Chapter 5713 | Assessing Real Estate

Section 5713.01 | County auditor shall be assessor - assessment procedure - employees.

• Effective: September 29, 2011
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 153 - 129th General Assembly

(A) Each county shall be the unit for assessing real estate for taxation purposes. The county auditor shall be the assessor of all the real estate in the auditor's county for purposes of taxation, but this section does not affect the power conferred by Chapter 5727. of the Revised Code upon the tax commissioner regarding the valuation and assessment of real property used in railroad operations.

(B) The auditor shall assess all the real estate situated in the county at its taxable value in accordance with sections 5713.03, 5713.31, and 5715.01 of the Revised Code and with the rules and methods applicable to the auditor's county adopted, prescribed, and promulgated by the tax commissioner. The auditor shall view and appraise or cause to be viewed and appraised at its true value in money, each lot or parcel of real estate, including land devoted exclusively to agricultural use, and the improvements located thereon at least once in each six-year period and the taxable values required to be derived therefrom shall be placed on the auditor's tax list and the county treasurer's duplicate for the tax year ordered by the commissioner pursuant to section 5715.34 of the Revised Code. The commissioner may grant an extension of one year or less if the commissioner finds that good cause exists for the extension. When the auditor so views and appraises, the auditor may enter each structure located thereon to determine by actual view what improvements have been made therein or additions made thereto since the next preceding valuation. The auditor shall revalue and assess at any time all or any part of the real estate in such county, including land devoted exclusively to agricultural use, where the auditor finds that the true or taxable values thereof have changed, and when a conservation easement is created under sections 5301.67 to 5301.70 of the Revised Code. The auditor may increase or decrease the true or taxable value of any lot or parcel of real estate in any township, municipal corporation, or other taxing district by an amount which will cause all real property on the tax list to be valued as required by law, or the auditor may increase or decrease the aggregate value of all real property, or any class of real property, in the county, township, municipal corporation, or other taxing district, or in any ward or other division of a municipal corporation by a per cent or amount which will cause all property to be properly valued and assessed for taxation in accordance with Section 36, Article II, Section 2, Article XII, Ohio Constitution, this section, and sections 5713.03, 5713.31, and 5715.01 of the Revised Code.

(C) When the auditor determines to reappraise all the real estate in the county or any class thereof, when the tax commissioner orders an increase in the aggregate true or taxable value of the real estate in any taxing subdivision, or when the taxable value of real estate is increased by the application of a uniform taxable value per cent of true value pursuant to the order of the commissioner, the auditor shall advertise the completion of the reappraisal or equalization action in a newspaper of general circulation in the county once a week for the three consecutive weeks next preceding the issuance of the tax bills, or as provided in section 7.16 of the Revised Code for the two consecutive weeks next preceding the issuance of the tax bills. When the auditor changes the true or taxable value of any individual parcels of real estate, the auditor shall notify the owner of the real estate, or the person in whose name the same stands charged on the duplicate, by mail or in person, of the changes the auditor has made in the assessments of such property. Such notice shall be given at least thirty days prior to the issuance of the tax bills. Failure to receive notice shall not invalidate any proceeding under this section.

(D) The auditor shall make the necessary abstracts from books of the auditor's office containing descriptions of real estate in such county, together with such platbooks and lists of transfers of title to land as the auditor deems necessary in the performance of the auditor's duties in valuing such property for taxation. Such abstracts, platbooks, and lists shall be in such form and detail as the tax commissioner prescribes.

(E) The auditor, with the approval of the tax commissioner, may appoint and employ such experts, deputies, clerks, or other employees as the auditor deems necessary to the performance of the auditor's duties as assessor, or, with the approval of the tax commissioner, the auditor may enter into a contract with an individual, partnership, firm, company, or corporation to do all or any part of the work; the amount to be expended in the payment of the compensation of such employees shall be fixed by the board of county commissioners. If, in the opinion of the auditor, the board of county commissioners fails to provide a sufficient amount for the compensation of such employees, the auditor may apply to the tax commissioner for an additional allowance, and the additional amount of compensation allowed by the commissioner shall be certified to the board of county commissioners, and the same shall be final. The salaries and compensation of such experts, deputies, clerks, and employees shall be paid upon the warrant of the auditor out of the general fund or the real estate assessment fund of the county, or both. If the salaries and compensation are in whole or in part fixed by the commissioner, they shall constitute a charge against the county regardless of the amount of money in the county treasury levied or appropriated for such purposes.

(F) Any contract for goods or services related to the auditor's duties as assessor, including contracts for mapping, computers, and reproduction on any medium of any documents, records, photographs, microfiche, or magnetic tapes, but not including contracts for the professional services of an appraiser, shall be awarded pursuant to the competitive bidding procedures set forth in sections 307.86 to 307.92 of the Revised Code and shall be paid for, upon the warrant of the auditor, from the real estate assessment fund.

(G) Experts, deputies, clerks, and other employees, in addition to their other duties, shall perform such services as the auditor directs in ascertaining such facts, description, location, character, dimensions of buildings and improvements, and other circumstances reflecting upon the value of real estate as will aid the auditor in fixing its true and taxable value and, in the case of land valued in accordance with section 5713.31 of the Revised Code, its current agricultural use value. The auditor may also summon and examine any person under oath in respect to any matter pertaining to the value of any real property within the county.

Section 5713.011 | Notice that applicant may apply for reduction in taxes.

• Effective: September 29, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 119 - 127th General Assembly

If the county auditor determines under section 5713.01 of the Revised Code that the construction of a dwelling on a previously vacant parcel of land is now available for use or that an additional dwelling is constructed on a parcel of land and is now available for use, the county auditor, by ordinary mail, shall send to the owner of the dwelling a notice that the applicant may apply for a reduction in taxes under division (A)(2) of section 323.153 of the Revised Code. The notice shall be substantially in the form of the notice prescribed under division (A)(3)(b) of section 323.131 of the Revised Code.

Section 5713.012 | Project managers for mass appraisals.

• Effective: March 23, 2015
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 10 - 130th General Assembly

(A) For purposes of this section:

(1) "Mass appraisal project" means any sexennial reappraisal, triennial update, or other revaluation of all real property or the valuation of newly constructed real property in accordance with section 5713.01 of the Revised Code.

(2) "Qualified project manager" means a person who plans, manages, coordinates, and controls the execution of a mass appraisal project under the direction of the county auditor and who has all of the following qualifications:

(a) Has passed a comprehensive final examination that corresponds to a course, approved by the superintendent of real estate and professional licensing, that consists of at least thirty hours of instruction, quizzes, and learning aids. The superintendent shall not approve a course under this division that does not address the following topics in both the instruction and the examination:

(i) Concepts and principles of mass appraisal as they relate to the assessment of real property for the purposes of ad valorem taxation;

(ii) Methods of data collection and data management relative to parcels of real property, including modern alternative data collection methods and currently utilized computer-assisted mass appraisal systems;

(iii) Assessment sales-ratio study including various measures of central tendency, the various measures of dispersion of data about the mean, median, and dollar-weighted mean, and the advantages and disadvantages of various analysis techniques;

(iv) Traditional approaches of property valuation, including the cost approach, the sales comparison approach, and the income approach, as they are implemented in a mass appraisal project;

(v) Methods and systems for model building and model calibration as related to mass appraisal of real property;

(vi) Methods of production management and project analysis such as Gantt charts, program evaluation and review technique (PERT) charts, frequency distribution charts, line graphs, bar charts, and scatter diagrams, as they are utilized in the mass appraisal area.

(b) Has completed at least seven hours of continuing education courses in real property or mass appraisal during the two-year period immediately succeeding the year in which the person passed the examination required in division (A)(2)(a) of this section, and during each two-year period thereafter.

(B)(1) The county auditor, in acting as the assessor of all real property in the auditor's county for taxation purposes in accordance with section 5713.01 of the Revised Code, shall involve at least one qualified project manager in each mass appraisal project that originates more than two years after the effective date of the enactment of this section by H.B. 487 of the 129th general assembly, September 10, 2012.

(2) The tax commissioner, beginning two years after the effective date of the enactment of this section by H.B. 487 of the 129th general assembly, September 10, 2012, shall not approve any contract entered into by the auditor under division (E) of section 5713.01 of the Revised Code with a person to do all or any part of the work necessary to the performance of the auditor's duties as assessor unless that person designates an officer or employee of that person, with the appropriate credentials, to act as a qualified project manager.

