What is the ag exemption in Texas, and how do you get it?

Texas does not have an agricultural exemption. What everyone calls the ag exemption is 1-d-1 open-space appraisal under Tax Code §23.51, which taxes qualifying land on its productive agricultural value instead of its market value. You apply on Comptroller form 50-129 with the county appraisal district before May 1. It does not transfer with a sale — a new owner has to file their own.

That last sentence costs people money in Kaufman, Van Zandt, Hunt, and Wise counties every spring. We come back to it below.

Why is it not actually an exemption?

An exemption removes value from the tax roll. A homestead exemption does that. Open-space appraisal removes nothing — it changes the method used to set the value.

Article VIII, §1-d-1 of the Texas Constitution, adopted in 1978, lets the legislature appraise open-space land on what it can produce rather than on what a builder would pay for it. A 40-acre hay meadow with a market value of $480,000 might carry a productive value of $20,000. The tax bill follows the productive number. The market number stays on the roll in the background, which is exactly why rollback taxes exist.

The older provision, §1-d from 1966, is narrower — it requires the owner to be an individual whose primary occupation and source of income is agriculture. Almost nobody uses it. When a county appraisal district says ag, it means 1-d-1.

One more distinction: the Ag/Timber Number issued by the Comptroller is a separate program that exempts qualifying inputs from sales tax. It has nothing to do with how your land is appraised, and holding one does not qualify your acreage.

What land qualifies for 1-d-1 open-space appraisal?

Tax Code §23.51(1) sets two tests, and you have to pass both.

Current use. The land must be currently devoted principally to agricultural use to the degree of intensity generally accepted in the area. Principally means agriculture is the main use, not a hobby beside a homesite.

History. The land must have been devoted principally to agricultural use, or timber production, for five of the preceding seven years.

That five-of-seven history is why ag status is worth real money at a closing. You cannot buy a bare tract, put four cows on it, and qualify in year one. You can buy a tract that already has the history and keep it going.

Qualifying uses include raising livestock, growing crops, producing hay, beekeeping, and wildlife management. Wildlife is not a separate program — it is 1-d-1 continued under a different qualifying use, covered on the wildlife exemption page.

How many acres do you need?

There is no statewide minimum acreage. None. Anyone quoting a number for Texas is repeating something they heard.

Degree of intensity and minimum acreage are set county by county by each chief appraiser, published in that district's ag guidelines, and they change across the county line. Kaufman CAD, Parker CAD, Wise CAD, Hunt CAD, and Van Zandt CAD each publish their own, with different standards for grazing, hay, orchard, and beekeeping.

Call the appraisal district for the county the land sits in and ask for its current agricultural guidelines in writing. Then ask two questions: what is the minimum acreage for the use I intend, and what stocking rate or cutting schedule counts as the accepted degree of intensity here.

When do you file, and on what form?

The form is Comptroller form 50-129, Application for 1-d-1 (Open-Space) Agricultural Use Appraisal. File it with the county appraisal district, not the Comptroller and not the tax office.

Once an application is allowed, §23.54(e) keeps the land eligible in later years without a new application — unless eligibility ends or the ownership changes.

What happens to ag valuation when the land is sold?

This is the paragraph to read twice.

The agricultural history runs with the land, not with the seller. The five-of-seven years of qualifying use stays attached to the dirt when the deed changes hands. The application does not. Under Tax Code §23.54(e), a change of ownership ends the prior owner's application, and the new owner has to file their own form 50-129 by the April 30 deadline in their first full tax year of ownership.

Nobody at the closing table is assigned to tell you this. The title company closes the file, the tax proration is settled, and the district's notice arrives months later showing the tract at market value. On a 40-acre North Texas tract, that is the difference between a few hundred dollars a year and five figures.

One exception. Under §23.54(e-1), ownership is not considered to have changed when land passes to the surviving spouse of the owner.

If you are buying, put it on your calendar the day you close. If you are selling Texas land, tell your buyer. It costs you nothing and it is the kind of thing people remember.

How do you apply, step by step?

