Form FA-1 G.S. (2/2016)
This form is prescribed by the Director, Division of Taxation, as required by law. It may be reproduced for distribution, but may not be altered without prior approval.
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
Farmland Assessment Act of 1964
(C. 48, P.L. 1964, N.J.S.A. 54:4-23.1 et seq., C. 201, P.L. 1986, C. 213, P.L. 2009, C. 43, P.L. 2013, N.J.A.C. 18:15-1.1 et seq.)
1. APPLICATION: Only one Supplemental Farmland Assessment Gross Sales Form, FA-1 G.S., should be filed with the municipal
assessor on or before August 1 of the pre-tax year. You are reporting the pre-tax year’s gross sales for qualification in the next tax year.
Late or incomplete applications will be denied. At the assessor’s request, applicants must provide proofs of eligibility as to ownership, land
area, farming activity and gross sales. FA-1, WD-1, and FA-1 G.S. forms are prescribed by the Director, N.J. Division of Taxation. Lands in
Farmland Preservation Programs must still meet the criteria and filing prerequisites of the Farmland Assessment Act to receive preferential
reduced assessment.
Filing Extension-Assessors may grant an extension of time for filing an FA-1 application and FA-1 Gross Sales form, but no later than
September 1 of the pre-tax year, if the assessor is satisfied that failure to file by August 1 was due to (1) the owner’s illness and a physician’s
certificate stating that the owner was physically incapacitated and unable to file by August 1 and the FA-1 & FA-1 G.S. forms are filed with
the assessor; or (2) the death of the owner or the owner’s immediate family member and a certified copy of the death certificate and the FA-1
& FA-1 G.S. forms are filed with the assessor by the owner or by the executor/executrix of the owner’s estate. “Immediate family member”
means an owner’s spouse, child, parent or sibling residing in the same household. (See N.J.S.A. 54:4-23.6d.)
2. QUALIFICATIONS: “Farmland assessment” means valuation, assessment and taxation under the Farmland Assessment Act. Land
may be eligible for “farmland assessment” when:
a. The land has been actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use for at least 2 successive years immediately preceding the tax year for
which “farmland assessment" is requested. (See N.J.S.A. 54:4-23.6.)
b. The land area actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use is not less than 5 acres, exclusive of the land upon which the farmhouse is
located and such additional land actually used in connection with the farmhouse.
c. Gross sales, fees, or payments average at least $1,000 annually on the first 5 acres (or $500 annually on the first five acres for land under an
approved Woodland Management Plan) and average $5 per acre on acreage above 5 acres and $0.50 per acre on woodland and wetland.
(See N.J.S.A. 54:4-23.5.)
d. Application by the owner is filed on or before August 1 of the year immediately preceding the tax year. (See N.J.S.A. 54:4-23.13a and
54-23.6.)
e. Farmland management units less than 7 acres are required to submit a descriptive narrative of agricultural/horticultural uses, a sketch of
their location, and number of acres devoted.
SECTION I–IDENTIFICATION:
"Owners’ Name”- List every individual, partnership or corporation having an ownership interest in the land.
“Block(s) & Lot(s)”- List block(s) and lot(s) comprising a farm of contiguous land from your tax bill; official tax map; or page(s) and line(s)
from the current year’s assessment list.
SECTION II–GROSS SALES:
List products produced and the respective acreage under the appropriate headings. If necessary, attach a separate sheet with the break down of
additional products produced on the farm and the acreage devoted to those products. “Equine” includes breeding, raising, boarding, training,
or rehabilitating. “Pasture Land” should be used when claiming imputed grazing value for grazing of any livestock. Appurtenant woodlands,
appurtenant wetlands, lands under streams or ponds, land under solar panels, or other uses that qualify for Farmland Assessment but do not
produce income should be listed under “Non-Income-Producing”.
“Total Acres”–is the total acreage under Farmland Assessment (income producing plus non-income-producing acres) on the property and
should correspond to the value on Line 8 of the FA-1 Application.
“Final Income”–is the income produced by the Farmland Assessed acres, including income attributable to agricultural/horticultural products
produced thereon, payments received under Federal soil conservation programs, fees received for breeding, raising or grazing livestock,
income imputed to grazing land as determined by the State Farmland Evaluation Committee, and fees received for boarding, rehabilitating or
training livestock where the land under the boarding, rehabilitating or training facilities is contiguous to land otherwise qualified for Farmland
Assessment. Rents paid to owners by tenant farmers do not constitute gross sales. Generated energy from any source is not an agricultural or
horticultural product and any power or heat sold from biomass, solar, or wind energy generation is not income for valuation, assessment and
taxation of land pursuant to the "Farmland Assessment Act of 1964."
For qualification for Farmland Assessment, the first 5 acres must have averaged at least $1000 in the two previous years, or there is clear
evidence of anticipated yearly gross sales and payments of at least $1000 within a reasonable time period. Also where the land is more than
5 acres, gross sales must average $5 per acre for each acre over 5. However, in the case of woodland/wetland subject to a Woodland
Management Plan, the gross sales required remains at $500 for the first 5 acres and $.50 per acre for any acreage over 5.
SECTION III–SIGNATURE AND VERIFICATION OF OWNER(S):
For non-corporate multiple ownership, one owner is presumed to have authority to sign on behalf of the other co-owners. For a corporate
owner or co-owners, the full name of the corporation and the signature and title of the corporate officer authorized to sign the application in
its behalf must be provided.
OWNERSHIP–must be single ownership: i.e., a unified title meaning common ownership by one distinct legal entity of one or more
contiguous parcels.
Open Public Records Act Information:
N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1 defines certain information as not being government records and therefore confidential for the purposes of the Open Public
Records Acts, including, “trade secrets and proprietary commercial or financial information obtained from any source.”
Executive Order 26 of Governor James E. McGreevey, issued August 23, 2002, Paragraph 4, Section B, provides that information concerning
individuals, including, “[i]nformation in a personal income or other tax return” and “[i]nformation describing a natural person's finances, income,
assets, liabilities, net worth, bank balances, financial history or activities, or creditworthiness, except as otherwise required by law to be disclosed,” is
not considered to be government records subject to public access pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., as amended and supplemented.
