Property Taxes

An annual taxes forest landowners pay in Indiana is property taxes. Land is taxed to support various state and county government programs, the largest of which is our school systems.

Property taxes are calculated by assessing each acre of land in Indiana based on productivity. Farm ground that can raise a good crop of corn or beans is assessed higher that a woodlot. With the assessed value taxes are calculated by using the current county tax rate. Usually tillable crop ground will be taxes at $10.00/acre/year and woodland at $2.00/acre/year. These are averages based on the 1998 tax year across the state, each county taxes vary slightly.

There are a couple of ways to reduce your property taxes in Indiana. The most straightforward is to change the land use. This usually involves planting trees on tillable  acres. Once this is completed the county can reassess the acres from crop to woodland thus lowering the assessed value. Another way to change the assessed value is to sell the development right to a Forest Legacy type program. This will also lower the assessed value.

The second way to lower property taxes is to place the property in one of the classified land programs. There are three types of land that can be placed in the Classified programs, forest, wildlife habitat, and windbreaks. Select the program that you are interested in to learn more.

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