1. Confirm the history. Pull the appraisal district record and ask how the tract has been used for the last seven years.
2. Get the county's guidelines in writing. Minimum acreage and degree of intensity for the use you intend.
3. Line up the use before January 1. The lease, the livestock, the hay contract, or the hives have to be real on the appraisal date.
4. Complete form 50-129. Acreage in each use, the operator, the history, and the current year's activity.
5. File between January 1 and April 30. Keep proof of the date.
6. Answer the district's request for more information. They often ask for a lease, receipts, or photographs.
7. Keep records every year, in case the district asks you to prove the use.

What happens if you file late or stop farming?

A late application is not automatically fatal. Under §23.541(a) the chief appraiser must accept an application filed after the deadline, as long as it is filed before the appraisal review board approves the appraisal records for that year. The cost is a penalty under §23.541(b) of 10 percent of the difference between the tax at productive value and the tax that would have been imposed at market value. A narrow no-penalty path exists under §23.541(a-1) when the owner died during the preceding tax year.

Going the other direction, §23.54(h) requires the owner to notify the appraisal office in writing before May 1 after eligibility ends or the category of use changes. Failing to do that carries a penalty of 10 percent of the difference for each year the valuation was allowed in error.

If the use stops entirely, you are into rollback taxes — three years of recovered tax difference under §23.55.

Frequently asked questions

How many acres do you need for an ag exemption in Texas?

There is no statewide minimum. Each county appraisal district sets its own minimum acreage and degree-of-intensity standards, separately for each use — grazing, hay, orchard, beekeeping. A tract that qualifies in Van Zandt County may not qualify in Collin County. Ask the district for your county for its current written ag guidelines.

Does the ag exemption transfer to a new owner in Texas?

The qualifying use history runs with the land, but the application does not. Tax Code §23.54(e) keeps land eligible without a new application unless the ownership changes. A sale is that change, so the buyer files their own form 50-129 with the county appraisal district by April 30 of the first full tax year. A surviving spouse is excepted under §23.54(e-1).

How long does land have to be in agricultural use to qualify?

Under Tax Code §23.51(1), the land must have been devoted principally to agricultural use or timber production for five of the preceding seven years, and it must currently be in agricultural use to the degree of intensity generally accepted in the area. Both tests apply. History alone does not qualify land that has gone idle.

Can bees qualify land for ag valuation in Texas?

Yes. Beekeeping is a qualifying agricultural use and one of the more common paths on smaller acreage. The county still controls the terms: each district sets the acreage range it will consider and the number of hives it treats as the accepted degree of intensity. Get those two numbers in writing before you buy hives.

What is the penalty for filing an ag application late in Texas?

Ten percent. Under §23.541, the chief appraiser must accept a late application filed before the appraisal review board approves the appraisal records, and the penalty is 10 percent of the difference between the tax at productive value and the tax that would have been imposed at market value. Miss that window and the land is appraised at market value for the year.

Does an ag exemption lower the tax on my house?

No. The house, the yard around it, and other improvements are appraised at market value. Open-space appraisal applies to the acreage in qualifying agricultural use. The homesite is handled separately, and a homestead exemption is a separate application with its own rules. The two coexist on the same deed but are calculated independently.

Sources and method

Sources and method

Texas Constitution Article VIII §§1-d and 1-d-1 · Texas Tax Code §§23.51, 23.52, 23.54, 23.541, and 23.55 · Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts form 50-129, Application for 1-d-1 (Open-Space) Agricultural Use Appraisal · Kaufman, Van Zandt, Hunt, Parker, Wise, Ellis, Rockwall, Collin, and Denton County Appraisal Districts, published agricultural guidelines · Figures verified August 2026.

County appraisal districts set their own degree-of-intensity and acreage standards. Confirm current requirements with the appraisal district for the county your land sits in before you rely on anything here. This is general information, not tax or legal advice.

If you are buying or selling acreage in North Texas and the ag status matters to the deal — and it almost always does — call us before you sign. We will pull the appraisal district record and tell you what is actually on the roll. Start at Texas Land & Ranch.

The Agency Dallas is independently owned and operated by Damon & Megan Williamson.

Damon Williamson, Broker-Owner · Licensed Real Estate Agent, State of Texas.

Dallas, Dallas County, Texas 75205. Equal Housing Opportunity.

Texas Real Estate Commission Information About Brokerage Services and Consumer Protection Notice are available at trec.texas.gov.

This is not intended as a solicitation of property currently listed for sale.