Texas guides / Taxes
Agricultural valuation (the “ag exemption”) in Texas
Quick answer
The “ag exemption” isn't an exemption. It's a special appraisal (1-d-1, or open-space agricultural appraisal): the appraisal district taxes your land on what it can produce from livestock, crops, bees or wildlife management, not on its sale price. To qualify, the land must be used principally for agriculture at the intensity typical in your area, and it must have been used that way 5 of the last 7 years. You apply on Form 50-129 before May 1 (so by April 30). If you later take the land out of agricultural use, you may owe rollback taxes for the past 3 years.
Who this guide is for
- You own rural land in Texas and want to know whether you can pay less property tax.
- You inherited or bought land that already had the “ag exemption” and don't know whether you must reapply.
- You plan to build on, split or sell land with ag valuation and want to understand rollback taxes.
Not for you if…
- You want the exemption on your home (homestead): that's a different program. See the heir homestead guide.
- Your land is outside Texas: every state has its own rules.
- You need a finished wildlife or timber management plan: talk to Texas Parks and Wildlife or the Texas A&M Forest Service.
- What the “ag exemption” is, in plain words
- Who qualifies: what the law requires
- How many cows do I need for an ag exemption?
- How to apply, step by step
- If you inherited or bought ag land
- Rollback taxes: when they're owed
- Costs and timing
- The law and official forms
- When to call a lawyer
- Frequently asked questions
If you own rural land in Texas, you may be paying property tax on market value when you could be paying on what the land produces. That gap is agricultural valuation, which almost everyone calls the “ag exemption.” This guide covers who qualifies, how many animals your county expects, how to apply and how rollback taxes work.
What the “ag exemption” is, in plain words
Every year your county appraisal district puts a value on your land, and your property tax is figured from that value. Normally it's market value: what a buyer would pay.
The Texas Constitution (article VIII, section 1-d-1) requires a different method for land used for farming, ranching or wildlife management: value based on productive capacity. The Comptroller notes that this productivity value is usually lower than market value, which is why the tax bill drops.
Who qualifies: what the law requires
Texas Tax Code section 23.51 sets three core tests:
| Test | What it means |
|---|---|
| Principal agricultural use | The land is used mainly for agriculture: crops, livestock, orchards, vineyards, bees, exotic animals raised for food or hides, or wildlife management. |
| Typical intensity for the area | It's worked to the degree of intensity generally accepted where you are. The Comptroller's manual says a tethered cow or a chicken coop won't do it. |
| 5 of the last 7 years | The land was in agricultural or timber use for 5 of the 7 preceding years. The intensity test applies from the year you apply onward, not to those earlier years. |
The same law adds several rules:
- Beekeeping: counts as agricultural use if the land is at least 5 and no more than 20 acres (§23.51(2)).
- Wildlife management: counts if the land already had ag or timber valuation when that use began, and you use at least 3 of 7 practices: habitat control, erosion control, predator control, supplemental water, supplemental food, shelters and census counts (§23.51(7)). The Comptroller says a management plan is required; Texas Parks and Wildlife publishes the guidelines and forms.
- Timber: has its own appraisal (§23.72) and its own form, 50-167.
- Inside city limits: generally ineligible, with exceptions, such as land in continuous agricultural use for the preceding 5 years (§23.56(1)).
- Foreign owners: land is ineligible if owned by a nonresident alien or foreign government required by federal law to register that ownership (§23.56(2)). If the owner lives outside the U.S., ask a lawyer before applying. See also buying land as a non-citizen.
How many cows do I need for an ag exemption?
It's the most common question, and the honest answer is that it depends on your county. The statute sets no number. The Comptroller's manual says each chief appraiser sets intensity standards based on typical practice in the area. It also says the law has no minimum or maximum acreage (except for bees) and that an arbitrary acreage floor is invalid, though a district may use minimums tied to the real agricultural economy of the land.
Here's how two large counties handle it:
| County | Grazing standard | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Travis | Minimum of 4 animal units. One unit = 1 mature cow, 2 five-hundred-pound calves, 6 sheep, 7 goats or 1 mature horse. Grazing generally takes at least 12 acres east of I-35 and 20 acres west. | Travis CAD, animals and Travis CAD, acres |
| Bexar | For tracts over 20 acres, a stocking table of acres per animal unit by pasture and soil type: from 4 acres (improved pasture, soil 1) to 40 acres (brush, soils 4 and 5). Never below the minimum number of units. | Bexar Appraisal District, 2023 |
A worked example using Bexar's own numbers: a 48-acre tract has improved pasture on soil type 3. The table says 6 acres per animal unit, so 48 ÷ 6 = 8 animal units, or 8 head of cattle. In a second example from the same document, 24 acres of brush on soil type 1 works out to 24 ÷ 8 = 3 units; that's below the minimum, so the tract still needs 4 head.
