Keep My Acres
Polk County ag and wildlife valuation: what to file, and when
Everything goes to the Polk Central Appraisal District in Livingston, between January 1 and April 30. Here's what applies to your land, in plain English.
Checked against the Texas Tax Code and Polk CAD's published contact details. Updated October 2026.
Running late? Ask Polk CAD in writing before the 30th for up to 60 more days.
114 Matthews St., Livingston · (936) 327-2174
Polk CAD requires the wildlife annual report (PWD-888) every year.
What's happening with your Polk County land?
Bought land with ag valuation?
The old owner's approval usually ends at the sale. File your own application with Polk CAD by April 30. If the same rancher keeps leasing it and nothing changes, you may have up to a year. How it works
Switching to wildlife?
Your land has to already be under ag or timber valuation. You file the wildlife plan and a new 1-d-1 application together. How it works
Keeping bees?
Bees qualify on 5 to 20 acres. Polk CAD is listed as expecting 6 to 12 hives, depending on acreage. Confirm with the district.
Pineywoods rules, short version
The state requires at least 3 of 7 wildlife activities. On most Polk County tracts, these four are the easiest to do and to prove.
Predator control
Hog trapping or shooting. Write down dates and counts.
Supplemental food
Feeders you already run, or a small food plot. Keep receipts.
Shelter
Brush piles from clearing, or nest boxes for bluebirds or wood ducks.
Census counts
A game-camera survey or a spotlight count, written down.
See all 7 activities and where the state's standards are
- Habitat control
- Erosion control
- Predator control
- Supplemental water
- Supplemental food
- Shelter
- Census counts
How much of each you have to do is set in Texas Parks and Wildlife's Pineywoods guidelines. Our plan matches your answers to them.
Did your tract get smaller last year?
Only then does a minimum apply. In the Pineywoods, Polk CAD picks a figure between 92% and 94% of the tract that has to be in wildlife use (34 TAC §9.2005). If your acreage didn't shrink, skip this.
Missed April 30?
Polk CAD still accepts late applications until its review board approves the year's records, usually in the summer, with a penalty of 10% of that year's tax savings. If you bought land and the same people keep using it the same way, a 2026 law gives you until a year after closing, with no penalty.
Stopped running cattle? Read this first.
Selling off the whole herd can cost you more than the valuation. It can trigger rollback tax: the difference for the last 3 years. How rollback works and how to avoid it.
My land is under timber valuation. Can I switch to wildlife?
Yes. Land that was under ag or timber valuation the year before can move to wildlife management. The plan has to account for the timber stand.
Does a lake lot near Livingston qualify?
Only if it already has ag or timber valuation with 5 years of use out of the last 7. Most subdivided lake lots don't.
File with Polk CAD by April 30.
Late filings get a 10% penalty, and once the records are approved they stop taking them.
Land across the county line?
Each county has its own appraisal district. File with the one where the land sits.