Keep My Acres
Bought rural land? Keep the tax break that came with it.
The old owner's ag valuation usually ends at the sale. Cattle, hay, timber, bees or wildlife: answer plain questions and get the paperwork for how you use your land, ready to file with your county appraisal district. From $69.
- Ag, timber, bees or wildlife
- Denied by your county? Full refund
The form reads like it's for lawyers.
You just want to keep the valuation your land already has. We turn the state forms into plain questions about your land and how you use it. You answer; we prepare the documents.
Three steps. Done in one sitting.
01
Answer plain questions
Your county, your acres, how the land is used now. No jargon. Rough answers are fine.
02
We fill out the forms
The right state form for your use, filled out for your land and your county.
03
Print, sign, file
Mail or drop it off at your county appraisal district by April 30. The address is on your cover sheet.
What's happening with your land?
Bought land with ag valuation?
The old owner's approval usually ends at the sale. Most new owners need to file their own application by April 30.
Switching to wildlife?
Done running cattle? Get your wildlife plan, your 1-d-1 application and a cover sheet. We pick 4 activities that fit your land.
Keeping bees?
Beekeeping qualifies on 5 to 20 acres. Your county sets its own hive count. We'll tell you yours and connect you with a local beekeeper.
Timber land? It uses its own form (50-167). Same $69, same plain questions.
Prices on the page.
The state forms are free, and Texas Parks and Wildlife biologists give free advice. What you pay us for is a finished, county-ready plan without the weeks of figuring it out.
- Your wildlife management planTPWD form PWD-885, filled out for your land
- Your 1-d-1 applicationComptroller form 50-129
- A filing cover sheetYour appraisal district's address and deadline
Denied by your county? Send us the letter and we refund what you paid.Many counties, including Polk, also want a yearly report. Our optional $99/year membership walks you through it each January and sends deadline reminders.
File by April 30.
Late filings get a 10% penalty. Once the county certifies its rolls, usually in late July, they stop taking them.
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I grew up on 23 acres outside Livingston, raising cows, pigs and chickens. My dad had ag valuation on it. When we stopped raising livestock, he lost it. Keeping it shouldn't take a lawyer. That's who this is for.
Walter Teal, Livingston, Texas · More about us
East Texas county guides
Where to file, by when, and what each appraisal district expects.
The short answers.
Does ag valuation transfer when I buy land?
Usually not. The old owner's approval ends at the sale and you file your own application. Since 2026 there's an exception: if the land is used the same way by the same people (say, the same rancher keeps leasing it), it carries over, and a late application gets extra time with no penalty.
Can I start ag on land with no history?
Not right away. The land has to have been in ag or timber use for 5 of the last 7 years before it qualifies.
Will switching to wildlife raise my taxes?
No. Wildlife land keeps the same appraisal category it had before the switch.
Where do I file?
With your county appraisal district, not the Comptroller or Texas Parks and Wildlife. Late filings get a 10% penalty.
Are you lawyers or biologists?
No. We prepare documents only. It's not legal, tax, or biological advice.
Can a biologist review my plan?
Texas Parks and Wildlife biologists give free advice to landowners. A paid review by a Texas wildlife consultant is coming soon.