(3) The tax commissioner, beginning two years after the effective date of the enactment of this section by H.B. 487 of the 129th general assembly, September 10, 2012, shall not include any person that has not designated an officer or employee, with the appropriate credentials, to act as a qualified project manager on a list generated by the commissioner for either of the following purposes:

(a) To assist county auditors in selecting a person to do all or any part of the work necessary to the performance of the auditor's duties as assessor of all real property under section 5713.01 of the Revised Code;

(b) To assist the commissioner in the consideration of whether to approve or disapprove the auditor's application requesting authority to employ an appraisal firm or individual appraiser.

(C) The superintendent of real estate and professional licensing shall adopt reasonable rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code necessary for the implementation of this section, including rules establishing both of the following:

(1) The form and manner by which persons may apply to the superintendent to offer a thirty-hour course or continuing education course as described in division (A)(2) of this section;

(2) Standards to be used by the superintendent in approving a thirty-hour course or continuing education course described in division (A)(2) of this section.

Section 5713.02 | Duties of assessor.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

An assessor, from the maps and descriptions furnished him by the county auditor and other sources of information, shall make a correct and pertinent description of each tract and lot of real property in his district. When he deems it necessary to obtain an accurate description of any separate tract or lot in his district, he may require the owner or occupier thereof to furnish such description, with any title papers he has in his possession. If such owner or occupier, upon demand, neglects or refuses to so furnish a satisfactory description of such parcel of real property, the assessor may employ a competent surveyor to make a description of the boundaries and location thereof, and a statement of the quantity of land therein. The expense of such survey shall be returned by such assessor to the county auditor, who shall add it to the tax assessed upon such real property, and it shall be collected by the county treasurer with such tax, and when collected, shall be paid, on demand, to the person to whom it is due.

Section 5713.03 | County auditor to determine taxable value of real property.

• Effective: October 3, 2023
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly

The county auditor, from the best sources of information available, shall determine, as nearly as practicable, the true value of the fee simple estate, as if unencumbered but subject to any effects from the exercise of police powers or from other governmental actions, of each separate tract, lot, or parcel of real property and of buildings, structures, and improvements located thereon and the current agricultural use value of land valued for tax purposes in accordance with section 5713.31 of the Revised Code, in every district, according to the rules prescribed by this chapter and section 5715.01 of the Revised Code, and in accordance with the uniform rules and methods of valuing and assessing real property as adopted, prescribed, and promulgated by the tax commissioner. The auditor shall determine the taxable value of all real property by reducing its true or current agricultural use value by the percentage ordered by the commissioner. In determining the true value of any tract, lot, or parcel of real estate under this section, if such tract, lot, or parcel has been the subject of an arm's length sale between a willing seller and a willing buyer within a reasonable length of time, either before or after the tax lien date, the auditor may consider the sale price of such tract, lot, or parcel to be the true value for taxation purposes. However, the sale price in an arm's length transaction between a willing seller and a willing buyer shall not be considered the true value of the property sold if subsequent to the sale:

(A) The tract, lot, or parcel of real estate loses value due to some casualty;

(B) An improvement is added to the property.

Nothing in this section or section 5713.01 of the Revised Code and no rule adopted under section 5715.01 of the Revised Code shall require the county auditor to change the true value in money of any property in any year except a year in which the tax commissioner is required to determine under section 5715.24 of the Revised Code whether the property has been assessed as required by law.

The county auditor shall adopt and use a real property record approved by the commissioner for each tract, lot, or parcel of real property, setting forth the true and taxable value of land and, in the case of land valued in accordance with section 5713.31 of the Revised Code, its current agricultural use value, the number of acres of arable land, permanent pasture land, woodland, and wasteland in each tract, lot, or parcel. The auditor shall record pertinent information and the true and taxable value of each building, structure, or improvement to land, which value shall be included as a separate part of the total value of each tract, lot, or parcel of real property.

Last updated September 7, 2023 at 4:54 PM

Section 5713.031 | Federally subsidized residential rental property reporting.

• Effective: October 3, 2023
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly

(A) As used in this section, "federally subsidized residential rental property" means property to which one or more of the following apply:

(1) It is part of a qualified low-income housing project, through its compliance and extended use period, as those terms are defined in section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code, or any other period during which it is similarly restricted under section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code.

(2) It receives assistance pursuant to section 202 of the "Housing Act of 1959," 12 U.S.C. 1701q, and remains restricted pursuant to that section.

(3) Property that receives assistance pursuant to Section 811 of the "Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act," 42 U.S.C. 8013, and remains restricted pursuant to that section;

(4) Property that receives project-based assistance pursuant to section 8 of the "United States Housing Act of 1937," 42 U.S.C. 1437f, and remains restricted pursuant to that section;

(5) Property that receives assistance pursuant to section 515 of the "Housing Act of 1949," 42 U.S.C. 1485, and remains restricted pursuant to that section;

(6) Property that receives assistance pursuant to section 538 of the "Housing Act of 1949," 42 U.S.C. 1490p-2, and remains restricted pursuant to that section;

(7) Property that receives assistance pursuant to section 521 of the "Housing Act of 1949," 42 U.S.C. 1490a, and remains restricted pursuant to that section.

(B) An owner of federally subsidized residential rental property shall file with the county auditor of the county in which the property is located the following information from the preceding calendar year or up to three preceding calendar years, as applicable:

(1) The operating income of the property which shall include gross potential rent, any forgiveness of or allowance received for losses due to vacancy or unpaid rent, and any income derived from other sources;

(2) The operating expenses of the property including all non-capitalized expenses related to staffing, utilities, repairs, supplies, telecommunication, management fees, audits, legal and contract services, and any other expense a prospective buyer might consider in purchasing the property. Real property taxes, depreciation, and amortization expenses and replacement of short-term capitalized assets shall be excluded from operating expenses.

(3) The annual amount of contribution to replacement reserve funds or accounts related to the property.

(C)(1) The information required under division (B) of this section shall be filed by the owner both before the property is placed in service and after the commencement of the property's operations, and each following year to which section 5715.24 of the Revised Code applies in the county, on or before the first day of March. Each such filing in a reappraisal or update year shall report the information required under division (B) of this section for the preceding three calendar years or for the period of time the property has been in operation, if less than three years.

(2) Information filed under this section shall have first been audited by an independent public accountant or auditor or a certified public accountant prior to filing. If such an audit is not completed by the first day of March, the owner of the property shall file updated records within thirty days after the completion of such an audit.

(3) If a property owner fails to timely submit the information required under division (B) of this section, the county auditor is not required to value the property in accordance with division (A)(4) of section 5715.01 of the Revised Code for any applicable tax year to which that division would have applied and shall otherwise proceed under section 5713.01 of the Revised Code to value the property in compliance with Ohio Constitution, Article XII, Section 2 for that tax year.

(D) The county auditor shall use the information submitted under this section to determine the valuation of the property pursuant to rules adopted under division (A)(4) of section 5715.01 of the Revised Code.

(E) Any information submitted under this section is not a public record for purposes of section 149.43 of the Revised Code.

Last updated September 13, 2023 at 12:08 PM

Section 5713.04 | Tracts to be valued separately - split listing for tax exemption - deductions.

• Effective: March 14, 1980
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 504 - 113th General Assembly

Each separate parcel of real property shall be valued at its taxable value, excluding the value of the crops, deciduous and evergreen trees, plants, and shrubs growing thereon, and taking into account the diminution in value as the result of the existence of any conservation easement created under sections 5301.67 to 5301.69 of the Revised Code. The price for which such real property would sell at auction or forced sale shall not be taken as the criterion of its value. If the fee of the soil of a tract, parcel, or lot of land is in any person, natural or artificial, and the right to minerals therein in another, the land shall be valued and listed in accordance with such ownership in separate entries, specifying the interest listed, and be taxed to the parties owning the different interests.

If a separate parcel of improved or unimproved real property has a single ownership and is so used so that part thereof, if a separate entity, would be exempt from taxation, and the balance thereof would not be exempt from taxation, the listing thereof shall be split, and the part thereof used exclusively for an exempt purpose shall be regarded as a separate entity and be listed as exempt, and the balance thereof used for a purpose not exempt shall, with the approaches thereto, be listed at its taxable value and taxed accordingly.

