Agricultural Use: Application
Maryland Assessment Procedure Manual
| Label | Value |
|---|---|
| Category: | Real Property |
| Category No.: | 019 |
| Subject: | Agricultural Use |
| Subject No.: | 040 |
| Topic: | Application |
| Topic No.: | 5 |
| Date Issued: | 9/4/1985 |
| Revision Date: | 10/5/2026 |
To receive the agricultural use assessment, the owner must submit a signed and completed agricultural use application to the Supervisor of Assessments for the local office where the property is located. The Supervisor or their designee must review the application to determine if the parcel meets the eligibility “use” or “gross income” requirements. Approved applications must be kept on file or attached to the account record in the database. An agricultural use application is required for the property to receive the preferential use assessment for:
- All parcels less than 20 acres in size;
- All parcels 20 acres or more in size acquired after September 4, 1985;
- Parcels owned by persons aged 70 or over, a surviving spouse, or a disabled farmer, who has applied for and received a waiver of agricultural use assessment;
- Parcels with additional land added or combined after their original application;
- Parcels with a Woodland Management Plan or Forest Stewardship Plan; and
- Parcels transferred to new ownership.
Applications must be received by the office before July 1, for the agricultural use assessment to be considered for the next full taxable year. A single application is sufficient for farms containing more than one parcel of land if the Supervisor can determine the agricultural activity in place on each parcel and the owner has listed all the property account numbers on the application.
The Supervisor of Assessments or their designee may request that an owner provide an updated agricultural use application when the agricultural use or gross income cannot be determined. Failure to provide the application shall result in the removal of the agricultural use assessment and tracking of the Agricultural Transfer Tax liability (refer to Procedure 019 075 21).
All submitted applications must be emailed via encrypted format to the Department of Agriculture, regardless of whether ultimately approved.
Upon a denial of an application, the Supervisor of Assessments shall issue a denial letter to the owner stating the reason for denial. The denial letter must provide appeal instructions for the Property Tax Assessment Appeal Board (PTAAB) and specify the 30-day appeal deadline from the date of the denial mailing.
Information submitted on applications is confidential; therefore, applications must be kept in secure files. All new applications must be scanned and attached to the account record in the database. When a new agricultural use application has been received or if the property is no longer eligible for the agricultural use assessment, former applications must be destroyed or deleted.