Instructions for Farmland Assessments

              Illinois Department of Revenue
Brian Hamer, Director
Publication 122 January 2010
Instructions for Farmland Assessments
The information in this publication is
current as of the date of the publication.
Please visit our web site at tax.illinois.
gov to verify you have the most current
revision.
The contents of this publication are
informational only and do not take
the place of statutes, rules, or court
decisions. For many topics covered in
this publication, we have provided a
reference to the Illinois Property Tax
Code for further clarifi cation or more
detail. All of the sections and parts
referenced can be found at 35 ILCS
200/1 et seq.
About this publication
Pub-122, Instructions for Farmland Assessments, is issued according to
Section 10-115 of the Property Tax Code which states, “The Department shall
issue guidelines and recommendations for the valuation of farmland to achieve eq-uitable
assessment within and between counties.”
Get forms and other information faster and easier at tax.illinois.
Defi nition of Land Use
Section 10-125 of the Property Tax Code identifi es cropland, permanent pasture,
other farmland, and wasteland as the four types of farmland and prescribes the
method for assessing each. Law requires cropland, permanent pasture, and other
farmland to be defi ned according to US Bureau of Census defi nitions. The following
defi nitions comply with this requirement.
Cropland includes all land from which crops were harvested or hay was cut; all
land in orchards, citrus groves, vineyards, and nursery greenhouse crops; land
in rotational pasture, and grazing land that could have been used for crops
without additional improvements; land used for cover crops, legumes, and soil
improvement grasses, but not harvested and not pastured; land on which crops
failed; land in cultivated summer fallow; and, idle cropland.
Permanent pasture includes any pastureland except woodland pasture and
pasture qualifying under the Bureau of Census’ cropland defi nition which
includes rotational pasture and grazing land that could have been used for
crops without additional improvements.
Other farmland includes woodland pasture; woodland, including woodlots,
timber tracts, cutover, and deforested land; and farm building lots other than
homesites.
Wasteland is that portion of a qualifi ed farm tract that is not put into cropland,
permanent pasture, or other farmland as the result of soil limitations and not as
the result of a management decision.
Contents
Defi nition of Land Use 1
How is farmland assessed? 2
What are the adjustment factors? 2
What are the guidelines
for alternative use? 3
Other guidelines 5
Assessment of Farmland 8
Individual soil weighting method 8
Table 1 Certifi ed Values for
2010 Farmland Assessments 13
Table 2 Productivity of Illinois Soils 14
Table 3 Slope & Erosion
Adjustment Table 35
Assessment of Farm Homesites
and Rural Residential Land 36
Assessment of farm residences 36
Assessment of farm buildings 36
Farm building schedules 39
For information or forms 47