Wildlife Ag Exemption?

[aggierc]

Howdy everyone. I was wondering if anyone has gone the route of filing for a wildlife ag exemption for rural property? I purchased a small place in Brooks County last year and need to transfer the tax info. I do not have any livestock on the property and would rather keep it that way, however, it seems that throwing a cow or two on there and going the traditional route of ag exemption would be the easiest route in terms of paperwork and tax office approval,(The chief appraiser was unfamiliar with wildlife exemptions and said I was the first to request such paperwork). However, I'm almost certain that I would qualify for the wildlife exemption which not only better suits the actual use of the land, but would save time and money from dealing with cattle, (moving them in and out of deer season, potential vet bills, etc.) So, which route would you recommend? Are there any advantages to having the wildlife exemption? Sorry for the long post, but I would greatly appreciate any and all help.

[doncom]

Google is your friend:

http://www.county.org/resources/library/county_mag/county/142/4.html

[Roamer]

Go for it.

[aggierc]

doncom, thanks for the reply. That was an informative read.
Roamer, I am not trying to evade taxes or sneak anything under the table nor am I raising wildlife to sell. I am not seeking any sort of revenue at all be it through sales or leasing. Sorry if I didn't clarify, but this a small, low fenced hunting property that I am legitimately trying to manage for native game species, (whitetail, javelina, quail, etc.) I feel that if the State of Texas is siding with landowners like myself who are not only concerned about the native species on their land, but on surrounding property and general region, then the efforts that we make to ensure their proliferation for our own and future generation enjoyment should be acknowledged. Sorry if that upsets you.

[Stan R]

http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/proptax/agrland/

I think this is the link for a wildlife exemption.

[TKRanch]

Wildlife Exempt is not that hard to do. Just need a plan and there are actually some pretty easy things that qualify you to do that like predator control, habitat improvement and management, water management and the like. That said, if your ag agent is not familiar with it, it may be a bit more of an issue!

Good luck.

[Bill M]

Call the extension agent for the county the property is in and see if he has any suggestions for putting the property under wildlife exemption. Ours sent us a sample (real with names and addresses removed) copy to create our own and we did it ourselves.

Here is another link and should lead to the actual form needed.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/landwater/land/private/agricultural_land/factsheet/

[armadillophil]

I put a wildlife exemption on my old place 2 years ago. Seems a little complicated at first buy it was pretty easy. You can contact your state wildlife biologist for your area and they will come out at no charge and look at your property and help you with your plan. If you have any questions just pm. phil

[glen]

It isnt that bad- song birds are the easiest to do- bird houses - feeding stations- fireant control- predator control- food plot- watering system- and cedar control is waht I do and it qualifies.

[BTLowry]

Here in Smith county it had to be under ag valuation(there are no exemptions) and then you could transfer it into wildlife.
Did mine last year and it was really pretty simple and painless process. They gave me a list of 7 things and you have to do 3 of them to qualify. Kill some pigs(they fall under predators) build some birdhouses and plant some foodplots, easy enough

[Boomerang]

Here in Smith county it had to be under ag valuation(there are no exemptions) and then you could transfer it into wildlife.

That is a state wide requirement. If a property does not have an agricultural tax exemption first, you can not claim it as an ag exemption and say you want wildlife as your exemption. The tax basis is identical for "agricultural" and wildlife, just a different box they check.

As mentioned, there are certain criteria you need to do. Quite a few you are probably doing already with game cameras (census is one of the requirements). There are quite a few things you can do, if you do all 7 in various forms it would be hard to dispute instead of the minimal 3 or so.