How to apply, step by step
- Check your land's history. Confirm how it's been used over the last 7 years. Gather proof: livestock or hay receipts, grazing leases, photos, fencing or seed invoices.
- Get your district's guidelines. Ask how many animals or what level of crop activity it expects for your type of land.
- Fill out Form 50-129. It comes in English and Spanish (50-129-S). For wildlife use, also complete the wildlife section and attach your plan.
- File before May 1. File with the appraisal district in each county where the land sits, not with the Comptroller. The chief appraiser may grant up to 60 more days for good cause (§23.54(d)).
- Wait for the decision. The district must decide within 90 days after it has the information it needs (§23.57). If it denies you, you can protest.
- Keep qualifying every year. Once approved, you don't reapply each year unless ownership changes, eligibility ends or the district asks for a new application (§23.54(e)). If the land stops qualifying, notify the district in writing before May 1, or you can face a 10% penalty (§23.54(h)).
If you inherited or bought ag land
Many families inherit a ranch that has “always had the ag” without realizing the paperwork is in the name of someone who has died. The general rule is plain: when ownership changes, a new application is required (§23.54(e)).
Since January 1, 2026, the law says ownership is not treated as changed in two cases (§23.54(e-1)):
- The land passed from the owner to the surviving spouse.
- The new owner uses it in materially the same way as the prior year, overseen or worked by the same people.
Also, if the owner died during the prior year, the surviving spouse, a surviving child or the executor can file late with no 10% penalty, as long as they file by the date that year's taxes become delinquent (§23.541(a-1)). Form 50-129 now asks questions for these situations.
If you bought the land: the Comptroller's manual says a sale doesn't trigger a 1-d-1 rollback, but the buyer must reapply unless the “same use, same people” exception applies. If it does, the buyer can also file late with no penalty up to the delinquency date or one year after the transfer, whichever is later (§23.541(a-2)). Otherwise, use the normal deadline: before May 1 of the year you want the valuation. The manual also says tax certificates on these tracts must note that additional taxes may be owed. Review that with your title company before closing.
Rollback taxes: when they're owed
The rollback tax is an additional tax imposed when ag-valued land changes use, for example when it's turned into lots, a business or a subdivision (§23.55). Here's how it works:
| How it works today (1-d-1) | |
|---|---|
| What triggers it? | Ending agricultural use or switching to a non-agricultural use. A sale alone does not. |
| How many years? | The 3 years before the year of the change of use. |
| How much? | The difference between the taxes paid on ag value and the taxes that would have been paid on market value, for each of those years. |
| Interest? | None. In 2019 the Legislature cut the lookback from 5 to 3 years and the interest from 7% to 5% (HB 1743). In 2021 it removed the interest (HB 3833). |
| Only part of the tract? | It applies only to the part that changed use (§23.55(d)). |
| When is it due? | The district sends a notice you can protest. If it stands, the bill is due by the next February 1 that's at least 20 days after you receive it (§23.55(e)). |
Things that are not a change of use, under the statute and the manual:
- Claiming the land as your homestead (§23.55(i)). But the Comptroller's manual warns that if you build a home and later sell it, a rollback may follow on that portion.
- Converting from agriculture to qualifying timber use (§23.55(g)).
- Cutting your herd while staying in agriculture. The manual says you can lose the valuation that way, but without a rollback.
- A right-of-way sale or a condemnation (§23.55(f)).
If you also owe taxes from earlier years, see back taxes. If you need help and can't afford a lawyer, see free legal help in Texas.
Costs and timing
| Item | Cost or deadline | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Form 50-129 (application) | Free. The appraisal district must provide forms at no charge | Tax Code §23.54(f) |
| Filing deadline | Before May 1. The chief appraiser may extend it up to 60 days for good cause | §23.54(d) |
| Late application (before the review board approves the records, usually July) | Penalty of 10% of the difference between the ag-value tax and the market-value tax | §23.541(b) and Form 50-129 |
| District decision | No later than 90 days after it has all the information it needs | §23.57 |
| Failing to report that the land no longer qualifies | Penalty of 10% of the difference for each year the valuation was wrongly allowed | §23.54(h) |
| Rollback tax (1-d-1) | The difference for the past 3 years. No interest since 2021 | §23.55(a) |
Actual amounts depend on your land's value and each county's tax rates. Confirm with your appraisal district.
