Pursuant to
Florida Statutes 193.461(3)(a), "No land shall be classified as
agricultural land unless an application is filed on or before March 1 of each
year. Only lands which are used primarily for bona fide agricultural purposes
shall be classified as agricultural. "Bona fide agricultural
purposes" means good faith commercial agricultural use of land."
January 1st
is the statutory assessment date therefore the property must be in use on or
before this date.
The filing
deadlines for agricultural classification is March 1st of each year.
IMPORTANT: Agricultural
Classification is not transferable. If the property is sold or transferred from
one ownership to another, a new application must be filed. If any changes in
the use of the property occur, it is important to notify the Property
Appraiser's office.
All
applications must be reviewed by the Property Appraiser who either approves or
disapproves the application. He may at that time request additional information
to assist in his determination. If the application is denied you will be
notified by mail at which time you can ask to discuss the denial with the
Property Appraiser.
Agricultural
zoning of your property does not automatically entitle you to agricultural
classification for taxation purposes. They are not one and the same.