You will no doubt recognize many of the terms in the Constitution from the list above. Section 1-d-1 of the Texas Constitution permits “open-space land devoted to farm, ranch, or wildlife management purposes” (timber, too) to be taxed based on its “productive capacity.” This is a different (special) way of assigning value, rather than an exemption of any part of the value.

Residence homesteads are partially exempt, meaning only a portion of the market value is not taxable. Most government property, property used for charitable purposes, et al is fully exempt from taxation. An exemption means the value is not taxable. Some property is exempt in whole or in part. The Texas Constitution Article 8, Section 1 requires that all property “be taxed in proportion to its (market) value.” As with most tax law, the Constitution then lays out all the exceptions to this rule. Technically, the wildlife exemption (or Ag or Timber) is a special appraisal based on productivity value. However, legal terms have very specific definitions (even though they are not always clear, hence lawsuits). Language is dynamic, and what starts as a slang term may come to be a dictionary definition of a word. Many common names for plants and wildlife are good examples of this as well, but that’s another article. Stomach “flu” isn’t caused by a flu virus and Texans know hot dogs and hamburgers on a grill aren’t “barbecue,” but that doesn’t stop people from using the terms that way. The way words are used in everyday language often differs from their technical definitions. And it is not just the public… many appraisal districts list Ag, Timber, and Wildlife codes under “Exemptions” on the tax rolls alongside the true exemptions like homestead, over 65, and others. Any and all of these are used in everyday conversations and internet searches. They are different names for the same animal. There are more, but that went on long enough. 1-d-1 open-space wildlife management special property tax valuation (that one’s a mouthful).agricultural tax appraisal based on wildlife management.agricultural land in wildlife management use.Some of our recent efforts to better understand how people find information on wildlife management exemptions has brought this to the forefront, so I thought a primer on the subject was warranted. Even something as simple as what to call this significant property tax benefit can be confusing. At the end of the day, it’s a property tax savings, but using the right terms can help avoid confusion.Īs we have learned over more than two decades of helping landowners with ag and wildlife exemptions (turns out that’s what most people call them), misunderstandings are common and conventional wisdom can be misleading.

Texas ag exemption explained