The law and official forms
The law
- Texas Constitution, art. VIII §1-d-1: requires farm, ranch and wildlife management land to be taxed on its productive capacity, and allows the same for timber land.
- Texas Tax Code §23.51: defines qualified open-space land (agricultural use at the area's typical intensity, 5 of the last 7 years), agricultural use (including bees on 5 to 20 acres) and wildlife management.
- Texas Tax Code §23.54: the application: Comptroller form, before May 1, a new application when ownership changes, and when ownership is not treated as changed (surviving spouse, or same use by the same people).
- Texas Tax Code §23.541: late applications, the 10% penalty and the exceptions after an owner's death or when a new owner continues the same use.
- Texas Tax Code §23.55: the rollback tax: the difference for the 3 years before the change of use; claiming the land as a homestead is not a change of use.
- Texas Tax Code §23.56: ineligible land: inside city limits (with exceptions) and land of certain nonresident aliens who must register it under federal law.
- Texas Tax Code §23.72 and §23.76 (timber): timber productivity appraisal: the same 5-of-7-years rule and a 3-year rollback.
Official forms
- Form 50-129, Application for 1-d-1 (Open-Space) Agricultural Use Appraisal: Texas Comptroller. File it with the county appraisal district, not the Comptroller.
- Form 50-129-S (Spanish version of the application): the same form in Spanish.
- Form 50-167, Application for 1-d-1 (Open-Space) Timberland Appraisal: for timber land.
- Manual for the Appraisal of Agricultural Land (Comptroller, October 2024): the official manual appraisal districts follow.
- Guidelines for Qualification of Agricultural Land in Wildlife Management Use: Comptroller rules for wildlife management.
- Wildlife management plan (Texas Parks and Wildlife): plan guidelines and forms the district asks for.
When to call a lawyer
- You got a letter from the appraisal district saying your land had a “change of use” and rollback taxes are coming.
- Your ag valuation was denied and you want to protest to the appraisal review board.
- You're selling, splitting or building on ag land and the contract doesn't say who pays the rollback.
- You inherited the land with siblings and you can't agree on who works it or who signs the application.
- The owner lives outside the U.S. and isn't sure whether they count as a foreign owner under federal law.
Find free legal help or check a lawyer at texasbar.com.
Frequently asked questions
Is the ag exemption really a tax exemption?
No. Everyone calls it the “ag exemption,” but the law calls it a special appraisal. You still pay property tax, just on the land's productivity value, which is usually far lower than market value.
How many cows do I need for an ag exemption?
It depends on your county; the statute sets no number. Travis CAD requires at least 4 animal units for grazing (for example, 4 mature cows or 28 goats). Bexar, for tracts over 20 acres, divides your acres by the acres per animal unit for your pasture and soil type. Ask your own district for its guidelines.
How many acres do I need?
The law sets no minimum except for beekeeping (5 to 20 acres). The Comptroller says an arbitrary acreage minimum is invalid, but districts may use guidelines tied to typical operations in the area. Travis, for example, says grazing generally takes at least 12 acres east of I-35 and 20 acres west of it.
When do I have to apply?
Before May 1 of the year you want the valuation, so by April 30. If you miss it, you can file late before the appraisal review board approves the records (usually July), but you'll owe a penalty of 10% of the difference.
I inherited my dad's land. Do I have to reapply?
Often yes, because the owner changed. You don't have to if the land passed to the surviving spouse, or if you keep using it the same way with the same people running it. If your dad died last year, you (as a child, spouse or executor) can file late with no penalty up to the date that year's taxes become delinquent. Call the district before April 30.
What are rollback taxes?
An additional tax charged when ag-valued land stops being used for agriculture, for example when it's turned into a subdivision. It's the difference between what you paid and what you would have paid at market value for the past 3 years. Since 2021 it carries no interest for 1-d-1 land.
If I sell the land, are rollback taxes due?
Selling doesn't trigger a 1-d-1 rollback; a change of use does. But the buyer inherits the risk, because the lien attaches to the land. That's why purchase contracts usually say who pays if the use changes.
Can I get the ag exemption with bees or deer?
Yes. Beekeeping counts as agricultural use on 5 to 20 acres. Wildlife management also counts, but only if the land already had ag or timber valuation when that use began, and you carry out at least 3 of the 7 practices the law lists, with a written plan.
Nuestras Tierras, https://nuestrastierras.org/en/texas/guides/agricultural-valuation/. Updated: 2026-10-23. Legal review: pending. General information, not legal advice.