The Ohio Department of Taxation has released the 2021 CAUV tax values for counties in a reappraisal or update this year, and results show about a 25% decrease from the previous valuations in 2018.

“Our members are always happy to see a reduction in their values and a resulting lower tax bill,” said Leah Curtis, Ohio Farm Bureau  policy counsel. “They also appreciate seeing that the new formula is more responsive to the agricultural economy and the value of farmland.”

These new values only apply to CAUV-enrolled farmland, and changes in taxes due will depend on additional factors, like the values for home and buildings, which both will be evaluated by fair market values based on what the land and properties are selling for on the open market.

The other new piece of CAUV reform that is benefiting farmers is based on land used for year-round conservation practices or enrolled in a federal land retirement or conservation program for at least three years. That land is now valued at the lowest of the values assigned on the basis of soil type.

“This change ensures that farmers could implement conservation practices and not see a tax penalty because they decided to do some environmentally positive things on their land,” Curtis said.

This is the fifth year of a six year phase-in of new CAUV calculations. The 2021 values will take effect in 2022 for the counties that were revaluated.