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Application Directions
Name: The name section is the owner of the property’s name or a representative such as a manager of the business or a tax representative legally that is allowed to represent the interest of the fee simple owner. The tenant does not have the legal right only if they are responsible for the taxes on the lease.
Phone: Include the contact number of the owner or someone that has access to the property on behalf of the owner.
Parcel ID or legal description: I would include the parcel ID. Trying to locate a property by its legal description is incredibly difficult.
Land Used Primarily for Agricultural Purposes Section: If you do not see your specific use in this section, your use would be written in the other box. Circle or simply indicate which use you are applying for by writing in the box to the right the number of acres you’re applying for. The next box to the right is indicates how long you have been active in this particular agricultural use.
The Agricultural Income from this Property: Specify the year and what Ag use such as nursery. The gross income is how much money in total was made that year. Your expenses are what you had to pay to keep that use going. Your net income is the gross income minus the expenses.
Under the Agricultural Income Section is the Date Purchased and the Purchase Price. The purchase price isn’t as important as the date purchased but it may be helpful to the Appraiser’s Office to know this information.
A Tangible Account is a business account filed with the Property Appraiser. This is a good indication there is a business on the property. It is not a necessity, but you would know if you filed or not. Answer “no” if you do not have a business tax account with the Property Appraiser.
The next question: Is the property leased to others? If there is any lease on the property, including a residential lease or a land lease for the nursery, the answer is “yes”.
Has the property been rezoned to a nonagricultural use at the request of the owner? In other words, if the property was zoned Agricultural/Residential (AR) or just Agricultural, and you as the owner put in a request to the Department of Building and Zoning to change the zoning code to say, Commercial, it’s very possible that agricultural use could be an illegal use and disqualify you from acceptance. Again, you would know if you changed the zoning.
There is a small area to file out that indicates the year you are applying for so make sure this is completed.
Sign and date your application. Make a copy of it and when you send it or drop it off, get a receipt of some sort to prove when you applied should there be any issues down the road.
Application deadlines are March 1 in the year of which you are applying (FL Statute 193.461 (3.a). Again, the application can be found here.
Use
Once the application is submitted, you need to prove use is and was on the property on January 1. Try and take photographs of the use as close to January 1st as possible for documentation. Time and date stamp your photos if possible.
The property appraiser will typically give an Agricultural Classification on whatever lands are used or covered in sellable plants and trees. The more land used may result in more Agricultural Classified Lands. If the Ag Classification will save you money (check out the Ag Analysis Calculator) try and apply for all the acres on the property to see what you can get. Why limit your tax savings?
Of course if you need to prove use you’ll need materials. Many of these products are from Amazon. I enjoy the quick shipping and comparative prices. This part will be updated every so often.
Unless the nursery is an in-ground nursery, pots will be needed. I recommend these from Amazon
Whether you have an in-ground nursery or need to suppress weed growth under your potted nursery, a weed barrier is always a good idea. I find this product to be incredibly helpful.
To further fight the weed battle, I use the Flame King Weed Torch. For a large area of weeds, say before I put down the weed barrier, I would use a Flame King Heavy Duty Propane Torch.
Business Proof
The next characteristic needed is that you need to have a bona fide agricultural business. Also, it needs to be stated that the development of business can be developed throughout the year. You could write this in a bussiness plan (you could submitt this as evidence to the property appraiser as well). Example: you can start with a business lease in December and then maybe start an LLC in February. In April you’d file your company income taxes. Send this information as soon as possible, either with the application or as it’s available. If it’s unavailable, let the property appraiser know in writing.
If you sell any of your stock then at least have a receipt book. They are an inexpensive way to help satisfy the agricultural business aspect to the guidelines. One can be found here on Amazon (affiliate) for less than $5.
Here are some more tips about the business aspect:
- For a Nursery Certification, one can look here. A business owner should really consider this being that it is illegal to sell plants in Florida without one.
2. For a business license in the State of Florida, check here. I recommend using Cindy’s Florida LLC if you want a qualified person to create your LLC for you. This is not an affiliated link.
3. For land leases or other legal forms be sure to check out these websites:
- Law Depot (click this affiliate link to recieve a 10% discount on online legal forms)
- Legal Forms
Always make sure to claim any profits or losses on your yearly income taxes too. If you are running a business and making money, then you may want to keep track of the earning and spending. The accounting will be easier come tax season. Let’s face it, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09CHQ19J6/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B09CHQ19J6&linkCode=as2&tag=myfloridawebs-20&linkId=069b75d7ab98209ffc14c2fdababff02">QuickBooks Desktop Premier Plus 2022 Accounting Software for Small Business 1-Year Subscription with Shortcut Guide [PC Disc]QuickBooks is the leader in accounting software. If you are starting your business and don’t want to part with a couple hundred dollars on https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09CHQ19J6/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B09CHQ19J6&linkCode=as2&tag=myfloridawebs-20&linkId=069b75d7ab98209ffc14c2fdababff02">QuickBooks Desktop Premier Plus 2022 Accounting Software for Small Business 1-Year Subscription with Shortcut Guide [PC Disc]Quickbooks software, I recommend MyInvoices & Estimates Deluxe. The software can create invoices, logos, and can calculate taxes.