LEGISLATIVE SERVICES AGENCY OFFICE OF FISCAL AND MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT LS 7530 NOTE PREPARED: Jan 31, 2025 BILL NUMBER: HB 1250 BILL AMENDED: SUBJECT: Assessment of Prime Farmland. FIRST AUTHOR: Rep. Culp BILL STATUS: As Introduced FIRST SPONSOR: FUNDS AFFECTED: GENERAL IMPACT: Local DEDICATED FEDERAL Summary of Legislation: This bill provides a reduced property tax assessment classification for prime farmland. Effective Date: January 1, 2026. Explanation of State Expenditures: Explanation of State Revenues: Explanation of Local Expenditures: Local assessors will have additional programming costs associated with valuing prime farmland at a reduced base assessment rate. Explanation of Local Revenues: Beginning with taxes payable in CY 2027, this provision will result in reduced property tax assessments for farmland parcels that have a soil productivity factor of at least 1.0 for at least 50% of the parcel. The land must be tillable, currently devoted to agricultural use, and used as part of an agricultural operation. An owner who does not use the land as farmland for at least ten years must repay any tax savings plus interest. The taxes and interest will be distributed to the taxing units serving the property. The reduced assessments will result in increased tax rates, which will shift taxes to other property and in some cases reduce local revenue due to tax caps. The CY 2027 and CY 2028 tax shifts and revenue losses are summarized in the following tables. [Total estimated local property tax revenue changes by county appear in Appendix A. Estimated local property tax revenue changes by taxing unit are available at this link.] HB 1250 1 Estimated Net Tax Change ($ Millions) Property Type CY 2027 CY 2028 Homesteads 12.0 9.6 Farmland -40.2 -31.5 Other Residential 2.6 2.1 Apartments 0.3 0.2 Ag Business 2.2 1.8 Other Real 4.1 3.1 Personal Property 6.9 5.3 Total -12.1 -9.4 Note: Totals may not sum due to rounding. Estimated Net Revenue Change ($ Millions) Unit Type CY 2027 CY 2028 Counties -4.7 -3.7 Townships -0.7 -0.6 Cities and Towns -2.9 -2.3 School Corporations -5.0 -3.9 Libraries -0.5 -0.4 Special Units -0.4 -0.2 TIF 2.2 1.7 Total -12.1 -9.4 Total Without TIF -14.3 -11.1 Note: Totals may not sum due to rounding. For taxes payable in CY 2027, the assessed value (AV) of prime farmland will equal 85% of the assessment for taxes payable in CY 2026. Beginning with taxes payable in CY 2028, the assessment will grow annually by the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U). The following table contains the estimated prime farmland base assessment rate per acre under current law and as proposed. Estimated Prime Farmland Base Assessment Rate Pay YearCurrent Proposed ChangeChange % 2025 2,280 2026 2,390 2027 2,520 2,030 -490 -19.4% 2028 2,480 2,100 -380 -15.3% 2029 2,460 2,150 -310 -12.6% 2030 2,520 2,190 -330 -13.1% 2031 2,420 2,240 -180 -7.4% State Agencies Affected: State Department of Agriculture; Indiana Land Resources Council. Local Agencies Affected: County assessors; Local civil taxing units and school corporations. Information Sources: LSA Property Tax Database. Fiscal Analyst: Bob Sigalow, 317-232-9859. HB 1250 2 Appendix A. Estimated Change in Revenue ($) CntyCounty CY 2027 CY 2028 01 Adams -155,000 -122,000 02 Allen -227,000 -202,000 03 Bartholomew -134,000 -110,000 04 Benton -510,000 -407,000 05 Blackford -57,000 -46,000 06 Boone -34,000 -25,000 07 Brown -1,000 -1,000 08 Carroll -64,000 -50,000 09 Cass -355,000 -281,000 10 Clark -10,000 -11,000 11 Clay -17,000 -14,000 12 Clinton -437,000 -353,000 13 Crawford -4,000 -3,000 14 Daviess -116,000 -91,000 15 Dearborn -16,000 -15,000 16 Decatur -66,000 -52,000 17 DeKalb -10,000 -8,000 18 Delaware -250,000 -201,000 19 Dubois -78,000 -65,000 20 Elkhart -119,000 -89,000 21 Fayette -134,000 -103,000 22 Floyd -3,000 -2,000 23 Fountain -173,000 -141,000 24 Franklin -22,000 -17,000 25 Fulton -85,000 -70,000 26 Gibson -103,000 -90,000 27 Grant -203,000 -166,000 28 Greene -94,000 -84,000 29 Hamilton -264,000 -169,000 30 Hancock -162,000 -104,000 31 Harrison -7,000 -6,000 32 Hendricks -184,000 -125,000 33 Henry -293,000 -225,000 34 Howard -486,000 -374,000 35 Huntington -165,000 -126,000 36 Jackson -63,000 -52,000 37 Jasper -38,000 -30,000 38 Jay -26,000 -20,000 39 Jefferson -109,000 -85,000 40 Jennings -67,000 -53,000 41 Johnson -298,000 -229,000 42 Knox -104,000 -84,000 43 Kosciusko -40,000 -32,000 44 LaGrange -40,000 -31,000 45 Lake -110,000 -72,000 46 LaPorte -120,000 -96,000 47 Lawrence -15,000 -12,000 48 Madison -824,000 -605,000 49 Marion -231,000 -45,000 HB 1250 3 Appendix A. Estimated Change in Revenue ($) CntyCounty CY 2027 CY 2028 50 Marshall -117,000 -93,000 51 Martin -6,000 -5,000 52 Miami -70,000 -62,000 53 Monroe -10,000 -4,000 54 Montgomery -302,000 -259,000 55 Morgan -28,000 -22,000 56 Newton -95,000 -80,000 57 Noble -12,000 -9,000 58 Ohio -1,000 0 59 Orange 0 0 60 Owen -10,000 -8,000 61 Parke -45,000 -35,000 62 Perry -7,000 -5,000 63 Pike -156,000 -124,000 64 Porter -67,000 -49,000 65 Posey -65,000 -53,000 66 Pulaski -25,000 -20,000 67 Putnam -62,000 -50,000 68 Randolph -143,000 -117,000 69 Ripley -34,000 -28,000 70 Rush -300,000 -238,000 71 St. Joseph -159,000 -109,000 72 Scott -35,000 -31,000 73 Shelby -104,000 -84,000 74 Spencer -21,000 -18,000 75 Starke -14,000 -11,000 76 Steuben -6,000 -5,000 77 Sullivan -581,000 -479,000 78 Switzerland -2,000 -2,000 79 Tippecanoe -162,000 -114,000 80 Tipton -175,000 -140,000 81 Union -38,000 -31,000 82 Vanderburgh -202,000 -174,000 83 Vermillion -277,000 -224,000 84 Vigo -681,000 -537,000 85 Wabash -147,000 -120,000 86 Warren -151,000 -121,000 87 Warrick -7,000 -7,000 88 Washington -69,000 -55,000 89 Wayne -271,000 -223,000 90 Wells -37,000 -29,000 91 White -285,000 -217,000 92 Whitley -4,000 -4,000 Total -12,104,000 -9,394,000 Note: Totals may not sum due to rounding. 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