Tax Treatment of Agricultural Property

Most states have preferential tax treatment for agricultural land. The most common methods of reducing the tax burden are to assess the property based on its current use even though this may be less than its market value, and to set a lower assessment ratio for agricultural land. Many states with extensive agricultural acreage do not require the property owner to make a commitment to keep the land in agricultural use. Other states offer agricultural assessment to property owners who are willing to commit to continued agricultural land use over a period of several years, often with a substantial penalty for early withdrawal.