The county auditor shall deduct from the value of each separate parcel of real property the amount of land occupied and used by a canal or used as a public highway at the time of such assessment.

Section 5713.041 | Classifying property for purposes of tax reduction.

• Effective: September 28, 2012
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 509 - 129th General Assembly

Each separate parcel of real property shall be classified by the county auditor according to its principal, current use. Vacant lots and tracts of land upon which there are no structures or improvements shall be classified in accordance with their location and their highest and best probable legal use. In the case of lands containing or producing minerals, the minerals or any rights to the minerals that are listed and taxed separately from such lands shall be separately classified if the lands are also used for agricultural purposes, whether or not the fee of the soil and the right to the minerals are owned by and assessed for taxation against the same person. For purposes of this section, lands and improvements thereon used for residential or agricultural purposes shall be classified as residential/agricultural real property, and all other lands and improvements thereon and minerals or rights to minerals shall be classified as nonresidential/agricultural real property. Each year the auditor shall reclassify each parcel of real property whose principal, current use has changed from the preceding year to a use appropriate to classification in the other class. Except as otherwise provided in division (B) of section 5709.40, division (B) of section 5709.41, division (A)(2) of section 5709.73, or division (D) of section 5709.77 of the Revised Code, the classification required by this section is solely for the purpose of making the reductions in taxes required by section 319.301 of the Revised Code, and this section shall not apply for purposes of classifying real property for any other purpose authorized or required by law or by rule of the tax commissioner.

The commissioner shall adopt rules governing the classification of property under this section, and no property shall be so classified except in accordance with such rules.

Section 5713.05 | County auditor to list mineral lands - increase or decrease of valuation.

• Effective: November 5, 1965
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 337 - 106th General Assembly

On or before the thirty-first day of March, annually, the county auditor shall make a list of petroleum, oil, and natural gas wells, coal and ore mines, limestone quarries, fireclay pits, and works designed for the production of minerals which have been begun or constructed since the last preceding appraisal.

If, by reason of the discovery of such minerals, the construction of such works, the commencement of such operations, or the development of such minerals, or otherwise, within the year, the value of the lands containing or producing such minerals or the value of any right to such minerals, listed and taxed separately from such lands, has increased in value to one hundred dollars or more, the auditor shall increase the assessment of such land or right to the minerals therein to its taxable value in the name of the owner thereof. If the auditor finds that rights to minerals contained or produced in or upon any lot or parcel of land have been previously created and not separately assessed for taxation, he shall apportion the aggregate valuation of the lot or parcel and the right to minerals therein as provided in section 5713.06 of the Revised Code.

If the value of any lot or parcel of land containing or producing petroleum, oil, natural gas, coal, ore, limestone, fireclay, or other minerals, or of any right to the minerals therein shall decrease within one year because of the exhaustion of any such minerals or the failure to find or develop such minerals, the auditor shall determine the decrease in value of such lot or parcel in consequence of such exhaustion or failure to find or develop, if the fee of the soil and the right to the minerals is owned by and assessed for taxation against the same person. If the title to the fee of the soil is in one or more persons and the right to the minerals therein is in another person, the auditor shall determine the decrease in value of such right to the mineral therein by reason of such exhaustion or failure to find or develop. If the auditor finds that the value of any such lot or parcel of land or any such right to the minerals therein has decreased by one hundred dollars or more by reason of such exhaustion or of such failure to find or develop, he may reduce the valuation of such lands or of such rights to the minerals therein so as to place such valuation at its taxable value.

Section 5713.051 | True value of oil and gas reserves on certain property.

• Effective: March 29, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 699 - 126th General Assembly

(A) As used in this section:

(1) "Oil" means all grades of crude oil.

(2) "Gas" means all forms of natural gas.

(3) "Well" means an oil or gas well or an oil and gas well.

(4) "M.C.F." means one thousand cubic feet.

(5) "Commonly metered wells" means two or more wells that share the same meter.

(6) "Total production" means the total amount of oil, measured in barrels, and the total amount of gas, measured in M.C.F., of all oil and gas actually produced and sold from a single well that is developed and producing on the tax lien date. For commonly metered wells, "total production" means the total amount of oil, measured in barrels, and the total amount of gas, measured in M.C.F., of all oil and gas actually produced and sold from the commonly metered wells divided by the number of the commonly metered wells.

(7) "Flush production" means total production from a single well during the first twelve calendar months during not more than two consecutive calendar years after a well first begins to produce. For commonly metered wells, "flush production" means total production during the first twelve calendar months during not more than two consecutive calendar years after a well first begins to produce from all wells with flush production divided by the number of those wells.

(8) "Production through secondary recovery methods" means total production from a single well where mechanically induced pressure, such as air, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, or water pressure, is used to stimulate and maintain production in the oil and gas reservoir, exclusive of any flush production. For commonly metered wells, "production through secondary recovery methods" means total production from all wells with production through secondary recovery methods divided by the number of the those wells.

(9) "Stabilized production" means total production reduced, if applicable, by the greater of forty-two and one-half per cent of flush production or fifty per cent of production through secondary recovery methods.

(10) "Average daily production" means stabilized production divided by three hundred sixty-five, provided the well was in production at the beginning of the calendar year. If the well was not in production at the beginning of the calendar year, "average daily production" means stabilized production divided by the number of days beginning with the day the well went into production in the calendar year and ending with the thirty-first day of December.

(11) "Gross price" means the unweighted average price per barrel of oil or the average price per M.C.F. of gas produced from Ohio wells and first sold during the five-year period ending with the calendar year immediately preceding the tax lien date, as reported by the department of natural resources.

(12) "Average annual decline rate" means the amount of yearly decline in oil and gas production of a well after flush production has ended. For the purposes of this section, the average annual decline rate is thirteen per cent.

(13) "Gross revenue" means the gross revenue from a well during a ten-year discount period with production assumed to be one barrel of oil or one M.C.F. of gas during the first year of production and declining at the annual average annual decline rate during the remaining nine years of the ten-year discount period, as follows:

(a) First year: one barrel or one M.C.F. multiplied by gross price;

(b) Second year: 0.870 barrel or 0.870 M.C.F. multiplied by gross price;

(c) Third year: 0.757 barrel or 0.757 M.C.F. multiplied by gross price;

(d) Fourth year: 0.659 barrel or 0.659 M.C.F. multiplied by gross price;

(e) Fifth year: 0.573 barrel or 0.573 M.C.F. multiplied by gross price;

(f) Sixth year: 0.498 barrel or 0.498 M.C.F. multiplied by gross price;

(g) Seventh year: 0.434 barrel or 0.434 M.C.F. multiplied by gross price;

(h) Eighth year: 0.377 barrel or 0.377 M.C.F. multiplied by gross price;

(i) Ninth year: 0.328 barrel or 0.328 M.C.F. multiplied by gross price;

(j) Tenth year: 0.286 barrel or 0.286 M.C.F. multiplied by gross price.

(14) "Average royalty expense" means the annual cost of royalties paid by all working interest owners in a well. For the purposes of this section, the average royalty expense is fifteen per cent of annual gross revenue.

(15) "Average operating expense" means the annual cost of operating and maintaining a producing well after it first begins production. For the purposes of this section, the average operating expense is forty per cent of annual gross revenue.

(16) "Average capital recovery expense" means the annual capitalized investment cost of a developed and producing well. For the purposes of this section, average capital recovery expense is thirty per cent of annual gross revenue.

(17) "Discount rate" means the rate used to determine the present net worth of one dollar during each year of the ten-year discount period assuming the net income stream projected for each year of the ten-year discount period is received at the half-year point. For the purposes of this section, the discount rate equals thirteen per cent plus the rate per annum prescribed by division (B) of section 5703.47 of the Revised Code and determined by the tax commissioner in October of the calendar year immediately preceding the tax lien date.

(B) The true value in money of oil reserves constituting real property on tax lien dates January 1, 2007, and thereafter with respect to a developed and producing well that has not been the subject of a recent arm's length sale, exclusive of personal property necessary to recover the oil, shall be determined under division (B)(1) or (2) of this section.

