Getting the AG tax rate on your land

[Nomad]

Just thought I’d throw this out here , as I’ve seen folks say things like “ just plant some Xmas trees “ lol . We’ve rented our land to a farm for decades , each year requires paperwork ,I’ve attached some from this year . Signed notarized affidavits, income tax forms showing the income from the land etc . One guy at the gym owns over 100 acres but leases 10 to a farmer and says he gets the AG rate on all his land . He may but he shouldn’t be ,it’s only on the ten , he may be in for a large penalty when they catch up .

You really need to be careful and follow the rules .

[mowin]

Just now, Nomad said:

Just thought I’d throw this out here , as I’ve seen folks say things like “ just plant some Xmas trees “ lol . We’ve rented our land to a farm for decades , each year requires paperwork ,I’ve attached some from this year . Signed notarized affidavits, income tax forms showing the income from the land etc . One guy at the gym owns over 100 acres but leases 10 to a farmer and says he gets the AG rate on all his land . He may but he shouldn’t be ,it’s only on the ten , he may be in for a large penalty when they catch up .

You really need to be careful and follow the rules .

Is it a county by county thing? Buddy said the same as your gym guy. 

[Caeden4]

The rules are the same all over but the discrepancy is likely coming down to the particular assessor for each county. 

[9jNYstarkOH]

Here in Ohio the cauv program only needs to see income on less than 10 acres.  We have 20 ac with 19ish being fenced for beef cattle and can use all are fenced land for the program. 

[Nomad]

On 10/3/2024 at 6:50 PM, mowin said:

Is it a county by county thing? Buddy said the same as your gym guy. 

I’m going to pay our taxes next week and inquire about exactly how it works . As one can see on this form ,” farm woodland acreage is ineligible.” So 100 acres but only 10 is farmed ,would mean only that 10 applies . Woods and scrub doesn’t count .

Heres a file of what we go through too.

As far as each county or assessor, its complying with NYS, they want as much tax money a they can get !  So they audit the counties to make sure the AG rate is not abused. 

Edited October 5 by Nomad

[Nomad]

On 10/3/2024 at 6:50 PM, mowin said:

Is it a county by county thing? Buddy said the same as your gym guy. 

I’d be interested if he files a notarized affidavit, and submits 5 year leases , with farm proof of income ,and soil worksheets , which are required .

[mowin]

36 minutes ago, Nomad said:

I’d be interested if he files a notarized affidavit, and submits 5 year leases , with farm proof of income ,and soil worksheets , which are required .

I'm not sure. All I know is he gets a break on his taxes. 

[Larry]

I have a friend that has no out of pocket taxes he has a cell tower on the land. They are also looking into carbon credits for the trees. I was reading you can sell carbon credits for the trees.

[Caeden4]

I was thinking the guys that are claiming the whole property may legitimately be combining a couple different types of programs. Or using a different one entirely. There are a lot of them now

[Nomad]

Stopped in at the Assessor’s office yesterday after paying our school taxes and I asked . “ if a person has say 100 acres and 20 of that is farmed ,do they get the Ag exemption on all 100 ? “

“ NO, only on what’s in agriculture “

Then I  told about my gym friend , and they were interested in his parcel # so they could check his file , of course I wouldn’t tell them even if I had a way of knowing .

You can see on this pr-305 C that we have to submit ,” acreage actually used for agriculture production, woodlands are ineligible.”

Guys maybe getting it but they also face ,back taxes and penalties.

[phade]

There are a lot of programs so it could be a combo as mentioned. I heard of a new one around creating butterfly and pollinator habitat. It is an option for folks who may have fallow fields or were in CRP. I think the key is you have to have a really good CPA that is familiar with land use or be so close to it as a private individual you are confident you’re taking advantage of the system as much as possible (legally).

Edited October 8 by phade

[dbHunterNY]

@Nomad i'm not entirely sure but i think it's anything tied to ag business for the farm, not just crop fields. pasture or woods that are cover for cattle, timber that's used to produce rough cut boards and posts for fencing or barns, if you have a forestry plan to produce income for the farm, etc are all legit I'm guessing. I'll have to check.

[Nomad]

38 minutes ago, dbHunterNY said:

@Nomad i'm not entirely sure but i think it's anything tied to ag business for the farm, not just crop fields. pasture or woods that are cover for cattle, timber that's used to produce rough cut boards and posts for fencing or barns, if you have a forestry plan to produce income for the farm, etc are all legit I'm guessing. I'll have to check.

Sure I could see that , but I doubt it’s the case for many . We have to submit a lease of five years ( ours is ten ) , soil water ag report , proof of farm income , signed notarized affidavit of acreage in farm use .

Anyways Im sure 90% of my buddy’s hunting camp doesn’t qualify.

Thanks for checking .

Our assessor is concerned about a NYS audit , so is by the book 

[dmandoes]

In the town I live in, They've never collected back taxes or penalties. Has ur town? 

[phade]

Assessors are some of the worst roles in this state. There are good and bad apples but a “bad” apple in that role hides under the guise of just doing their job by the code (which I think allows them to liberally place onus on the owner).