Buying a 10+ Acre property and Act 319

If you are considering purchasing a property of over 10 acres, and no intention of subdividing it or developing it is worth taking a closer look at Act 319 and the future tax savings you could enjoy.  Act 319 of 1974 is commonly referred to as the Clean and Green Act.  The enrollment period is from March – June 1 each year so do your research early and decide if this is something that would benefit you.  As an agent in this area who deals with larger land parcels I’ve personally put one property in Act 319 and enjoyed the reduced tax benefits.  Should you sell the property at some later point to someone who has different use and goal who wants to take the property out of Act 319, that can be done through the payment of 7 years of rollback taxes.  Here are some general rules and a link to take you to the specifics on the Chester County program:

• 10 Acres minimum or $2,000 gross agricultural income.
• Only land assessment is affected.
• Land assessment is based on the agricultural use value of the land according to the productivity of the soil.
• Act 319 assessment remains on property in perpetuity or until a change in use occurs.
• Owner may include more than one deeded parcel under an application – parcels must be held in common ownership and must be contiguous.
• The entire tax parcel must be enrolled in the program. No exclusions of any portion from any tax parcel are permitted.

Link to Chester County program:         http://dsf.chesco.org/chesco/cwp/view.asp?a=1484&q=573695