Revenue and taxation; increase maximum acreage to qualify for assessment and taxation as a bona fide conservation use property

Georgia landowners get higher acreage tax limits

The law raises Georgia’s conservation-use property tax acreage limit from 2,000 to 4,000 acres per owner. This can lower taxes on more land, but savings depend on the property. Farm and timber land qualifies, including permanently attached facilities directly tied to production and used for storage or processing. Environmentally sensitive land certified by the Department of Natural Resources also qualifies, excluding improvements. Its main use must be maintaining natural conditions or controlling water pollution and improving water quality. Owners can use multiple conservation covenants across counties, but their combined acreage cannot exceed 4,000 acres. Taxpayers with beneficial interests in more than 4,000 conservation-use acres must limit their application to 4,000 acres. Family-farm entity owners count only the land share tied to their ownership percentage. They can allocate either their unused 4,000-acre allowance or their ownership percentage multiplied by the entity’s conservation-assessed acreage. These allocations can let a family-owned entity receive conservation-use assessment on more than 4,000 acres. Separate residential transitional covenants remain available for qualifying homes alongside conservation covenants for the land. Covenants are public records, and a central registry tracks land by owner to enforce the statewide limit. These changes take effect January 1, 2027, only if voters approve the required constitutional amendment in the November 2026 statewide general election. Without that approval, the act does not take effect and is repealed January 1, 2027.