Texas Tax Code

§ 23.51 — DEFINITIONS

TX § 23.51Title 1. PROPERTY TAX CODE · Part D. APPRAISAL AND ASSESSMENT · Ch. 23. APPRAISAL METHODS AND PROCEDURES · Art. D. APPRAISAL OF AGRICULTURAL LAND

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In this subchapter:

(1)"Qualified open-space land" means land that is currently devoted principally to agricultural use to the degree of intensity generally accepted in the area and that has been devoted principally to agricultural use or to production of timber or forest products for five of the preceding seven years or land that is used principally as an ecological laboratory by a public or private college or university and that has been used principally in that manner by a college or university for five of the preceding seven years. Qualified open-space land includes all appurtenances to the land. For the purposes of this subdivision, appurtenances to the land means private roads, dams, reservoirs, water wells, canals, ditches, terraces, and other reshapings of the soil, fences, and riparian water rights. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this subdivision, land that is currently devoted principally to wildlife management as defined by Subdivision (7)(B) or (C) to the degree of intensity generally accepted in the area qualifies for appraisal as qualified open-space land under this subchapter regardless of the manner in which the land was used in any preceding year.

(2)"Agricultural use" includes but is not limited to the following activities: cultivating the soil, producing crops for human food, animal feed, or planting seed or for the production of fibers; floriculture, viticulture, and horticulture; raising or keeping livestock; raising or keeping exotic animals for the production of human food or of fiber, leather, pelts, or other tangible products having a commercial value; planting cover crops or leaving land idle for the purpose of participating in a governmental program, provided the land is not used for residential purposes or a purpose inconsistent with agricultural use; and planting cover crops or leaving land idle in conjunction with normal crop or livestock rotation procedure. The term also includes the use of land to produce or harvest logs and posts for the use in constructing or repairing fences, pens, barns, or other agricultural improvements on adjacent qualified open-space land having the same owner and devoted to a different agricultural use. The term also includes the use of land for wildlife management. The term also includes the use of land to raise or keep bees for pollination or for the production of human food or other tangible products having a commercial value, provided that the land used is not less than 5 or more than 20 acres.

(3)"Category" means the value classification of land considering the agricultural use to which the land is principally devoted. The chief appraiser shall determine the categories into which land in the appraisal district is classified. In classifying land according to categories, the chief appraiser shall distinguish between irrigated cropland, dry cropland, improved pasture, native pasture, orchard, and waste. The chief appraiser may establish additional categories. The chief appraiser shall further divide each category according to soil type, soil capability, irrigation, general topography, geographical factors, and other factors that influence the productive capacity of the category. The chief appraiser shall obtain information from the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, and other recognized agricultural sources for the purposes of determining the categories of land existing in the appraisal district.

(4)"Net to land" means the average annual net income derived from the use of open-space land that would have been earned from the land during the five-year period preceding the year before the appraisal by an owner using ordinary prudence in the management of the land and the farm crops or livestock produced or supported on the land and, in addition, any income received from hunting or recreational leases. The chief appraiser shall calculate net to land by considering the income that would be due to the owner of the land under cash lease, share lease, or whatever lease arrangement is typical in that area for that category of land, and all expenses directly attributable to the agricultural use of the land by the owner shall be subtracted from this owner income and the results shall be used in income capitalization. In calculating net to land, a reasonable deduction shall be made for any depletion that occurs of underground water used in the agricultural operation. In this subdivision, "wildlife or livestock disease or pest area" means an area designated by a state agency as an area in which a disease or pest that affects wildlife or livestock exists or may exist, including a chronic wasting disease containment or surveillance zone and an area subject to a quarantine authorized by Subtitle C, Title 6, Agriculture Code. In calculating net to land of open-space land located in or adjacent to a wildlife or livestock disease or pest area, the chief appraiser shall take into consideration the effect that the presence of the applicable disease or pest or the designation of the area has on the net income from the land. For land that qualifies under Subdivision (7) for appraisal under this subchapter, the chief appraiser may not consider in the calculation of net to land the income that would be due to the owner under a hunting or recreational lease of the land.

(5)"Income capitalization" means the process of dividing net to land by the capitalization rate to determine the appraised value.

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Legislative history

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 817 (S.B. 760), Sec. 1, eff. January 1, 2006. Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 1126 (H.B. 2491), Sec. 6, eff. September 1, 2005. Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 454 (H.B. 604), Sec. 1, eff. January 1, 2008. Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1112 (H.B. 3630), Sec. 3, eff. January 1, 2008. Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 495 (S.B. 801), Sec. 1, eff. January 1, 2010. Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., 1st C.S., Ch. 4 (S.B. 1), Sec. 46.01, eff. September 28, 2011. Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 360 (H.B. 639), Sec. 1, eff. January 1, 2021. Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 304 (H.B. 260), Sec. 1, eff. January 1, 2024.