Keep My Acres
Home / Guides

Bought land with an ag exemption? What happens to it in Texas

The ag valuation on land you just bought usually belonged to the seller, not the land. Here's how to keep it.

Checked against the Texas Tax Code, the Comptroller, and Texas Parks and Wildlife. Updated October 2026.

The short version

When land under 1-d-1 (ag) valuation changes hands, Texas generally requires the new owner to file a new application with the county appraisal district (Tax Code §23.54(e)). The deadline is April 30 of the year you need the valuation.

The form is the Comptroller's Application for 1-d-1 (Open-Space) Agricultural Use Appraisal, Form 50-129. For timber land it's Form 50-167. Both go to the appraisal district in the county where the land sits.

The 2026 change: HB 1244

Starting January 1, 2026, a sale doesn't count as an ownership change for ag valuation in two cases:

  • The land passes to the owner's surviving spouse.
  • The new owner keeps using the land in materially the same way, and the use is overseen or run by the same people as the year before. Example: the same rancher keeps leasing the pasture and running the same cattle.

In those cases you can file late, up to the later of the tax delinquency date or one year after the transfer, with no late penalty (Tax Code §23.541(a-2)).

Don't lean on this if you don't have to. If you can file by April 30, file by April 30. The exception depends on facts the appraisal district decides, like whether the use is "materially the same."

What you'll need

  • Your deed or closing documents, with the date you took ownership.
  • The property ID from the appraisal district's website.
  • How the land is used now: cattle, hay, timber, bees, or wildlife. Include who runs it and any lease.
  • The land's use history. The land needs ag use in 5 of the last 7 years (§23.51(1)). The seller's history counts, because history stays with the land.

If the land isn't being used

If nobody is running cattle, cutting hay or managing timber when you buy, the valuation is at risk. Get a qualifying use in place before January 1, the date the district looks at. A common fix is leasing the pasture to a local rancher.

Missed April 30?

Districts can still accept a late application until the appraisal review board approves the year's records, usually in the summer. The penalty is 10% of the tax savings for that year (§23.541). That's still far cheaper than losing the valuation.

Your county

Each county's appraisal district has its own address and local expectations:

Polk CountySan Jacinto CountyTrinity CountyTyler CountyWalker CountyAngelina County

General information, not legal or tax advice. Your appraisal district makes the final call.