It may or may not. It depends on the property owner's plans. If the property owner plans to farm the property for an extended period of time, it may be advantageous to enroll in this tax deferment program. If he/she has plans to sell, develop, or put part or all of the property into a non-agricultural use within a reasonably short period of time, it may not be practical to enroll in the program. The option to sign up for the program should be carefully reviewed by the property owner.
Potential Financial Incentive
The financial incentive, if any, to enroll in Green Acres will presumably be higher for those properties that are in the path of development. As the demand for these properties increased, the prices paid, and the market values reported, also rose at a faster rate than the general market increases evident in the agricultural market place. That trend has changed over the past few years, resulting in less benefit to having the farmland enrolled in the Green Acres program.
The greater the difference between a qualifying property's market value and agricultural value, the higher the associated property tax benefit.