All landowners who qualify for Current Use Valuation are entitled to have their land valuedaccording to its current use (agriculture, forestry, or environmentally sensitive) instead of the FairMarket Value for ad valorem taxation. This can reap large tax benefits. Another benefit of CUVA isthat the value changes are limited to +/- 3 percent a year and a total of +/- 34.39 percent over the lifeof the 10-year covenant.

All landowners who qualify for Agricultural Preferential Assessment are entitled to have their property valued for assessment at 75 percent of FMV for ad valorem taxation. In most cases, 25 percent taxsavings will be realized with Agricultural Preferential Assessment. However, Agricultural PreferentialAssessment values change as fast as FMV changes and offer no degree of certainty on the propertytax burden.

Agricultural Preferential Assessment applies to all land and up to $100,000 dollars in building valueon agricultural production and storage buildings. Current Use Valuation applies only to landvalues and has no effect on building values. A taxpayer that has a small amount of land with a goodnumber of agricultural buildings, such as chicken farming, may receive greater benefits underAgricultural Preferential Assessment.

• Natural or Naturalized Citizens
• Family Farm Corporations who earns at least 80% of their income from farming
• Non-profit conservation organizations, estates and trust may be eligible

• The nature of the terrain
• The density of the marketable product on the land
• The past usage of the land
• The economic merchantability of the agricultural product
• The utilization or non-utilization of recognized care, cultivation, harvesting, and like practices
• applicable to the product involved and the implementations of any plans

The land uses required for Current Use Valuation are good faith agricultural/forest productionand environmentally sensitive land including:

• Raising, harvesting or storing crops
• Feeding, breeding or managing livestock or poultry
• Producing plants, trees, fowl or animals
• Production of aquaculture, horticulture, floriculture, forestry, dairy, livestock, poultry andapiarian products
• Maintaining a wildlife habitat (additional requirements may apply)

Must use 50% or more of the property in a qualifying use.

Once your application is approved, the filing fee previously collected and the covenant agreement willbe placed on record in the Clerk of Superior Court Office of Muscogee County. A title search of yourproperty should show that your property is under covenant. This is for the protection of both thepotential seller and/or buyer who may not be aware of the covenant, and any penalties that may occurdue to a transaction.

Forms and details are available at the County Board of Assessors Office. You can come by and pickone up or one will be mailed to you upon request. The Board of Assessors requires the followingwhen submitting your application:

• Application must be signed by all landowners along with percentage of ownership
• Application must be notarized
• Applicant must designate on tax map the exact parcel and acreage being placed incovenant
• Applications for less than 10 acres, must be accompanied by additional proof ofagricultural or forestry use to be considered
• $25.00 Recording Fee collected upon filing of the application to the Board of Assessors.Money order, cashier check or business checks only. The Clerk of Superior Court does notaccept personal checks.

You enter a 10-year covenant with the County whereby you agree to continue your property inagricultural or forestry production.

The earliest anyone may sign up for Current Use Valuation or Agricultural PreferentialAssessment is January 2 of each year. The filing time runs from January 2 until April 1.

In addition, every taxpayer receives an annual assessment notice. You may make application alongwith, or in lieu of an appeal, during the 45-day appeal period. This must be done within 45 days ofthe date of your annual assessment notice.

Up to 2,000 acres in Georgia can be entered in Current Use covenants. At the same time, up to2,000 other acres in Georgia may be entered into Agricultural Preferential Assessment. Presently thereis no minimum acreage for Current Use Valuation.

But, landowners with less than 10 acres must give additional proof that the "primary use" of theproperty is for bona fide agricultural production purposes. If you file Internal Revenue ServiceSchedule E, reporting farm related income or loss, or a Schedule F, with Form 1040, or, if applicable,a Form 4835, pertaining to such property no further documentation is required.

If you do not file any of the above documents, you must provide documentation of bona fideagricultural use on the property. This would include receipts of farm products purchased or sold.

You may have a separate covenant for each legally definable tract of land you own. No one covenant can cross county lines or state boundaries. Separate covenants can be held in separate Georgia counties. Tract means a parcel of property with boundaries designated by the Board of Assessors to facilitate proper identification of the property on their maps and records.

The Board will review the current use of the property. An appraiser from the Board of AssessorsOffice will perform an on-site inspection of the property and prepare a report for the Board ofAssessors.

You should submit any documentation you have regarding the bona fide current use of theproperty. Examples would be:

• Federal Income Tax Schedule “E” or “F”
• Timber Management Plans
• Receipts of sale of hay, livestock, produce, etc.
• Receipts for purchase of feed, fertilizers, seed, equipment, etc.
• Any documentation that will assist the Board in determining the qualifying use.

Yes, the law now states that if you enter into a second ten-year covenant, it is considered a renewal covenant .

If you decide to sell your property or change the use during the 6th though the 10th year of your renewal covenant , you only have to pay the taxes that would have been due if you were not in the covenant.There is no penalty amount, but you do have to pay taxes at the fair market basis for years you havebeen in the renewal covenant.

There is also a change that allows for an early out provision, if any one of the parties of the covenantturns 65 years of age during a renewal covenant.

If your application is turned down, you may appeal the decision of the Board of Assessors. This must be done, in writing, within 45 days of the date of the letter of notification. If you supply additional documentation as proof of qualification, the Board will review your documents. If upon further review your application is still denied, your appeal will be forwarded to the Board of Equalization for a hearing.