(1) For wells for which average daily production of oil is one barrel or more in the calendar year preceding the tax lien date, the true value in money equals the average daily production of oil from the well multiplied by the net present value of one barrel of oil, where:

(a) Net present value of one barrel of oil = 365 x the sum of [net income for each year of the discount period x discount rate factor for that year] for all years in the discount period; and

(b) Net income for a year of the discount period = gross revenue for that year minus the sum of the following for that year: average royalty expense, average operating expense, and average capital recovery expense.

(2) For wells for which average daily production of oil is less than one barrel in the calendar year preceding the tax lien date, the true value in money equals the average daily production of the well in the calendar year preceding the tax lien date multiplied by sixty per cent of the net present value of one barrel of oil as computed under division (B)(1) of this section.

(C) The true value in money of gas reserves constituting real property on tax lien dates January 1, 2007, and thereafter with respect to a developed and producing well that has not been the subject of a recent arm's length sale, exclusive of personal property necessary to recover the gas, shall be determined under division (C)(1) or (2) of this section.

(1) For wells for which average daily production of gas is eight M.C.F. or more in the calendar year preceding the tax lien date, the true value in money equals the average daily production of gas from the well multiplied by the net present value of one M.C.F. of gas, where:

(a) Net present value of one M.C.F. of gas = 365 x the sum of [net income for each year of the discount period x discount rate factor for that year] for all years in the discount period; and

(b) Net income for a year of the discount period = gross revenue for that year minus the sum of the following for that year: average royalty expense, average operating expense, and average capital recovery expense.

(2) For wells for which average daily production of gas is less than eight M.C.F. in the calendar year preceding the tax lien date, the true value in money equals the average daily production of the well in the calendar year preceding the tax lien date multiplied by fifty per cent of the net present value of one M.C.F. as computed under division (C)(1) of this section.

Section 5713.06 | Apportionment of aggregate valuation of mineral lands by county auditor.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

Where the fee of the soil and the minerals, or part of either, of a lot or parcel of land has been previously assessed for taxation in the name of the same person, but the title to the fee of the soil is in one or more persons and the title to such minerals, or any right to the minerals, is in another person, the county auditor shall ascertain the aggregate value of such lot or parcel of land and the minerals or rights thereto, and shall equitably divide and apportion such aggregate valuation between the owner of the fee of the soil and the owner of such minerals and rights thereto, according to the relative value of the interests held by such owners of the fee of the soil and such minerals or rights thereto.

Section 5713.07 | Exempted real estate.

• Effective: March 22, 2012
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 225 - 129th General Assembly

The county auditor, at the time of making the assessment of real property subject to taxation, shall enter in a separate list pertinent descriptions of all burying grounds, public schoolhouses, houses used exclusively for public worship, institutions of purely public charity, real property used exclusively for a home for the aged, as defined in section 5701.13 of the Revised Code, public buildings and property used exclusively for any public purpose, and any other property, with the lot or tract of land on which such house, institution, public building, or other property is situated, and which have been exempted from taxation by the tax commissioner or auditor under section 5715.27 of the Revised Code or by the housing officer under section 3735.67 of the Revised Code. The auditor shall value such houses, buildings, property, and lots and tracts of land at their taxable value in the same manner as the auditor is required to value other real property, designating in each case the township, municipal corporation, and number of the school district, or the name or designation of the school, religious society, or institution to which each house, lot, or tract belongs. If such property is held and used for other public purposes, the auditor shall state by whom or how it is held.

Section 5713.08 | County auditor to make list of exempted property - contents of list - duties of tax commissioner.

• Effective: April 3, 2023
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 66 - 134th General Assembly

(A) The county auditor shall make a list of all real and personal property in the auditor's county that is exempted from taxation. Such list shall show the name of the owner, the value of the property exempted, and a statement in brief form of the ground on which such exemption has been granted. It shall be corrected annually by adding thereto the items of property which have been exempted during the year, and by striking therefrom the items which in the opinion of the auditor have lost their right of exemption and which have been reentered on the taxable list, but no property shall be struck from the exempt property list solely because the property has been conveyed to a single member limited liability company with a nonprofit purpose from its nonprofit member or because the property has been conveyed by a single member limited liability company with a nonprofit purpose to its nonprofit member. No additions shall be made to such exempt lists and no additional items of property shall be exempted from taxation without the consent of the tax commissioner as is provided for in section 5715.27 of the Revised Code or without the consent of the housing officer under section 3735.67 of the Revised Code, except for property exempted by the auditor under that section, or qualifying agricultural real property, as defined in section 5709.28 of the Revised Code, that is enrolled in an agriculture security area that is exempt under that section.

The commissioner may revise at any time the list in every county so that no property is improperly or illegally exempted from taxation. The auditor shall follow the orders of the commissioner given under this section. An abstract of such list shall be filed annually with the commissioner, on a form approved by the commissioner, and a copy thereof shall be kept on file in the office of each auditor for public inspection.

An application for exemption of property shall include a certificate executed by the county treasurer certifying one of the following:

(1) That all taxes, interest, and penalties levied and assessed against the property sought to be exempted have been paid in full for all of the tax years preceding the tax year for which the application for exemption is filed, except for such taxes, interest, and penalties that may be remitted under division (C) of this section;

(2) That the applicant has entered into a valid delinquent tax contract with the county treasurer pursuant to division (A) of section 323.31 of the Revised Code to pay all of the delinquent taxes, interest, and penalties charged against the property, except for such taxes, interest, and penalties that may be remitted under division (C) of this section. If the auditor receives notice under section 323.31 of the Revised Code that such a written delinquent tax contract has become void, the auditor shall strike such property from the list of exempted property and reenter such property on the taxable list. If property is removed from the exempt list because a written delinquent tax contract has become void, current taxes shall first be extended against that property on the general tax list and duplicate of real and public utility property for the tax year in which the auditor receives the notice required by division (A) of section 323.31 of the Revised Code that the delinquent tax contract has become void or, if that notice is not timely made, for the tax year in which falls the latest date by which the treasurer is required by such section to give such notice. A county auditor shall not remove from any tax list and duplicate the amount of any unpaid delinquent taxes, assessments, interest, or penalties owed on property that is placed on the exempt list pursuant to this division.

(3) That a tax certificate has been issued under section 5721.32 or 5721.33 of the Revised Code with respect to the property that is the subject of the application, and the tax certificate is outstanding.

(B) If the treasurer's certificate is not included with the application or the certificate reflects unpaid taxes, penalties, and interest that may not be remitted, the tax commissioner or county auditor with whom the application was filed shall notify the property owner of that fact, and the applicant shall be given sixty days from the date that notification was mailed in which to provide the tax commissioner or county auditor with a corrected treasurer's certificate. If a corrected treasurer's certificate is not received within the time permitted, the tax commissioner or county auditor does not have authority to consider the tax exemption application.

(C) Any taxes, interest, and penalties which have become a lien after the property was first used for the exempt purpose, but in no case prior to the date of acquisition of the title to the property by the applicant, may be remitted by the commissioner or county auditor, except as is provided in division (A) of section 5713.081 of the Revised Code.

(D) Real property acquired by the state in fee simple is exempt from taxation from the date of acquisition of title or date of possession, whichever is the earlier date, provided that all taxes, interest, and penalties as provided in the apportionment provisions of section 319.20 of the Revised Code have been paid to the date of acquisition of title or date of possession by the state, whichever is earlier. The proportionate amount of taxes that are a lien but not yet determined, assessed, and levied for the year in which the property is acquired, shall be remitted by the county auditor for the balance of the year from date of acquisition of title or date of possession, whichever is earlier. This section shall not be construed to authorize the exemption of such property from taxation or the remission of taxes, interest, and penalties thereon until all private use has terminated.

Last updated January 19, 2023 at 9:46 AM

Section 5713.081 | Collecting delinquent taxes on publicly owned property.

• Effective: March 22, 2012
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 225 - 129th General Assembly

(A) No application for real property tax exemption and tax remission shall be filed with, or considered by, the tax commissioner or county auditor in which tax remission is requested for more than three tax years, and the commissioner or auditor shall not remit more than three years' taxes, penalties, and interest.

(B) All taxes, penalties, and interest, that have been delinquent for more than three years, appearing on the general tax list and duplicate of real property which have been levied and assessed against parcels of real property owned by the state, any political subdivision, or any other entity whose ownership of real property would constitute public ownership, shall be collected by the county auditor of the county where the real property is located. The auditor shall deduct from each distribution made by the auditor the amount necessary to pay the tax delinquency from any revenues or funds to the credit of the state, any political subdivision, or any other entity whose ownership of real property would constitute public ownership thereof, passing under the auditor's control, or which come into the auditor's possession, and such deductions shall be made on a continuing basis until all delinquent taxes, penalties, and interest noted in this section have been paid.

