Ohio § 5713.31

§ 5713.31.

(A) At any time after the first Monday in January and prior to the first Monday in March

of any year, an owner of agricultural land may file an application with the county

auditor of the county in which such land is located, requesting the auditor to value

the land for real property tax purposes at the current value such land has for agricultural

use, in accordance with section 5715.01 of the Revised Code and the rules adopted by the commissioner for the valuation of such land.  An owner's first application with respect to the owner's land shall be in the form

of an initial application.  Each application filed in ensuing consecutive years after the initial application

by that owner shall be in the form of a renewal application.  The commissioner shall prescribe the form of the initial and the renewal application,

but the renewal application shall require no more information than is necessary to

establish the applicant's continued eligibility to have the applicant's land valued

for agricultural use, for all lots, parcels, or tracts of land, or portions thereof,

within a county, that have been valued at the current value of such land for agricultural

use in the preceding tax year.  If, on the first day of January of the tax year, any portion of the applicant's

agricultural land is eligible conservation land or is used for a conservation practice,

the applicant shall so indicate on the initial or renewal application. (B) On or before the second Tuesday after the first Monday in March, the auditor shall

determine whether the current owner of any lot, parcel, or tract of land or portion

thereof contained in the preceding tax year's agricultural land tax list failed to

file an initial or renewal application, as appropriate, for the current tax year with

respect to such lot, parcel, or tract or portion thereof.  The auditor shall forthwith notify each owner who failed to file an application

that unless application is filed with the auditor prior to the first Monday of April

of the current year, the land will be valued for real property tax purposes in the

current tax year at its true value in money and that the recoupment required by sections 5713.34 and 5713.35 of the Revised Code will be placed on the current year's tax list and duplicate for collection.  The auditor shall send that notice either by certified mail or, if the auditor has

record of an internet identifier of record associated with the owner, by ordinary

mail and by that internet identifier of record. (C) Each initial application shall be accompanied by a fee of twenty-five dollars.  Application fees shall be paid into the county treasury to the credit of the real

estate assessment fund created under section 325.31 of the Revised Code . (D) Upon receipt of an application and payment of the required fee the auditor shall

determine whether the information contained therein is correct and the application

complete. (E) If the auditor determines the information is incorrect or the application is incomplete,

the auditor shall return the application to the applicant with an enumeration of the

items which are incorrect or incomplete.  The auditor shall return the application or a copy of the application either by

certified mail or, if the auditor has record of an internet identifier of record associated

with the applicant, by ordinary mail and by that internet identifier of record.  An applicant may file an amended application, without charge, within fifteen days

of the receipt of the returned application. (F) If the auditor determines the application or amended application is complete and

the information therein is correct, the auditor shall, prior to the first Monday in

August, view or cause to be viewed the land described in the application and determine

whether the land is land devoted exclusively to agricultural use. (G) If the auditor determines, which determination shall be made as of the first Monday

of August, annually, that the land is land devoted exclusively to agricultural use,

the auditor shall appraise it for real property tax purposes in accordance with section 5715.01 of the Revised Code and the rules adopted by the commissioner for the valuation of land devoted exclusively

to agricultural use and such appraised value shall be the value used by the auditor

in determining the taxable value of such land for the current tax year under section 5713.03 of the Revised Code and as shown on the general tax list compiled under section 319.28 of the Revised Code . (H) The auditor shall enter on the real property record required under section 5713.03 of the Revised Code for the tract, lot, or parcel of land so appraised, in addition to the other information

required to be recorded thereon, its value as land devoted exclusively to agricultural

use based on the values determined by the commissioner for each soil type present

in the tract, lot, or parcel.  Subject to division (A)(1) of section 5713.34 of the Revised Code , tracts, lots, or parcels of land or portions thereof that were eligible conservation

land or were used for a conservation practice on the first day of January of the tax

year shall be valued at the lowest valued of all soil types listed in the commissioner's

annual publication of the per-acre agricultural use values for each soil type in the

state. (I) As used in this section, “internet identifier of record” has the same meaning as

in section 9.312 of the Revised Code .