Greenbelt
Qualification
50-State Comparison
Outline
•Greenbelt Qualification:
• Eligibility Criteria Used by the States
• Plot/Land Size Criteria
• Income Production Criteria
• Prior Years’ Land Use Criteria
• Primary use
• Penalty for Change of Use
•Types of Tax Benefits for Agricultural Use
•Summary
Source
Significant Features of the Property Tax.
http://datatoolkits.lincolninst.edu/subcenters/significant-features-
property-tax/Report_Tax_Treatment_of_Agricultural_Property.aspx
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and George Washington Institute of
Public Policy.
(Tax Treatment of Agricultural Property - 2014)
31
9
20
4
12
35
3
8
0 10 20 30 40
Income Production
Management Plan
Prior Years' Land Use
Location
Multi-Year Commitment
Plot/Land Size
Prerequisite Designation or Certification
No Criteria Other than Ag. Use
Number of States
Greenbelt Qualification:
Eligibility Criteria Used by the States
Utah
Criteria
Utah’s Plot/Land
Size Criteria
Qualifying farmland
must be at least 5
acres. If less than 5
acres of land,
property may qualify
if it is devoted to
agricultural use in
conjunction with
other eligible land
under same
ownership.
Plot/Land Size
Minimum
Number of
States
5 acres or less
18
6 to 10 acres
10
11 to 25 acres
3
Other
4
None
15
Total
50
Greenbelt Qualification: Plot/Land Size Criteria
Utah
Income Production Criteria
Number
of States
Based
on owner’s income
5
Based on
farm’s income
22
Expectation of profit
4
Based on crop production
1
None
19
Total*
51
Greenbelt Qualification: Income Production Criteria
Utah’s Income
Production Criteria
Land must produce
in excess of 50% of
the average
agricultural
production per acre
for the given type
and location of
land.*
*
Note: There are exceptions
for certain land uses
*Total greater than 50 because 1 state fits in multiple categories
Utah
Greenbelt Qualification: Prior Years’ Land Use Criteria
Utah’s Prior Years’
Land Use Criteria
Land must have been
devoted to agricultural
use for at least 2
successive years
immediately preceding
the tax year in which
application is made
and meet the average
annual (per acre)
production
requirements.
Prior Years' Land Use
Criteria
Number of States
2 years or less
8
2 to 5 years
8
Other
4
None
30
Total
50
Utah
Greenbelt Qualification: Primary Use
Utah
“To be eligible for
FAA, it makes no
difference whether
agricultural use is
the primary or
secondary use of
a land parcel. As
long as other uses
do not hinder or
exclude the
agricultural use, a
parcel may receive
FAA assessment.”
Source: Farmland
Assessment Act
Standards of Practice,
Utah State Tax
Commission, May 2016
Ag. Land Use
10
Ag. use
may
be secondary
32
Ag. use
must
be primary
8
Unclear
1
No program
Greenbelt: Penalty for Change of Use?
32
18
0
10
20
30
40
50
Yes No
Number of States
Utah
Utah’s Penalty for
Change of Use
If the land becomes
ineligible, the owner
will be subject to a
rollback tax for up to
5 years. The tax
rate and market
value for each of the
years in question is
applied to determine
the tax amount.
Type of Tax Benefit for Agricultural Use
Number
of States
General
Agricultural Use Assessment
48
Specific Local
Option Farmland and Open
Space Program
10
Specific
Conservation Use Valuation
Assessment
3
Specific Urban
Agricultural Use Assessment
2
Other Specific Programs
11
Summary
• Utah is mostly similar to other states
• Differences include:
• Income qualification is based on crop
production (1/50 states)
• Not requiring that agricultural use be the
primary use of the land (10/50 states)
• Urban Farming Act (2/50 states)
