Landowners with a wildlife tax exemption must be “actively using the land” for wildlife. Each year, we convert numerous properties to wildlife management on smaller tracts of land for which the minimum acreage rules do not apply. It should be noted that wildlife plans for small properties have unique considerations with respect to wildlife species the plan targets as well as wildlife practices that are chosen. For the small percentage of tracts that are subject to this rule, minimum acreages are set according to region and the appraisal district’s board of directors. The minimum acreage rule can be found in the Texas Administrative Code ( TAC Title 34, Part 1, Ch. This condition applies to exceedingly few properties. The ONLY time tracts of land are subject to minimum acreage rules is when the tract was reduced in size the previous calendar year. So what’s the law say? The law is very clear. Perhaps the most misunderstood rule with wildlife exemptions relates to minimum acreage. Is there a minimum acreage for wildlife properties? It is extremely uncommon and involves putting a conservation easement on the property and managing for endangered species as part of a Federal Section 7 or 10(a) endangered species permit. There is a way for a property to transfer directly from market value to a wildlife tax exemption. Other eligibility requirements for wildlife management relate to minimum acreage, active use, primary use, and level of intensity. Of course, properties purchased that already have a wildlife exemption in place are also eligible. Properties with an existing ag or timber exemption are eligible to transfer into wildlife. A switch to wildlife allows these landowners to put the property’s tax status in their own hands. In some cases, landowners depend on a neighbor or acquaintance to run livestock or cut hay on their property. Many inquiries into Texas’ wildlife management appraisal are based on a lack of grass production caused by drought or overgrazing. Wildlife exemptions are ideal for landowners who have an active interest in wildlife, are no longer interested in livestock, hay, or timber production, would like to lower their cost of property ownership, or who have property goals not consistent with ag or timber production. To qualify for a wildlife tax exemption, landowners must be actively using the land to propagate a sustaining breeding, migrating, or wintering population of indigenous wildlife animals for human use. Instead of paying taxes on the market value of the land, landowners in ag or wildlife pay the full tax rate on the land’s productive capacity. The wildlife tax valuation is not a true “exemption” but a special valuation approved through a constitutional amendment ( Proposition 11, passed in 1995). Put simply, a wildlife exemption is an alternative form of agriculture (“ag”) exemption with the same favorable tax implications as an ag exemption. Here, we detail wildlife exemptions and how they might fit with your property goals.
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