Present Use Value (PUV) Program (Farm Deferment)
Present Use Value Forms:
Form AV-3 Voluntary Payment of Deferred Taxes Without Requesting Disqualification
Form AV-4 Use Value Assessment & Taxation of Agricultural, Horticultural, and Forestlands
Form AV-5 Present Use Value Assessment and Guidelines for Completing Land Use Applications
Form AV-6 Request for Voluntary Disqualification from Present-Use Value Classification
Form AV-7 Request for Estimate of Deferred Taxes
To submit any of these forms, please complete, scan and email to PUV@HARNETT.ORG
Please allow two to three (2-3) business days for processing of the AV-6 and AV-7
Questions regarding the impact of the 2022 Reappraisal on the Present Use Value Program?
Click here to view our presentation for more information.
Qualifications
The NC Legislature enacted a program entitled "Land Use Program" which allows for reduced tax values for individually owned property involved in agricultural, horticultural or forestry management. Basic eligibility requirements for each are:
Agriculture
Agriculture land consisting of one or more tracts, one of which consists of at least 10 acres that are in actual production and that for the three years preceding January 1 of the year for which benefit is claimed, have produced an average gross income of at least $1,000.
Horticulture
Horticulture land consisting of one or more tracts, one of which consists of at least 5 acres that are in actual production and that for the three years preceding January 1 of the year for which benefit is claimed, have an average gross income of at least $1,000.
Forestry
Forestry land consisting of one or more tracts, one of which consists of at least 20 acres that is under a sound management program.
If you have questions or would like to receive an application, please contact:
Harnett County Tax Department
305 W. Cornelius Harnett Blvd
Suite 101
Lillington, NC 27546
(910) 893-7520
or email: PUV@harnett.org
History of Present Use Value
* Prior to 1971 North Carolina statutes allowed counties to tax at a percentage of market value other than 100%
* In 1971 state law changed, requiring real property to be taxed at 100% of market value.
* In the early '70's North Carolina was becoming a prime destination site for relocating companies.
* As business and people entered the state, land values escalated.
* Skyrocketing land sales became the basis for new tax values at the 100% market level.
* Farmland, once worth $500 per acre, were now worth 10 times that.
* It soon became only a matter of time before farmers found they would be forced out of farming by taxes.
* Legislation was passed in 1973 that created the Present-Use Value Program.
* Since 1973 legislation has been progressively enacted, easing the restrictions and allowing more properties into the program.
How Values are Determined
* Annually, NCSU develops land-use values based on soil types and their value in growing corn, soy beans, and pine trees.
* Every revaluation, the NCSU generated rates are adopted as a part of the county "Schedule of Values"
* Use Values are generated by multiplying acreage of each soil type by the appropriate rate per acre.