DeKalb County Assessor of Property Shannon Cantrell reminds you that March 1 is an important date for business owners and applicants of the Greenbelt Program.

“March 1 is the deadline for personal property schedules. Anyone who owns a business needs to have those turned in by March 1. If you do not turn one in at all or it is not turned in by March 1, there are penalties after that deadline. We want you to avoid those penalties if possible,” said Assessor Cantrell.

“March 1 is also the deadline for Greenbelt applications. If you do not have your form turned in by March 1, you will not be able to qualify for the savings for the 2021 tax year,” said Cantrell.
“If you are already enrolled in the Greenbelt program, you do not have to reapply. However, if you have purchased property, added acreage to your farm, or had a name change within the last year and seek to enroll in the Greenbelt program, you need to apply by March 1 in order to get the 2021 savings. In addition to not receiving the 2021 savings, there would be a rollback tax that would apply as well. A rollback tax is the savings received on the property for the previous three years,” Cantrell said.

“Basic requirements for the Greenbelt application are that you must own a minimum of fifteen acres and be actively farming a minimum of fifteen acres and are able to produce some kind of agriculture product to the gross amount of $1,500 per year. Also, if you own fifteen acres and you do not have an agriculture product, your land may qualify under forestry. Requirements under the forestry program include a forestry plan written for the property.”