Just bought Texas land with an ag exemption? A new owner checklist

Short answer: Find out who works the land now and keep that use going, then file a new 1-d-1 application (Comptroller Form 50-129) with the county appraisal district in your name by its deadline. Get the district's current ag guidelines and keep records. If the land stops being used for agriculture, you can lose the valuation.

The checklist

  1. Find out who works the land. Ask the seller or family for the current hay, grazing or bee arrangement, and the producer's contact.
  2. Keep it going. A gap in use can cost the valuation. If the old lease ends, line up a producer quickly.
  3. File in your name. A new owner generally must file Comptroller Form 50-129 with the appraisal district. Ask your district for its deadline.
  4. Get the local rules. See minimum acres by county and your district's guidelines.
  5. Put a lease in writing. See leasing to a hay farmer.
  6. Keep records. Lease, receipts, cutting dates, head counts, hive records, photos.
  7. Know the rollback. Changing to a non-ag use can trigger a rollback tax. Read how the rollback works.

Ready to put your land to work? Tell us about your land. Farm, ranch or keep bees? List free as a producer. Or browse the counties we serve.

Questions

Does ag valuation transfer to a new owner?

The new owner generally must file a new application with the appraisal district. Check your district's deadline.

What if no one is working the land?

Line up a producer quickly. Land that isn't used for agriculture can lose its valuation.

Get matched

Tell us about your land or your operation. We review every submission by hand and introduce landowners to producers who work their county and fit their acreage, access and the uses they're open to.

I own land I farm, ranch or keep bees

Producers list free. Landowners pay a placement fee based on acreage: $149 up to 20 acres, $249 for 21 to 100 acres, and $499 over 100 acres, the same for every use. A $49 deposit opens your placement, and the remainder is due only when you sign a lease.

Sources: Texas Comptroller: Agricultural Appraisal; Comptroller Form 50-129. General information, not tax or legal advice.

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