Since 2012, Texas has recognized use of property for beekeeping as agricultural use for property tax valuation purposes. The state guidelines specify that this usage requires productivity in the beekeeping operation, and limit the property size to 5-20 acres, but beyond that provide little guidance and leave many specifics to be determined by the county appraisal office. This has led to much confusion on behalf of appraisers and property owners alike, as well as some unreasonable or unintelligible requirements in some counties. I was asked recently what LSBA could be doing at this point to benefit Texas beekeepers, and education on this subject was one of the first topics that came to mind.
The needed education on this topic is two-fold; both property owners/beekeepers and appraisers are in desperate need of clear information. In my capacity as president of Trinity Valley Beekeepers Association I’ve become aware of several situations where communication was proving difficult between members and appraisers. Most significantly this was happening when a soon-to-be beekeeper reached out to the appraisal office to ask about beekeeping usage requirements on their property. Neither party had any in-depth understanding of keeping bees, and as a result they were having a hard time communicating clearly with each other about beekeeping. Who would have thought, right?
Beekeepers have been faced with some odd Continue reading “Apiary Land Use and the County Tax Appraiser”