New Jersey Property Tax Reduction

The New Jersey Farmland Assessment Act of 1964 provides landowners with a property tax reduction for managing their open or woodland areas for agricultural use.  Portions of the property, like the home and lawn area, that are not utilized for agriculture are not subject to the tax abatement.  The new assessment on the farm portion of the property is determined by the NJ State Farmland Evaluation Advisory Committee who publish annual productivity values for each type of land usage. 

Basic Requirements for Entry

• Applicant must own land
• An annual Farmland Assessment Form (FA-1) must be filed on or before August 1 each year for the following tax year
• The land must be devoted to agriculture for the two years preceding the first year of savings 
• At least five contiguous acres must be under agricultural usage (combination of open/woodland usage is ok)
• Gross income of $500.00 for the first five acres ($1,000 for properties with > 5 acres of open agricultural land) and $5.00 per additional acre of open usage or $0.50 per additional acre of woodland needs to be generated annually
• Owner must represent that the land will continue in agricultural or horticultural usage until the end of the tax year

Woodland Management and Farmland Assessment

The Farmland Assessment Act of 1964 provides that land "shall be deemed to be in agricultural use when devoted to the production for sale of plants and animals useful to man, including trees and forest products

Types of Woodland Eligible for Farmland Assessment

Appurtenant Woodland - Woodland that may or may not provide income for the farm.  If the woodland is less than 50 % of the combined cropland and pastureland it is considered appurtenant.  Buffer areas can also be considered appurtenant.     

Non-appurtenant Woodland   Self qualifying woodland that meets all the requirements of Farmland Assessment

Additional Requirements for Non-appurtenant Woodland Owners

• A woodland management or forest stewardship plan must be filed before January 1 of the first qualifying year
• A Woodland Data Form (WD-1), signed by a NJ Approved Forester, must be submitted on or before August 1
• A scaled map showing the location of woodland activity and soil classes must be submitted on or before August 1
• A copy of the tax filing must be submitted to the New Jersey Forest Service Regional Office as well as the tax assessor   

New Jersey Forest Stewardship Act

This act is similar to farmland assessment but does not require the landowner to generate annual income.  An approved Forest Stewardship Plan must be in place to be eligible for this program and the landowner must own at least five acres of woodland.