(C) As used in division (B) of this section, "political subdivision" includes townships, municipalities, counties, school districts, boards of education, all state and municipal universities, park boards, and any other entity whose ownership of real property would constitute public ownership.

Section 5713.082 | Notification of reentry of property on tax list.

• Effective: November 2, 2018
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 34 - 132nd General Assembly

(A) Whenever the county auditor reenters an item of property to the tax list as provided in section 5713.08 of the Revised Code and there has been no conveyance of the property between separate entities, the auditor shall send notice to the owner of the property e ither 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 as defined in section 9.312 of the Revised Code that it is now subject to property taxation as a result of such action. The auditor shall send the notice at the same time the auditor certifies the real property tax duplicate to the county treasurer. The notice shall describe the property and indicate that the owner may reapply for tax exemption by filing an application for exemption as provided in section 5715.27 of the Revised Code, and that failure to file such an application within the proper time period will result in the owner having to pay the taxes even if the property continued to be used for an exempt purpose.

(B) If the auditor failed to send the notice required by this section, and if the owner of the property subsequently files an application for tax exemption for the property for the current tax year, the tax commissioner or county auditor may grant exemption to the property, and the commissioner or auditor shall remit all taxes and penalties for each prior year since the property was reentered on the tax list, notwithstanding division (A) of section 5713.081 of the Revised Code.

Section 5713.083 | Notice when exempt property ceases to qualify for exemption; charge for failure.

• Effective: September 30, 2021
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 110 - 134th General Assembly

(A) The owner of property appearing on the exempt list shall notify the county auditor, on a form prescribed by the tax commissioner, if the property ceases to qualify for exemption. The notification shall be filed with the county auditor on or before the last day of the tax year for which the property ceases to qualify for exemption. Upon receipt of the notification, the county auditor shall return the property to the tax list.

(B) If the county auditor discovers that an owner failed to properly notify the auditor as required under division (A) of this section, the auditor shall impose a charge against the property described in that division equal to the total amount by which taxes were reduced for any of the five preceding tax years that the auditor ascertains the property was not entitled to the exemption and was owned by the current owner. The auditor shall notify the owner, by ordinary mail, of the charge, the owner's right to appeal the charge, and the manner in which the owner may appeal the charge. The owner may appeal the imposition of the charge by filing an exemption application with the tax commissioner under section 5715.27 of the Revised Code. Notwithstanding division (A) of section 5713.081 of the Revised Code, if the tax commissioner determines that the property was entitled to an exemption for one or more tax years for which a charge was imposed under this division, the tax commissioner may order the charge to be removed for those years and may remit any taxes, penalties, and interest paid for those years in the manner prescribed by section 5715.22 of the Revised Code. The charge shall be collected in the same manner as other delinquent taxes.

Last updated September 9, 2021 at 2:32 PM

Section 5713.09 | Tax maps of subdivisions.

• Effective: October 2, 1969
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 18 - 108th General Assembly

The board of county commissioners may designate the county engineer to provide for making, correcting, and keeping up to date a complete set of tax maps of the county, and shall employ the necessary number of assistants. Such maps shall show all original lots and parcels of land, and all divisions, subdivisions, and allotments thereof, with the name of the owner of each original lot or parcel and of each division, subdivision, or lot, all new divisions, subdivisions, or allotments made in the county, all transfers of property, showing the lot or parcel of land transferred, the name of the grantee, and the date of the transfer so that such maps shall furnish the county auditor, for entering on the tax duplicate, a correct and proper description of each lot or parcel of land offered for transfer. Such maps shall be for the use of the county board of revision and the auditor, and shall be kept in the office of the auditor.

Section 5713.10 | Appointment of draftsmen.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The county engineer shall appoint the necessary draftsmen and fix the salary thereof, subject to the approval of the board of county commissioners.

The salaries of the assistants shall be paid out of the county treasury in the same manner as the salaries of other county officers are paid.

Section 5713.12 | Ascertaining mortgage indebtedness.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The county auditor shall ascertain from the owner or his agent the amount of the mortgage indebtedness upon each tract and lot in any district. The blanks necessary for the purpose of this section and sections 5713.02 and 5713.03 of the Revised Code shall be furnished by the auditor and paid for by the board of county commissioners out of the county treasury.

Section 5713.13 | Plat and record of tracts of indefinite description.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

When an original survey, section, tract, or lot has become divided into such small parcels or fractions so that the description of the several parts thereof is indefinite and doubtful, the county auditor when appraising any such survey, section, tract, or lot, or part thereof, shall cause the said section, or such parts thereof as are necessary, to be accurately platted and laid out into such subdivisions as the different titles to the land therein require, and number the said fractions or subdivisions as fractions or subdivisions of said section, tract, or lot, or part thereof, or the part that is subdivided, and deliver the plat so numbered to the county recorder, who shall accurately record it. After such record has been made, the numbers given to said subdivisions or fractions shall be a sufficient description of land so platted, numbered, and recorded for all purposes of taxation and conveyancing.

Section 5713.14 | County auditor may require production of title papers and surveys.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 361 - 100th General Assembly

When the assessor has neglected to plat and number the divisions, mentioned in section 5713.13 of the Revised Code or the survey, section, tract, lot, or part thereof, is subdivided after the assessement and appraisal thereof, and the county auditor believes it should be platted and numbered for the purpose of a pertinent description thereof upon his duplicate, the auditor may require the owner or occupier of such section, tract, lot, or part thereof, to produce to him at his office the title papers and surveys of the several subdivisions thereof, as well as of the survey, section, tract, lot, or part thereof, subdivided, on a day certain, not longer than thirty nor less than ten days from the date of the notice.

Section 5713.15 | County auditor may require owner to make survey - auditor may make survey.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

If the owner or occupier of a subdivided survey, section, tract, lot, or part thereof fails to appear when required, and to produce the title papers, or produces them in such manner that the county auditor cannot plat and number said subdivisions without a survey, the auditor may require such owner or occupier to cause such subdivisions to be surveyed, platted, and numbered within twenty days, and to deliver said survey and plat to the county recorder for record. If such survey and plat is not made and delivered to the recorder within the time required, or the owner or occupier has not appeared when required, the auditor may cause the subdivision of such survey, section, tract, lot, or part thereof, to be surveyed, platted, and numbered by the county engineer and recorded by the recorder. The expense of the survey and record made by the order of the auditor shall be reported to him by the engineer and recorder, and the auditor shall add the expense to the tax on such subdivisions in proportion to the quantity of land in each. The expenses shall be collected as are other taxes against the land, and when collected paid over to the parties entitled thereto on the warrant of the auditor.

Section 5713.16 | Recording of plat.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

When the title papers are produced to the county auditor, he may plat, allot, and number said subdivisions. The plat made by the auditor shall be recorded upon the records of deeds of the county. After it has been platted and numbered by the auditor, or by the county engineer, it shall be sufficient for all purposes of taxation to enter such subdivisions upon the duplicate by their numbers, as provided by law for separate parcels of land, and such entry shall be a sufficient description of such subdivisions.

Section 5713.17 | Duty to notify county auditor of improvement costing over $2,000 - penalty - examination of buildings.

• Effective: September 14, 1992
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 643 - 119th General Assembly

To enable the county auditor to determine the value and location of buildings and other improvements, any person, other than a railroad company or a public utility whose real property is valued for taxation by the tax commissioner, that constructs any building or other improvement costing more than two thousand dollars upon any lot or land within a township or municipal corporation not having a system of building registration and inspection shall notify the county auditor of the county within which such land or lot is located that the building or improvement has been completed or is in process of construction. The notice shall be in writing, shall contain an estimate of the cost of the building or improvement, shall describe the lot or land and its ownership in a manner reasonably calculated to allow the county auditor to identify the lot or tract of land on the tax list, and shall be served upon the county auditor not later than sixty days after construction of the building or improvement has commenced.

