Nebraska’s beginning farmers and ranchers have a tax program available to them, the Personal Property Tax Exemption.  Applications are due by November 1, 2014 for the 2015 tax year.  The Personal Property Tax Exemption is for beginning farmers, defined as those farming for ten years or less out of the past fifteen.  What the tax exemption provides is:

• A three year tax exemption on tangible personal property up to $100,000 per year; for
• Tangible personal property is agricultural or horticultural machinery and equipment.

How do you apply?  The application can be found at the Nebraska Department of Agriculture’s website.  (Note the application is the same as the Beginning Farmer Tax Credit — just check the box for the personal property exemption in the upper-right hand corner.)  You must apply by November 1 of the year preceding the year in which the exemption is to begin.  This means for an exemption starting in 2014, you must apply by November 1, 2013.

Does this mean the Beginning Farmer Tax Credit and Personal Property Exemption must be applied for at the same time?  No!  Does it also mean you must be a beginning farmer throughout the three year exemption?  No — you must only be a beginning farmer in the first year of the exemption.  However, the exemption is a one-time only proposition — you cannot keep applying for it.

This means that you can plan ahead for the optional time to apply for the tax exemption.  If your operation’s business plan is to purchase equipment in years five through seven (and you remain a beginning farmer at year five), you would want to apply for the tax exemption at that time, rather than applying for it immediately.

If you have any questions or require any assistance in applying for the personal property tax exemption, feel free to contact Legal Aid of Nebraska at 855-660-1391 or online here.