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Land-use taxation: a one-year agreement.
About 80 percent of Rappahannock County is in land use, also called use-value taxation. A landowner with five acres or more (six acres with a house) who can show annual receipts of $1,000 or more in agricultural sales (often hay) can qualify for a tax rate that reflects the use of the land at agricultural value rather than market value. The difference is substantial; agricultural taxation is often three times lower than market value taxation. Comparable benefits accrusyto ' landowners in forested use ovef*~b time frame.
In short, land-use taxation is a good deal — so good that if landowners opt out of their agreement, the penalty is five years of back taxes at market value, called “roll back* taxes.
Agricultural and forest districts: a tenyear agreement.
An agricultural and forest district is a state-approved method that allows Rappahannock landowners to set aside land for tenyear periods in return for tax benefits and protections against government interventions. The county has ten districts that protect
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