Keep My Acres
A temporary shutdown is not giving up agriculture
After a wildfire, flood, hurricane or freeze, the question is whether agricultural use has stopped temporarily or ended permanently. The Comptroller’s agricultural manual, 96-300, recognizes that disaster recovery can take longer than a normal break in production.
The manual states: "Special situations such as freezes, droughts, severe fires or other natural disasters can create an agricultural necessity that extends the normal time that the land remains out of agricultural production. In such cases, the land remains eligible for agricultural appraisal until the property owner clearly indicates intent to give up agriculture permanently."
That distinction matters. Land sitting idle because it needs to recover is not the same as an owner deciding to stop agriculture for good. The law calls this valuation 1-d-1 open-space appraisal.
The manual gives a drought example: ranchers may need to sell their herds while pasture recovers. If the typical rancher restocks after a year and resumes, owners who do so keep eligibility. That example is not a recovery deadline for every disaster. Ask your district in writing how the manual applies to your land.
Damage to part of a tract does not have to end valuation
A fire may damage part of a property while leaving the rest in production. The manual addresses that situation directly:
"If agricultural necessity forces a property owner to postpone agricultural operations on part of a larger tract, the property owner can retain agricultural appraisal on the entire tract without incurring a rollback on any portion of the property."
Its example is a fire that destroys 200 acres of a 2,000-acre range. The damaged acreage needs recovery time. That temporary pause does not have to cost the entire tract its ag valuation.
The manual also states: "Rollback is a serious economic penalty that should not be imposed when circumstances beyond a property owner's control cause an abnormally long but temporary suspension of agricultural use."
If the district questions the pause, explain what happened, which acreage was affected and your intent to resume. Ask for its response in writing.
Document the damage and your return to production
Keep a record of the damage and the work needed to resume. Start with what you can document now.
- Take dated photographs. Photograph the damage so your record shows the condition of the property after the disaster.
- Keep receipts. Save receipts for cleanup, fence repair, restocking and replanting.
- Write the district. Send a short letter explaining the interruption and stating that you intend to resume agricultural operations.
- Resume as soon as practical. Keep the recovery work and your stated intent pointed toward the same outcome: land back in production.
For timber, ask the district in writing about replanting timelines after disaster damage. San Jacinto CAD’s timber guidelines call for replanting within two years after a cut. That is a rule about a cut, not a confirmed disaster-recovery deadline. Ask how the district treats your circumstances.
For a governor-declared drought, Tax Code §23.522 separately protects eligibility when the drought "creates an agricultural necessity to extend the normal time the land remains out of agricultural production" and the owner intends to resume when it ends.
Disaster tax relief is separate from ag valuation
Keeping ag valuation and applying for the temporary disaster exemption are different matters. Tax Code §11.35 covers certain damaged property in an area the governor declares a disaster area. The property must be at least 15% damaged.
The law’s "qualified property" includes:
- Income-producing tangible personal property.
- Improvements to real property.
- Manufactured homes used as dwellings.
Land itself is not on that list. The temporary disaster exemption is not an exemption for damaged acreage. Keep the question about your land’s ag valuation separate from the question about relief for qualified damaged property.
Ask the district in writing which of your damaged items qualify. A disaster declaration alone does not settle whether a particular item fits the list.
Damage level sets the temporary exemption percentage
The temporary disaster exemption has four damage levels:
- Level I: At least 15% but less than 30% damaged. The exemption is 15%.
- Level II: At least 30% but less than 60% damaged. The exemption is 30%.
- Level III: At least 60% damaged, but not a total loss. The exemption is 60%.
- Level IV: Total loss. The exemption is 100%.
The exemption is prorated by the days left in the tax year after the governor’s declaration. It expires January 1 of the first year the property is reappraised. Ask the district in writing which damage level and reappraisal timing apply to your property.
Check the filing deadline with your district
Under Tax Code §11.43(s), apply for the temporary disaster exemption no later than the 105th day after the governor declares the disaster. The chief appraiser may extend that deadline for good cause.
Use Comptroller form 50-312, Temporary Exemption Property Damaged by Disaster. Ask the district in writing to confirm the declaration date, your filing deadline and whether an extension applies.
For ag valuation, keep the message plain: the disaster interrupted production, you intend to resume, and your records show the damage and recovery work. For anything specific to your tract that these rules do not settle, ask your district in writing.
Your county
General information, not legal or tax advice. Your appraisal district makes the final call.