Upon the discovery of a building or improvement that has been constructed but of which the county auditor has not been notified as required by this section, the county auditor shall appraise it and place it upon the tax list and duplicate at its taxable value, together with a penalty equal to fifty per cent of the amount of taxes that would have been charged against the building or improvement from the date of construction to the date of discovery had the county auditor been notified of its construction as required by this section.

The county auditor, or his deputy, within reasonable hours, may enter and fully examine all buildings and improvements that are either liable to or exempt from taxation by Title LVII of the Revised Code.

Section 5713.18 | Plats presented to auditor for assessment and entry.

• Effective: November 5, 1965
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 337 - 106th General Assembly

When any person lays out a municipal corporation, any addition thereto, or any subdivision of any lot or tract of land before the plat thereof is recorded, he shall present it to the county auditor, who shall assess and return the taxable valuation of each lot or parcel of land described in such plat in the same manner as other such lots or parcels are valued. Thereupon such lots or parcels shall be entered on the tax list in lieu of the land included therein.

Section 5713.19 | Correction of clerical errors.

• Effective: May 8, 1996
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 158 - 121st General Assembly

A county auditor shall correct any clerical errors, as defined in section 319.35 of the Revised Code, that the auditor discovers concerning the name of the owner, valuation, description, or quantity of any tract or lot contained in the list of real property in the county.

Section 5713.20 | Adding omitted property to tax list.

• Effective: June 15, 2004
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 168 - 125th General Assembly

(A) If the county auditor discovers that any building, structure, or tract of land or any lot or part of either, has been omitted from the list of real property, the auditor shall add it to the list, with the name of the owner, and ascertain the taxable value thereof and place it opposite such property. The county auditor shall compute the sum of the simple taxes for the preceding years in which the property was omitted from the list of real property, not exceeding five years, unless in the meantime the property has changed ownership, in which case only the taxes chargeable since the last change of ownership shall be computed. No penalty or interest shall be added to the amount of taxes so computed.

The county auditor shall order the county treasurer to correct the duplicate of real property accordingly, and shall certify to the county treasurer the sum of taxes determined by the county auditor under this section to be due on the omitted property. The county treasurer thereupon shall notify the owner by certified mail, return receipt requested, of the sum of taxes due, and inform the owner that the owner may enter into an omitted tax contract with the county treasurer to pay the taxes in installments, or that the owner, if the owner desires, may pay the amount of such taxes into the county treasury.

(B) An omitted tax contract entered into under this section for the payment of taxes in installments shall require that the installments be payable at the times and in the amounts specified by the county treasurer in the contract. The owner may request, and the treasurer shall allow, an omitted tax contract providing for payment in installments over no fewer than two years; however, the treasurer shall not permit a contract to provide for payment in installments over more than five years. Each installment payment shall be apportioned among the several funds for which the taxes on the omitted property would have been assessed had the property not been omitted, and shall be applied to the items of taxes charged in the order in which they became due. If an installment payment is not received by the county treasurer when due, or any payment of current taxes is not made when due, the contract becomes void, and the county treasurer shall order payment of the entire outstanding balance of taxes determined to be due under this section in one lump-sum payment.

Section 5713.21 | Correction of mistakes in valuing property - addition to duplicate.

• Effective: November 5, 1965
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 337 - 106th General Assembly

The county auditor, if he ascertains that a mistake was made in the valuation of an improvement or betterment of real property or that its valuation was omitted, shall return the correct taxable value, after giving notice to the owner or agent thereof of his intention to do so.

Additions made by the auditor pursuant to this section shall be listed upon the grand duplicate of the county and placed in the hands of the county treasurer for collection.

Section 5713.22 | Taxation of forest lands - forest land defined.

• Effective: September 1, 1976
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 972 - 111th General Assembly

As used in sections 5713.22 to 5713.26 of the Revised Code, "forest land" consists of any land bearing a stand of trees which the chief of the division of forestry determines is suitable for classification under such sections.

Section 5713.23 | Taxation of forest lands - rate - method of determining forest land subject to tax.

• Effective: July 26, 1991
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 298 - 119th General Assembly

Forest land which the owner thereof declares is devoted exclusively to forestry or timber growing under the rules prescribed under the authority of section 5713.24 of the Revised Code, shall be taxed annually at fifty per cent of the local tax rate upon its value as determined under sections 5701.02 and 5713.04 of the Revised Code.

The method of determining forest lands or land bearing forest growth which is subject to this section, and the manner in which an owner of forest lands may declare that such lands are devoted to timber growing shall be prescribed under such rules, but in no case shall areas devoted to forestry be considered subject to this section until the fee established in accordance with section 5713.24 of the Revised Code is paid and such declarations of the owners have been approved and certified by the chief of the division of forestry, and copies of the declarations have been filed by the chief with the county auditor of the county in which such lands are located.

Section 5713.24 | Rules, forms, tax blanks - application fee.

• Effective: July 1, 1993
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 152 - 120th General Assembly

All rules, forms, and tax blanks that are used in the administration of sections 5713.22 to 5713.26 of the Revised Code shall be prepared by the chief of the division of forestry and become effective when approved by the tax commissioner. The chief also shall determine the amount of a fee, payable to the division of forestry, that shall be submitted with each application seeking a determination of forest lands or land bearing forest growth as provided in section 5713.23 of the Revised Code. The chief shall establish the fee by rule in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code and each such fee received by him shall be paid into the state treasury to the credit of the state forest fund created by section 1503.05 of the Revised Code.

Section 5713.25 | Withdrawal of forest lands from classification.

• Effective: September 1, 1976
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 972 - 111th General Assembly

Forest lands which have been listed for taxation in accordance with section 5713.23 of the Revised Code may be withdrawn from such class upon certification to the chief of the division of forestry of such intention by the owner thereof. The chief shall send a copy of said certification to the county auditor of the county in which such lands are located, who shall thereupon tax such land at the full rate thereafter.

Section 5713.26 | Failure to conform to rules - posting of notice.

• Effective: September 1, 1976
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 972 - 111th General Assembly

Any owner of forest land taxed in accordance with section 5713.23 of the Revised Code who in the opinion of the chief of the division of forestry has not exercised reasonable care in the protection and maintenance of the forest or who has violated the rules of the chief as to the care and management of such lands shall receive notice in writing of such violation from the chief. The owner shall be granted, upon his written application for the same, six months in which to correct said violations, and failure to correct the violations within this period voids his declaration filed with the chief in accordance with such section, and the county auditor shall be notified to tax those lands at the full rate thereafter.

Owners of forest land taxed in accordance with such section shall post in prominent locations on the borders of each parcel of said forest and maintain in legible condition at least two metal signs similar to those obtainable from the chief stating the rules applying to said forest.

Section 5713.30 | Agricultural land definitions.

• Effective: April 12, 2021
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 7 - 133rd General Assembly

As used in sections 5713.31 to 5713.37 and 5715.01 of the Revised Code:

(A) "Land devoted exclusively to agricultural use" means:

(1) Tracts, lots, or parcels of land totaling not less than ten acres to which, during the three calendar years prior to the year in which application is filed under section 5713.31 of the Revised Code, and through the last day of May of such year, one or more of the following apply:

(a) The tracts, lots, or parcels of land were devoted exclusively to commercial animal or poultry husbandry, aquaculture, algaculture meaning the farming of algae, apiculture, the cultivation of hemp by a person issued a hemp cultivation license under section 928.02 of the Revised Code, the production for a commercial purpose of timber, field crops, tobacco, fruits, vegetables, nursery stock, ornamental trees, sod, or flowers, or the growth of timber for a noncommercial purpose, if the land on which the timber is grown is contiguous to or part of a parcel of land under common ownership that is otherwise devoted exclusively to agricultural use.

(b) The tracts, lots, or parcels of land were devoted exclusively to biodiesel production, biomass energy production, electric or heat energy production, or biologically derived methane gas production if the land on which the production facility is located is contiguous to or part of a parcel of land under common ownership or leasehold that is otherwise devoted exclusively to agricultural use, provided that (i) at least fifty per cent of the feedstock used in the production is agricultural feedstock, (ii) at least twenty per cent of the agricultural feedstock used in the production is derived from parcels of land under common ownership or leasehold, and (iii) none of the feedstock used in the production consists of human waste. As used in this division, "agricultural feedstock" means manure and food waste, and "human waste" includes sludge as defined in section 6111.01 of the Revised Code.

