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Pennsylvania Statutes Title 72 P.S. Taxation and Fiscal Affairs § 5490.4b. Responsibilities of county assessor in establishing use values

Current as of January 01, 2026 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(a) For each application for preferential assessment, the county assessor shall establish a total use value for land in agricultural use, including farmstead land, and for land in agricultural reserve by considering available evidence of the capability of the land for its particular use utilizing the USDA-NRCS Agricultural Land Capability Classification system and other information available from USDA-ERS, The Pennsylvania State University and the Pennsylvania Agricultural Statistics Service.  Contributory value of farm buildings shall be used.

(b) For each application for preferential assessment, the county assessor shall establish a total use value for land in forest reserve by considering available evidence of capability of the land for its particular use.  Contributory value of farm buildings shall be used.

(b.1)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) and subject to the provisions of subsections (c), (c.1), (c.2), (c.3) and (c.4), for any county in which preferential assessment of land enrolled in forest reserve is based on county-specific values established by the department under section (4.1)(c),  1 a county assessor may apply a use value for land enrolled in forest reserve that equals the average of all subcategories of forest reserve use values established by the department.

(2) Subject to the provisions of subsections (c), (c.1), (c.2), (c.3) and (c.4), if a landowner provides a statement defining the predominate forest classification type on the enrolled land, the county assessor shall apply to that land the value established for that forest type.

(c) A county assessor may establish use values which are less than the values provided by the department under section 4.1, but lesser values shall be applied uniformly to all land in the county eligible for preferential assessment.

(c.1) A county assessor shall apply the use values in effect on the effective date of this subsection until such time as a countywide reassessment of real property values is implemented.

(c.2) Subject to the limitation in subsection (c.4), a county assessor shall recalculate and apply for the year in which a countywide reassessment of real property values is being implemented use values for land in each land use category using the criteria established under subsections (a), (b) and (c).  The use values determined by the county assessor under this subsection in the year that a countywide reassessment of real property values is implemented shall be applied as follows:

(1) to all properties enrolled in preferential assessment in the year of the countywide reassessment;

(2) to each application for preferential assessment filed with the county assessor in the year of the countywide reassessment;  or

(3) to all land enrolled in preferential assessment for the years following a countywide reassessment until a subsequent countywide reassessment of real property values is implemented.

(c.3) The use value applied to land under subsection (c.1) or (c.2) may not be changed for any property until such time as a subsequent countywide reassessment of real property values is implemented, unless there is a reclassification of land or portion of land to a different land use category as otherwise provided for under this act, in which case the use value to be applied to that land or portion of land shall be the use value applicable to the particular land use category for which the land was reclassified.

(c.4)(1) A county assessor may not, under any circumstances, establish or apply a use value to any land enrolled as agricultural use, agricultural reserve or forest reserve:

(i) that is greater than the assessment value that would apply to the land if the land were not enrolled in preferential assessment;  or

(ii) that is greater than the county-specific use value applicable to that land established by the department under section (4.1).

(2) A county assessor shall apply the lower of the values under clause (i) or (ii), or a value established under subsection (c).

(d) For purposes of this section:

(1) Farmstead land located within an area enrolled as agricultural use shall be assessed at agricultural use value.

(2) Farmstead land located within an area enrolled as agricultural reserve or forest reserve shall be assessed at agricultural use value if either:

(i) a majority of land in the application for preferential assessment is enrolled as agricultural use land;  or

(ii) in the circumstance that noncontiguous tracts of land are enrolled under one application, a majority of land on the tract where the farmstead land is located is enrolled as agricultural use land.

1  72 P.S. § 5490.4a.
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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Pennsylvania Statutes Title 72 P.S. Taxation and Fiscal Affairs § 5490.4b. Responsibilities of county assessor in establishing use values - last updated January 01, 2026 | https://codes.findlaw.com/pa/title-72-ps-taxation-and-fiscal-affairs/pa-st-sect-72-5490-4b/

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