Or. Admin. R. 150-308-1050 - Gross Income Requirement
Current through Register Vol. 61, No. 4, April 1, 2022
(1)
Income From Consumed
Products. For purposes of the income requirement for farmland or a
farm parcel outside an exclusive farm use zone, gross income includes the value
of any crop or livestock used by the owner personally or in the farming
operation. The owner must keep records accurately reflecting both the value and
the use of the crop or livestock in a manner consistent with generally accepted
accounting practices. The value of any crop or livestock used by the owner
personally or in the farming operation is the amount of money the product would
have been sold for in the normal marketing of the crop or livestock by the
taxpayer. However, the value of products consumed, by the owner personally or
in the farming operation, must constitute no more than 49 percent of gross
income as required under ORS
308A.071.
(2)
Adjusted Gross Income From
Livestock. In determining gross income from livestock, the purchase
cost must be deducted from the gross sales price.
(3)
Burden of Proving
Income. The burden of proving that property that is not within an
exclusive farm use zone meets the gross income requirements of ORS
308A.071 is upon the owner or
person claiming special assessment. This burden l is met if information
establishing sufficient gross income is supplied to the county assessor as
provided below. A failure to provide the required income information to the
county assessor constitutes grounds for disqualification under 308A.116(1)(c).
(4)
Income
Information. The following procedures apply if the assessor lacks
sufficient information on March 1 to support a determination that land not in
an EFU zone qualifies for special farm use assessment.
(a) On or before March 1, the assessor must
send notice to the owner or person claiming special assessment of the need to
provide income information for property subject to special assessment. The
assessor must include an income information questionnaire with the notice. The
property owner must use the questionnaire to provide income information to the
county assessor. The property owner must provide the income information to the
county assessor no later than April 15.
(b) The assessor must send the notice and the
questionnaire to the last known address of record of the owner or person
claiming special assessment for the subject property. The notice and
questionnaire must be in a form approved by the Department of Revenue.
(c) If the information provided to
the county assessor is sufficient to determine whether or not the subject
property is qualified for special assessment, the assessor must take the
appropriate action.
(d) If the
information provided to the county assessor is insufficient to make a
determination as to the qualification of the subject property for special
assessment, or if no information is provided, the assessor must send a notice
to the last known address of record for the owner or person claiming special
assessment. The notice must be in a form approved by the Department of Revenue
and must include:
(A) A statement of the
assessor's intent to disqualify the subject property; and
(B) A statement that within 30 days after the
date of the mailing of the notice, the owner or person claiming special
assessment may appear and show cause why the property should not be
disqualified.
(e) In
determining whether the subject property qualifies for special assessment, the
assessor must take into consideration information obtained through the income
information questionnaire, the show cause hearing and the county assessor's
records.
(f) If property is
disqualified from special assessment solely because no income information was
provided by April 15, or within the 30 days of assessor's notice of intent to
disqualify, the property owner may file an appeal with the Magistrate Division
of the Tax Court.
(A) "Good and sufficient
cause" has the meaning given in OAR 150-307.475. The failure of the county
assessor to provide the notice required in subsection (a) of this rule on or
before March 1 constitutes good and sufficient cause for the owner's failure to
provide timely income information.
(B) The procedural requirements contained in
this rule are in addition to the requirements of ORS
308A.718.
(C) Nothing contained in this rule alters the
right of a person claiming special assessment to deferral and abatement of
additional tax, pursuant to ORS
308A.119.
(D) Nothing contained in this rule precludes
the assessor from continuing special assessment on farmland if the assessor
determines that the property meets the qualifications.
(5) The assessor may send a copy
of the income information received by the assessor under subsection (3) of this
rule to the Department of Revenue.
(6)
Examples: Satisfying income
requirements:
(a) A ten acre parcel
in an area not zoned EFU has never been used for farm purposes. For this parcel
to qualify for special farm use assessment, the owner must develop an income
history from farm uses of the parcel. The parcel will meet the income
requirements of ORS 308A.071(2)(a)
if it produces at least $1,000 gross income in each of the last three
consecutive years or in any three of the last five consecutive years.
(b) A ten acre parcel was
segregated from a larger farm one year ago. The land was not farmed during the
year following segregation. In order to qualify for farm use assessment, the
parcel must be farmed for two successive years (ORS
308A.068(1))
and meet the income requirement of at least $1,000 in one of the two years
(assuming the large farm met the income requirement before the ten acre parcel
was segregated).
(c) A four acre
parcel in an area not zoned EFU has been farmed continually. The income has
never exceeded $300. In order to qualify for special farm use assessment, the
parcel must produce at least $650 in gross income per year for any three years
during any consecutive five year period.
(d) A twenty two acre parcel in an area not
zoned EFU includes a ten acre farm woodlot, four and one-half acres of three
year old cherry trees, five acres of pasture, two acres of wasteland and a
one-half acre non-farm homesite. The five acres of pasture must have produced
at least $650 gross income in one of the last three years (assuming the
property met the income requirement in the two years preceding the planting of
the cherry trees) to remain qualified for special assessment. The one-half acre
non-farm homesite (at market), the immature cherry orchard (see ORS
308A.056(3)(c)),
the farm woodlot (see 308A.056(3)(h), and the wasteland (see
308A.074)) are not counted in
determining the number of acres to be considered under 308A.071(2)(a). The
wasteland in a non-EFU zone does not qualify because it is not currently
employed under 308A.056(3), and should not be in the calculation for the income
test.
NOTE: In order for the two acres of wasteland to be assessed at its farm use value under ORS 308A.074, and the homesite to be valued under ORS 308A.256, the owners must meet an adjusted gross income test and file an annual application.
(7) The farmland owner
or the operator of the farm unit must file the required excise or income tax
returns including a Schedule F or a schedule showing rental income or expenses
of each farmland owner or the operator of the farm unit.
(a) The assessor may require the farmland
owner or farm unit operator provide a copy of the income tax returns and
schedules showing farm income. Failure to provide required income information
including copies of the required tax returns and schedules is grounds for
disqualification.
(b) Copies of
income tax returns and schedules of farm income are confidential and must be
safeguarded in accordance with OAR 150-192.501.
Notes
Stat. Auth.: ORS 305.100
Stats. Implemented: ORS 308.372 & 308A.071
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