(c) The tracts, lots, or parcels of land were devoted to and qualified for payments or other compensation under a land retirement or conservation program under an agreement with an agency of the federal government.

(2) Tracts, lots, or parcels of land totaling less than ten acres that, during the three calendar years prior to the year in which application is filed under section 5713.31 of the Revised Code and through the last day of May of such year, were devoted exclusively to commercial animal or poultry husbandry, aquaculture, algaculture meaning the farming of algae, apiculture, the cultivation of hemp by a person issued a hemp cultivation license under section 928.02 of the Revised Code, the production for a commercial purpose of field crops, tobacco, fruits, vegetables, timber, nursery stock, ornamental trees, sod, or flowers where such activities produced an average yearly gross income of at least twenty-five hundred dollars during such three-year period or where there is evidence of an anticipated gross income of such amount from such activities during the tax year in which application is made, or were devoted to and qualified for payments or other compensation under a land retirement or conservation program under an agreement with an agency of the federal government;

(3) Tracts, lots, or parcels of land, or portions thereof that, during the previous three consecutive calendar years have been designated as land devoted exclusively to agricultural use, but such land has been lying idle or fallow for up to one year and no action has occurred to such land that is either inconsistent with the return of it to agricultural production or converts the land devoted exclusively to agricultural use as defined in this section. Such land shall remain designated as land devoted exclusively to agricultural use provided that beyond one year, but less than three years, the landowner proves good cause as determined by the board of revision.

(4) Tracts, lots, or parcels of land, or portions thereof that, during the previous three consecutive calendar years have been designated as land devoted exclusively to agricultural use, but such land has been lying idle or fallow because of dredged material being stored or deposited on such land pursuant to a contract between the land's owner and the department of natural resources or the United States army corps of engineers and no action has occurred to the land that is either inconsistent with the return of it to agricultural production or converts the land devoted exclusively to agricultural use. Such land shall remain designated as land devoted exclusively to agricultural use until the last year in which dredged material is stored or deposited on the land pursuant to such a contract, but not to exceed five years.

"Land devoted exclusively to agricultural use" includes tracts, lots, or parcels of land or portions thereof that are used for conservation practices, provided that the tracts, lots, or parcels of land or portions thereof comprise twenty-five per cent or less of the total of the tracts, lots, or parcels of land that satisfy the criteria established in division (A)(1), (2), (3), or (4) of this section together with the tracts, lots, or parcels of land or portions thereof that are used for conservation practices.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the existence of agritourism on a tract, lot, or parcel of land that otherwise meets the definition of "land devoted exclusively to agricultural use" as defined in this division does not disqualify that tract, lot, or parcel from valuation under sections 5713.30 to 5713.37 and 5715.01 of the Revised Code.

A tract, lot, or parcel of land taxed under sections 5713.22 to 5713.26 of the Revised Code is not land devoted exclusively to agricultural use.

A tract, lot, parcel, or portion thereof on which medical marijuana, as defined by section 3796.01 of the Revised Code, is cultivated or processed is not land devoted exclusively to agricultural use.

(B) "Conversion of land devoted exclusively to agricultural use" means any of the following:

(1) The failure of the owner of land devoted exclusively to agricultural use during the next preceding calendar year to file a renewal application under section 5713.31 of the Revised Code without good cause as determined by the board of revision;

(2) The failure of the new owner of such land to file an initial application under that section without good cause as determined by the board of revision;

(3) The failure of such land or portion thereof to qualify as land devoted exclusively to agricultural use for the current calendar year as requested by an application filed under such section;

(4) The failure of the owner of the land described in division (A)(3) or (4) of this section to act on such land in a manner that is consistent with the return of the land to agricultural production after three years.

The construction or installation of an energy facility, as defined in section 5727.01 of the Revised Code, on a portion of a tract, lot, or parcel of land devoted exclusively to agricultural use shall not cause the remaining portion of the tract, lot, or parcel to be regarded as a conversion of land devoted exclusively to agricultural use if the remaining portion of the tract, lot, or parcel continues to be devoted exclusively to agricultural use.

(C) "Tax savings" means the difference between the dollar amount of real property taxes levied in any year on land valued and assessed in accordance with its current agricultural use value and the dollar amount of real property taxes that would have been levied upon such land if it had been valued and assessed for such year in accordance with Section 2 of Article XII, Ohio Constitution.

(D) "Owner" includes, but is not limited to, any person owning a fee simple, fee tail, or life estate or a buyer on a land installment contract.

(E) "Conservation practices" are practices used to abate soil erosion as required in the management of the farming operation, and include, but are not limited to, the installation, construction, development, planting, or use of grass waterways, terraces, diversions, filter strips, field borders, windbreaks, riparian buffers, wetlands, ponds, and cover crops for that purpose.

(F) "Wetlands" has the same meaning as in section 6111.02 of the Revised Code.

(G) "Biodiesel" means a mono-alkyl ester combustible liquid fuel that is derived from vegetable oils or animal fats or any combination of those reagents and that meets the American society for testing and materials specification D6751-03a for biodiesel fuel (B100) blend stock distillate fuels.

(H) "Biologically derived methane gas" means gas from the anaerobic digestion of organic materials, including animal waste and agricultural crops and residues.

(I) "Biomass energy" means energy that is produced from organic material derived from plants or animals and available on a renewable basis, including, but not limited to, agricultural crops, tree crops, crop by-products, and residues.

(J) "Electric or heat energy" means electric or heat energy generated from manure, cornstalks, soybean waste, or other agricultural feedstocks.

(K) "Dredged material" means material that is excavated or dredged from waters of this state. "Dredged material" does not include material resulting from normal farming, silviculture, and ranching activities, such as plowing, cultivating, seeding, and harvesting, for production of food, fiber, and forest products.

(L) "Agritourism" has the same meaning as in section 901.80 of the Revised Code.

Section 5713.31 | County auditor to value land for real property tax purposes - application fee.

• Effective: November 2, 2018
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 34 - 132nd General Assembly

(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 used for a conservation practice or devoted to a land retirement or conservation program under an agreement with an agency of the federal government, 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 used for a conservation practice or devoted to a land retirement or conservation program under an agreement with an agency of the federal government 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.

Section 5713.32 | County auditor to notify applicant when land not devoted exclusively to agricultural use.

• Effective: November 2, 2018
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 34 - 132nd General Assembly

(A) Prior to the first Monday in October, the county auditor shall notify each person who filed an application or an amended application under section 5713.31 of the Revised Code and whose land the auditor determines is not land devoted exclusively to agricultural use, of the reason for such determination. 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 person, by ordinary mail and by that internet identifier of record. As used in this division, "internet identifier of record" has the same meaning as in section 9.312 of the Revised Code.

(B) A complaint against the auditor's determination may be made in the manner prescribed in section 5715.19 of the Revised Code.

Section 5713.33 | Agricultural land tax list - contents of list.

• Effective: September 29, 2017
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 49 - 132nd General Assembly

(A) The county auditor shall make and maintain an "agricultural land tax list," on forms prescribed by the tax commissioner, listing each tract, lot or parcel of land which has been valued for tax purposes as land devoted exclusively to agricultural use under section 5713.31 of the Revised Code, showing:

(1) The name of the owner;

(2) A description of the land;

(3) The current agricultural use value and taxable value of the land as land devoted exclusively to agricultural use, as provided by section 5713.31 of the Revised Code;

(4) The true value, and taxable value, of the land as determined in accordance with Section 2, Article XII, of the Ohio Constitution;

(5) The dollar amount of real property taxes levied against such land under section 319.30 of the Revised Code for the current tax year;

(6) The dollar amount of real property taxes which would have been levied against such land for the current tax year under section 319.30 of the Revised Code if it had been valued for tax purposes in accordance with Section 2, Article XII, of the Ohio Constitution;

(7) The dollar difference between the amounts shown in divisions (A)(5) and (6) of this section.

(B) Annually, upon determining the sums to be levied upon each tract and lot of real property under section 319.30 of the Revised Code, the county auditor shall enter upon the "agricultural land tax list" for each tract, lot or parcel of land valued under section 5713.31 of the Revised Code for the current tax year the appropriate figures for the current tax year, as required by this section.

(C) Annually, the tax commissioner shall make available electronically a report that aggregates, by taxing district, the information described in divisions (A)(3) and (4) of this section for all such land for the preceding tax year. The report shall be compiled in such a manner that the information can be indexed and sorted by county and by school district.

