Agricultural Use Value refers to the appraised value assigned to those acreage tracts of land that qualified based on bona fide agricultural use of the property.

What are the Requirements for Agricultural Real Property?
(12-43-232)

1 (a). If the tract is used to grow timber, the tract must be five acres or more. Tracts of timberland of less than five acres which are contiguous to or are under the same management system as a tract of timberland which meets the minimum acreage requirement are treated as part of the qualifying tract. Tracts of timberland of less than five acres are eligible to be agricultural real property when they are owned in combination with other tracts of nontimberland agricultural real property that qualify as agricultural real property. For the purposes of this item, tracts of timberland must be devoted actively to growing trees for commercial use.

2) For tracts not used to grow timber as provided in item (1) of this section, the tract must be ten acres or more. Non timberland tracts of less than ten acres which are contiguous to other such tracts which, when added together, meet the minimum acreage requirements, are treated as a qualifying tract. For purposes of this item (2) only, contiguous tracts include tracts with identical owners of record separated by a dedicated highway, street, or road or separated by any other public way.

3 (a) Nontimberland tracts not meeting the acreage requirement of item (2) qualify as agricultural real property if the person making the application required pursuant to Section 1 2-43-220(d) (3) earned at least one thousand dollars of gross farm income for at least three of the five taxable years preceding the year of the application. The assessor may require the applicant (e) to give written authorization consistent with privacy laws allowing the assessor to verify farm income from the Department of Revenue or the Internal Revenue Service and (ii) to provide the Agriculture Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS) farm identification number of the tract and allow verification with the ASCS Once.

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What are the Qualification Requirements for Agricultural Use Value?

Agricultural real property which is actually used for such purposes shall be taxed on an assessment equal to:

(A) Four percent of its fair market value for such agricultural purposes for owners or lessees who are individuals or partnerships and certain corporations which do not:

(i) have more than ten shareholders
(ii) have as a shareholder a person (other than an estate) who is not an individual
(iii)have a nonresident alien as a shareholder
(iv) have more than one class of stock

(B) Six percent of its fair market value for such agricultural purposes for owners or lessees who are corporations, except for certain corporations specified in (A) above. (South Carolina Code 12-43-220(d)(1)).

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When to File for Agricultural Use Value?

See "When to File for Legal Residence and/or Agricultural Use Value" explanation under the "Legal Residence" section of this documentation.

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When do Roll-Back Taxes apply to Agricultural Use?

When real property which is in agricultural use and is being valued, assessed, and taxed under the provisions of this article, is applied to another use other than agricultural, it shall be subject to additional taxes, hereinafter referred to as roll-back taxes, in the amount equal to the difference, if any, between the taxes payable on the basis of the agricultural use valuation and assessment, and the taxes that would have been paid had the property been taxed at the market value appraisal and 6% assessment ratio. The roll-back can be applied to the property for the current tax year (the year of change in use) and each of the five tax years immediately preceding the year of change in use. (South Carolina Code 12-43-220(d)(4)).

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