Wisconsin Farmland Preservation Program Tax Credits

A Wisconsin income-tax credit for owners of farmland located in a certified farmland-preservation zoning district and/or covered by an effective farmland-preservation agreement, who meet soil-and-water conservation standards.

Farmland owners in a certified farmland-preservation zoning district and/or effective preservation agreement who meet soil-and-water conservation standards and $6,000+ gross farm revenue per year (or $18,000 over three years). Requires a county Certificate of Compliance.

$10/acre (zoning district only, or an agreement within an agricultural enterprise area) or $12.50/acre (both a zoning district and an agreement). Claimed as an income-tax credit.

There is no grant application. You claim this credit yourself on your Wisconsin income tax return — but you have to get one document from your county first, and there is no application round at all.

Step 1 — get a Certificate of Compliance from your county. "Landowners who are new to the program or need to obtain a copy of their Certificate of Compliance must contact the county land conservation department in the county their farmland is located." The certificate is issued by the county land conservation committee and shows you meet the state's soil and water conservation standards. "If you have not yet received a certificate of compliance, you must contact your county land conservation department to schedule a time to discuss your farm's compliance status." Find your county office through the County Conservation Department Directory at https://wisconsinlandwater.org/members-hub/members. While you are at it, "Contact your town or county zoning office to confirm eligible zoning."

Step 2 — file the right schedule with your income tax return. "Nearly all eligible landowners will need to submit Schedule FC-A when filing the tax credit claim. The only exception is for landowners with a farmland preservation agreement entered into prior to July 1, 2009 that has not been modified. These landowners must continue to use Schedule FC." If you hold a pre-July-2009 agreement and would rather claim the per-acre credit, you can modify the agreement instead — see https://datcp.wi.gov/Pages/Programs\_Services/ModifyFPAgreement.aspx.

Step 3 — attach the certificate the first time, and again if your acreage changes. "If you are claiming the credit for the first time, or the number of acres on which the claim is based has changed, you will need to submit a copy of the certificate of compliance with your income tax return."

You no longer attach a zoning certificate — but keep your zoning office's number handy, because the state may come back and ask. DATCP's guide puts it this way: "No. The law no longer requires landowners to submit a zoning certificate. In some instances, the Department of Revenue may follow up with claimants to certify that the number of acres listed on Schedule FC-A are eligible for the tax credit. In these instances, the landowner should work with the county or town zoning office to obtain documentation showing that the acres are eligible for the credit. Acceptable documentation could include a letter from the appropriate zoning administrator."

Timing: no deadline round and no application window — you claim it annually with your Wisconsin income tax return, so your deadline is your tax filing deadline. Two conditions get checked for the year you claim: "Have the previous year's property taxes been paid?" and the gross farm revenue test — "Did my land produce $6,000 in gross farm revenue during the previous year or $18,000 in gross farm revenues during the previous three years?"

Guides worth reading before you file: DATCP's "Claiming the Farmland Preservation Tax Credit with Schedule FC-A" (https://datcp.wi.gov/Documents/HowtoClaimFPFCA.pdf), which lays out the steps above, and Wisconsin Department of Revenue Publication 503, "Wisconsin Farmland Preservation Credit For Use in Preparing Claims" (https://www.revenue.wi.gov/DOR%20Publications/pb503.pdf).

Who to ask: DATCP's Working Lands staff — Wednesday Coye (608) 224-4611, Katy Smith (608) 224-4621, DATCPWorkingLands@wi.gov. For the tax mechanics, "contact DATCP at (608) 224-4611 or the Wisconsin Department of Revenue at (608) 266-2442."