Section 5713.34 | Portion of tax savings on converted lands may be recouped.

• Effective: September 29, 2017
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 49 - 132nd General Assembly

(A)(1) Upon the conversion of all or any portion of a tract, lot, or parcel of land devoted exclusively to agricultural use a portion of the tax savings upon such converted land shall be recouped as provided for by Section 36, Article II, Ohio Constitution by levying a charge on such land in an amount equal to the amount of the tax savings on the converted land during the three tax years immediately preceding the year in which the conversion occurs. If the auditor discovers that agricultural land valued at the lowest valued soil type, pursuant to section 5713.31 of the Revised Code, because of its use for a conservation practice or devotion to a land retirement or conservation program ceases to be used or devoted to such purposes sooner than thirty-six months after the initial certification, the auditor shall levy a charge on such agricultural land in an amount equal to the reduction in taxes resulting from the land's valuation at the lowest valued soil type, rather than valuation at its actual soil type, in all preceding years the land was so valued, not to exceed the most recent three years. The charges levied under this section shall constitute a lien of the state upon such converted land as of the first day of January of the tax year in which the charge is levied and shall continue until discharged as provided by law.

(2) Upon the conversion of an adequately described portion of a tract, lot, or parcel of land, the county auditor shall divide any numbered permanent parcel into economic units and value each unit individually for the purpose of levying the charge under division (A)(1) of this section against only the converted portion.

(3) A charge shall not be levied under this section for the conversion of a portion of a tract, lot, or parcel of land devoted exclusively to agricultural use if the conversion is incident to the construction or installation of an energy facility, as defined in section 5727.01 of the Revised Code, and if the remaining portion of the tract, lot, or parcel continues to be devoted exclusively to agricultural use.

(B) Except as otherwise provided in division (C) or (D) of this section, a public entity that acquires by any means and converts land devoted exclusively to agricultural use and a private entity granted the power of eminent domain that acquires by any means and converts land devoted exclusively to agricultural use shall pay the charge levied by division (A) of this section and shall not, directly or indirectly, transfer the charge to the person from whom the land is acquired. A person injured by a violation of this division may recover, in a civil action, any damages resulting from the violation.

(C) The charge levied by division (A)(1) of this section does not apply to the conversion of land acquired by a public entity by means other than eminent domain and thereafter used exclusively for a public purpose that leaves the land principally undeveloped when either of the following conditions applies:

(1) In the case of land so acquired and converted by a park district created under Chapter 1545. of the Revised Code, the land is located within the boundaries of the park district.

(2) In the case of land so acquired and converted by a public entity other than a park district created under Chapter 1545. of the Revised Code, the land is located within the boundaries of any city, local, exempted village, or joint vocational school district that is wholly or partially located within the boundaries of the public entity that so acquired and converted the land.

If all or any portion of a tract, lot, or parcel of such land is later developed or otherwise converted to a purpose other than one of the purposes enumerated under division (E)(1) of this section, the charge levied by division (A)(1) of this section shall be levied against such developed or converted land as otherwise required by that division.

The county auditor of the county in which the land is located shall determine annually whether all or any portion of a tract, lot, or parcel of land formerly converted to a purpose enumerated under division (E)(1) of this section has been developed in such a way or converted to such a purpose as to require the charge levied by division (A)(1) of this section to be levied against the land so developed or converted.

(D) Division (B) of this section does not apply to a public entity that acquires by means other than eminent domain and converts land devoted exclusively to agricultural use to use for public, active or passive, outdoor education, recreation, or similar open space uses when either of the following conditions applies:

(1) In the case of land so acquired and converted by a park district created under Chapter 1545. of the Revised Code, the land is located outside the boundaries of the park district.

(2) In the case of land so acquired and converted by a public entity other than a park district created under Chapter 1545. of the Revised Code, the land is located outside the boundaries of any city, local, exempted village, or joint vocational school district that is wholly or partially located within the boundaries of the public entity that so acquired and converted the land.

(E) As used in divisions (C) and (D) of this section:

(1) "Principally undeveloped" means a parcel of real property that is used for public, active or passive, outdoor education, recreation, or similar open space uses and contains only the structures, roadways, and other facilities that are necessary for such uses.

(2) "Public entity" means any political subdivision of this state or any agency or instrumentality of a political subdivision.

Section 5713.35 | Conversion of land on agricultural land tax list - determination of charges.

• Effective: September 21, 1982
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 379 - 114th General Assembly

On or before the second Monday in September the county auditor shall examine the agricultural land tax list maintained under section 5713.33 of the Revised Code and determine if there has been a conversion of land devoted exclusively to agricultural use of any tract, lot, or parcel of land on such list.

Upon determining there has been a conversion of land devoted exclusively to agricultural use the auditor shall determine the dollar amount of the charge levied against such tract, lot or parcel of land under section 5713.34 of the Revised Code and shall place such amount as a separate item on the tax list for the current tax year to be collected by the county treasurer in the same manner and at the same time as real property taxes levied against such land for the current calendar year are collected. Upon the collection of any charge made under this section and any penalties and interest arising thereon, the auditor, after deducting all fees allowed on the collection of moneys on the tax list and duplicate, shall distribute the full amount thereof among the taxing districts in which the lands against which such amounts have been charged are located in proportion to the per cent of the total real property taxes levied upon such lands in the preceding tax year by each such subdivision. Money distributed to a subdivision under this section shall be allocated among and paid into its various funds in the same proportion that the real property taxes levied during the preceding tax year that are required to be paid into each fund bear to the total real property taxes levied during such year.

Section 5713.351 | Failure to file an initial or renewal application.

• Effective: March 27, 2020
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 197 - 133rd General Assembly

If the county auditor has determined under section 5713.35 of the Revised Code that a conversion of land has occurred with respect to any tract, lot, or parcel on the agricultural land tax list because of a failure to file an initial or renewal application, and if the auditor, upon application of the owner and payment by the owner of a twenty-five-dollar fee, finds that the land would be land devoted exclusively to agricultural use for the current year if the board of revision finds the failure arose for good cause, the owner may file a complaint against that determination with the board as provided in section 5715.19 of the Revised Code on the grounds that the tract, lot, or parcel is land devoted exclusively to agricultural use because there was good cause for the owner's failure to file an initial or renewal application. If the board finds that there was such good cause, the application under this section shall be considered an application that was properly filed under section 5713.31 of the Revised Code.

Section 5713.36 | Application for valuation of land.

• Effective: September 9, 1988
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 618 - 117th General Assembly

On or before the fifteenth of January of each year, the county auditor shall mail to each current owner of land that was valued as land devoted exclusively to agricultural use during the next preceding calendar year, an application for the valuation of such land as land devoted exclusively to an agricultural use for the current calendar year.

Section 5713.37 | Prohibited act.

• Effective: July 26, 1974
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 423 - 110th General Assembly

No person shall knowingly give any false information in an application filed under section 5713.31 of the Revised Code.

Section 5713.38 | Application for change of valuation of land.

• Effective: November 26, 1975
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 651 - 111th General Assembly

Notwithstanding section 5713.31 of the Revised Code, in any year in which the county auditor has not advertised the completion of his reappraisal or equalization or notified the owner of agricultural land of a change in the valuation of such land prior to the date on which the owner may file an application requesting the auditor to value the land for real property tax purposes at the current value such land has for agricultural use, and there is an increase in such valuation in that year, the owner may file such application for that tax year at any time prior to the first Monday in March of the following calendar year. When filed, such application shall be considered a properly filed application for such valuation on the basis of agricultural use and, if the auditor determines such land otherwise qualifies for such valuation, the auditor shall determine the value such land has for agricultural use. If the agricultural use valuation is less than the valuation used by the auditor to determine the taxable value of such land for the tax year for which the application is filed, he shall proceed as if the valuation had been reduced by the board of revision pursuant to section 5715.19 of the Revised Code.

Any real property taxes paid by the owner based on the higher valuation, in excess of the property taxes that would have been due and payable had the land been valued on the basis of its agricultural use, shall be treated as an overpayment of real property taxes in the manner prescribed by section 5715.22 of the Revised Code.

Section 5713.99 | Penalty.

• Effective: July 26, 1974
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 423 - 110th General Assembly

Whoever violates section 5713.37 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.