Is agricultural land assessed differently than other properties?
In Wyoming, land meeting the criteria for agricultural classification is assessed based on the land’s productive capabilities under normal conditions. Landowners must complete a sworn affidavit stating the land meets the legal requirements for such classification.

Annually, the Wyoming Department of Revenue (DOR) receives data about the market price of hay and the lease rate for grazing lands. Then, by weighing a five-year average of those prices and by utilizing income formula, they determine a range of values per acre for different soil types. Because hay and pasture prices have been so high while interest rates have been so low, 2014 productivity values have increased. In April of 2013, the DOR issued a 2014 estimated increase in irrigated land of 44% and an estimated average of 16% increase on pasture land. In an effort to make you aware of the forecasted increase, I included that information in the 2013 newsletter that was mailed with your assessment schedule. Though the 2014 final productivity values did increase, rising interest rates in 2013 prevented the values from going as high as was predicted. Nevertheless, as you plan for 2014 tax payments, you should be aware that the DOR issued value for irrigated land is increasing by 38% and pasture land is increasing an average of 12%.

I realize that although some producers sell hay and pasture and have, therefore, benefited from high sales prices, for most producers in Sublette County, these increases have the effect of penalizing those who are already faced with increased operating expenses, due to the need to purchase hay and pasture at the high rates. My concern over this issue led me to attend the Ag Land Committee Meeting, held in August in Cheyenne, so that I could hear what they had to say about the current method of valuing these lands. This committee includes representatives from the Wheat and Stock Growers Associations, the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, and the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federations. These, your representatives, felt that the current method of arriving at productivity values for taxation, though high this year, is the most appropriate method. They felt that this method is generally pretty stable and that it is more beneficial to ag producers than any other method that has been presented. Also, please keep in mind that agricultural lands are consistently sold for far more than their productive value. Therefore, lands that qualify for productivity valuation, even with this year’s increase, still receive considerable tax advantages.

For more information about the method of determining ag land values, please visit the DOR website at http://revenue.wyo.gov/property-tax-division/property-tax-valuation-information.



View Agricultural Classification Affidavit.

Show All Answers

1. What is the level of assessment in Wyoming?
2. When are taxes due, and can I pay early?
3. Can I pay my taxes at the Assessor’s Office?
4. What is a mill levy?
5. How is the mill levy determined?
6. What are tax districts?
7. How is my property tax determined?
8. Why am I still getting a tax notice for a property I sold? Why is there a name on my notice that should not be there anymore?
9. What can I do to make sure the Assessor’s Office has the right information about my property?
10. What is my home’s legal description?
11. What are the account numbers associated with my property?
12. How often is property assessed in Sublette County?
13. When can I expect the Assessor’s Office to do an on-site inspection of my property?
14. Is there anything I need to do with the Assessment Schedule I receive each April / May?
15. How did the Assessor arrive at the value of my property?
16. Why did my value change?
17. Why does my assessment schedule or tax notice show improvements when I haven’t made any?
18. What should I do if I disagree with the value on my Notice of Assessment?
19. I want to file an appeal on my value. What do I do?
20. Is agricultural land assessed differently than other properties?
21. What is the Statement of Consideration I filled out when I closed on my property?
22. How does the Assessor acquire actual sales prices?
23. Why can’t I find out what my neighbor paid for his house?
24. Can I review the sales information used in establishing the assessed value of my property?
25. What is personal property and why do I have to list it for my business?
26. What is the deadline for filing personal property forms?
27. What do I do with the Personal Property Declaration Schedule that I just got in the mail?