Farm Property Class Tax Rate Program

Minimize Your Property Taxes

As a farmland owner in Ontario, you may be eligible to apply for a property tax reduction through the Farm

Property Class Tax Rate Program.

As an eligible applicant under the program:

Your farm residence and one acre of surrounding land will be taxed at your municipality's residential

How to apply

Keep us informed

Annual gross farm income exemptions

Confirm your assessment

Property transfers

For more information

Are you eligible?

To be eligible to apply, you must be able to answer "yes" to the following questions:

Do you own farmland?

Your property is assessed as farmland by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC).

The farming business must have either a valid Farm Business Registration (FBR) number issued under the

Farm Registration and Farm Organizations Funding Act, 1993 (FBR number is 6-7 digits) or a religious

exemption from the Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal (AFRAAT). This requirement does not

apply if you have an annual gross farm income exemption.

How do I get a Farm Business Registration number?

You can apply for a FBR number through Agricorp. In order to qualify, your gross farming income filed with

CRA in the previous income tax year must be at least $7,000.

Are the farmland owners Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada or a

corporation?

for other ownership types can be found in the Assessment Act O.Reg.282/98 8.(2)3.

How to apply

Please fill out the sections on the application which apply to you, and return it to the Ministry of Agriculture,

Food and Rural Affairs by the due date specified on the form. For ministry contact information, see For More

Information.

Section A: Non-eligible section

Complete Section A if you do not qualify for the program and do not wish to receive future mailings regarding

the program. If you do not apply for the program, your property will be taxed at the residential rate. If you

wish to apply for the program, leave Section A blank.

Section B: Citizenship and Contact Information

For each roll number, indicate whether the piece of land is farmed by you or by a tenant or both.

If the property is farmed by a tenant who gives you part of the crop as rent (sharecropping), check

both the "Farmed by self" and "Farmed by tenant" boxes.

Please provide a Farm Business Registration number (6-7 digits), as issued under the Farm

Registration and Farm Organizations Funding Act, 1993, for each individual or company farming the

property. FBR numbers are issued by Agricorp.

Section D: Tenant Information

If you have a tenant farmer or sharecropper, please ask them to fill out and sign Section D.

If you have more than one tenant or sharecropper, photocopy Section D for each and have them

complete and sign it.

application and provide it to the ministry by the due date.

For details on exemptions, see Annual gross farm income exemptions.

The ministry will review the information you submit. If necessary, you may be asked to submit a new

application or additional documentation.

If you, your tenant, or your corporation have been granted an exemption by the Agriculture, Food and

Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal (AFRAAT) from obtaining a Farm Business Registration number or from

paying the registration fee based on religious convictions or beliefs, attach a copy of the exemption

letter obtained from AFRAAT.

If the exemption is for your tenant, please ask them to fill out and sign the declaration in section D.

You are responsible for letting the ministry know about any changes that affect your eligibility. These include:

Changes to your contact information

Changes in your rental arrangements (i.e. a new tenant farmer)

Changes in the structure of the farming business (i.e. a new partnership or incorporation)

Changes that affect your FBR number (i.e. a decrease in gross farming income to less than $7,000 per

year) or an exemption status.

Note: Without a valid FBR number or an appropriate exemption, your property is not eligible under

the program

Any other circumstances that affect your participation in the program

You are responsible for making sure that any farm business on your property has a valid FBR number or an

informs the ministry of a change in property ownership.

If you bought or sold farmland, see Property Transfers.

Annual gross farm income exemptions

If you or your tenant cannot obtain a FBR number because the annual gross income of the farming business

was less than $7,000 in the previous income tax year, you may still be eligible for the program if one of the

following exemptions applies:

Start-up Exemption

If you or your tenant are starting a farm operation and have not yet met the requirement of an annual gross

farming income of $7,000, you may apply for an exemption. You must clearly demonstrate that the property is

being farmed and how the farming business will have an annual gross income of at least $7,000 in future