In November, 1995, Texas voters approved Proposition 11, which amended Article VIII, Section 1-d-1 of the The Texas Constitution to permit productivity appraisal for land used to manage wildlife.
House Bill (H.B.) 1358 implemented the constitutional amendment by adding wildlife management as an agricultural use that qualifies the land for agricultural (productivity) appraisal in the Texas Property Tax Code — Section 23.51.
H.B. 1358 required the State Comptroller of Public Accounts – with the help of the Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Texas Cooperative Extension – to issue guidelines to county appraisal districts (CADS) on how to qualify and appraise land used to manage wildlife for agricultural appraisal. The Comptroller’s Property Tax Division has distributed interim guidelines to county appraisal districts. You can obtain a copy by writing the Property Tax Division at the following address:
Property Tax Assistance Division
P.O. Box 13528
Austin, TX 78711-3528
You can also call the toll-free number, 1-800-252-9121, or 512-305-9999 in Austin.
These guidelines will be revised in the future to accommodate changes in law, circumstances or considering new information.
This article reviews the requirements for qualifying land for wildlife management, for initially appraising the land, and for defining elements of the seven wildlife management activities. Chapter 23, Subchapter D, of the Texas Property Tax Code addresses the qualifications for agricultural appraisal and the appraisal of qualified agricultural land. Land used for wildlife management must meet all the legal requirements of land qualified for agricultural appraisal. Land on which the owner engages in wildlife management and meets other requirements for agricultural appraisal is qualified for agricultural appraisal and is technically in agricultural use. To simplify terms, however, this article refers to agricultural land used for wildlife management as land in wildlife management use.
Important email addresses
ajudkins@stephenscad.com (Ag, Wildlife Management Property)
taxpayerconnection@stephenscad.com (For all other inquiries.)
