Bees for an Ag Exemption in North Texas

What the bee ag exemption actually is

Everyone calls it an exemption. Technically it is 1-d-1 open-space agricultural valuation: the appraisal district taxes your land on what it produces instead of what it would sell for. On acreage near a growing North Texas town, the difference is usually most of the land portion of the tax bill.

Beekeeping has counted as an agricultural use under Texas law since 2012 (Tax Code section 23.51(2)), as long as the land is at least five acres and no more than twenty. When it is approved, the valuation covers the whole qualifying tract, not just the corner where the hives sit. Your house, and the homesite under it, are still taxed normally.

Who it works for, and when the savings start

This is the part most people get wrong, so it is worth being plain about it.

Land that already has agricultural valuation. If your acreage has been in hay or grazing and that is ending, you can switch the use to bees and keep the valuation. Tell the appraisal district about the change in writing before May 1. This is the quickest route, because the history requirement is already met.

Land you just bought that was already in ag. The valuation does not transfer with the sale. You file your own application by April 30 of the year after you buy, and the land has to be in active agricultural use. Bees are often the simplest way to keep it.

Land with no agricultural history. Bees work, but not right away. Texas requires agricultural use in five of the preceding seven years, so you are starting a clock, and the savings usually arrive around year six. Anyone who promises you first-year savings on raw land is not telling you the whole story.

How many hives you need

Each appraisal district sets its own standard. Grayson and Collin publish the same one: six hives on the first five acres, then one more for every full two and a half acres, up to twelve hives on twenty acres. Fannin County has not published a beekeeping standard, so we size to the same rule and you confirm it with the district.

Minimum hives by acreage under the Grayson and Collin Central Appraisal District beekeeping guidelines. A remainder under 2.5 acres does not add a hive.

Why people sign up in the winter

Land has to be in agricultural use on January 1 of the tax year, or you need to show the intent to put it into agricultural use for the bulk of that year. The application is due April 30. And new honey bee colonies are mostly available in April and May.

So the paperwork and the plan come first, over the winter, and the bees arrive in the spring. A signed agreement and dated receipts show the district what is coming. Late applications are accepted until the appraisal review board approves the records, usually in July, but with a 10% penalty.

What we do, and what you do

We supply the hives and the bees, place them on your land, and manage them through the year: inspections, feeding when the season calls for it, mite and disease control, splitting and requeening. If a colony fails, we replace it, because an empty box does not count. The bees stay on your land for the bulk of the year, the way Grayson's guidelines require, not trucked in for a few spring weeks.

You get the records the district asks for: receipts for the colonies, dated photos, and a written agreement naming us as your beekeeper. The Grayson and Collin beekeeping reports ask directly whether you use a third-party beekeeper, and we answer the rest of their questions with you.

You file the application. Grayson and Collin take agricultural applications in person or by mail only, not online. We are beekeepers, not tax advisers, so confirm your parcel's situation with the district or your accountant.

County guides

The rules, forms and values differ by county. Start with yours:

• Grayson County: Sherman, Denison, Van Alstyne, Whitesboro, Pottsboro
• Collin County: McKinney, Anna, Melissa, Celina, Prosper
• Fannin County: Bonham, Leonard, Honey Grove, Trenton