland); change the level of your use
(e.g., you substantially increase or decrease the number of cattle you raise); change the
nature of your use (e.g., you switch from growing corn to growing ornamental plants);
enter, leave or change governmental programs (e.g., you put 100 acres in Conservation
Reserve Program); or if you begin using your land for something other than agriculture
(e.g., you build a shopping center on most of your land). You must deliver this notice
no later than the April 30 following the change in use or eligibility.
If you have questions on completing this application or on the information concerning
additional taxes and penalties created by a change of use of the land, you may consult
the Comptroller’s Manual for the Appraisal of Agricultural Land and your appraisal
district staff. The manual may be found on the Comptroller’s website.
PENALT IE S
If your land receives agricultural appraisal and you fail to notify the chief appraiser of a
change in agricultural use, you may be required to pay a penalty. You will be required
to pay a substantial additional tax plus interest (rollback tax) if you stop using all or
part of the property for agriculture. The rollback period for 1-d land is three years and
results from a property sale in addition to cessation of agricultural usage.
If claimant fails to timely file a completed application form in a given year, the agricul-
tural designation may not be received. If a late application is approved, the owner is
liable for a penalty of 10 percent of the difference between the amount of tax imposed
on the property and the amount that would be imposed without the agricultural
designation.
DUTY TO NOTIFY FOR CERTAIN LANDOWNERS
If the property owner ceases exclusively or continuously using the land for agriculture
as an occupation or a business venture for profit, the land may retain its 1-d appraisal
if the chief appraiser is notified as required and the property owner owns land that has
previously been under 1-d appraisal and the land is located in a temporary quarantine
area established during the tax year by the Texas Animal Health Commission for the
purpose of regulating the handling of livestock and eradicating ticks or exposure to
ticks under Chapter 167, Agriculture Code.
