PROP TX-FARMLAND VALUATION

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB4204

Introduced 5/13/2026, by Sen. Mark L. Walker

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

35 ILCS 200/10-115
35 ILCS 200/10-125
35 ILCS 200/10-135
35 ILCS 200/10-145
35 ILCS 200/10-150
35 ILCS 200/10-152

Amends the Property Tax Code. Makes changes concerning certifications
by the Department of Revenue for the purpose of establishing guidelines
and valuations for farmland. Provides that cropland, permanent pasture,
and other farmland shall be defined according to guidelines issued by the
Department of Revenue (currently, U.S. Census Bureau definitions). Makes
changes concerning equalization factors applied to farmland property. In
provisions concerning property under a forestry management plan, provides
that the Department of Natural Resources shall inform the Department of
Revenue of each parcel of land covered by an approved forestry management
plan, and the Department of Revenue shall notify each chief county
assessment officer of each parcel of land covered by an approved forestry
management plan (currently, the Department of Natural Resources notifies
the Department of Revenue and each chief county assessment officer).
Effective immediately.
LRB104 21867 HLH 37695 b

A BILL FOR

SB4204
LRB104 21867 HLH 37695 b
1

AN ACT concerning revenue.

2

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3
represented in the General Assembly:

4

Section 5.
The Property Tax Code is amended by changing
5
Sections 10-115, 10-125, 10-135, 10-145, 10-150, and 10-152 as
6
follows:

7

(35 ILCS 200/10-115)
8

Sec. 10-115.
Department guidelines and valuations for
9
farmland.
The Department shall issue guidelines and
10
recommendations for the valuation of farmland to achieve
11
equitable assessment within and between counties.
12

The Director of Revenue shall appoint a five-person
13
Farmland Assessment Technical Advisory Board, consisting of
14
technical experts from the colleges or schools of agriculture
15
of the State universities and State and federal agricultural
16
agencies, to advise in and provide data and technical
17
information needed for implementation of this Section.
18

By May 1 of each year, the Department shall certify to each
19
chief county assessment officer the following, calculated from
20
data provided by the Farmland
Assessment
Technical Advisory
21
Board, on a per acre basis by soil productivity index for
22
harvested cropland, using moving averages
based upon

for
the
23
most recent 5-year period for which data are available:

SB4204
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LRB104 21867 HLH 37695 b
1

(a) gross income, estimated
by
using
annual
yields per
2

acre
,
as assigned to soil productivity indices
for the
3

major crops grown in this State
,
the crop mix
for each soil
4

productivity index as determined by
a Farmland Assessment
5

Technical Advisory Board representative from the
6

Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics in the
7

College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental
8

Sciences at

the College of Agriculture of
the University
9

of Illinois
,
and
annual
average prices received by farmers
10

for principal crops
from associated publicly reported data

11

as published by the Illinois Crop Reporting Service
;

12

(b)
non-land
production costs
for each soil
13

productivity index as calculated by the Department of
14

Agricultural and Consumer Economics in

, other than land
15

costs, provided by
the College of
Agricultural, Consumer,
16

and Environmental Sciences at

Agriculture of
the
17

University of Illinois;

18

(c) net return to land
, for each soil productivity
19

index, which is calculated by subtracting non-land
20

production costs from estimated gross income;

, which
21

shall be the difference between (a) and (b) above;

22

(d)
a proposed
agricultural economic value
(AEV)

23

determined by dividing the net return to land by
a
24

farmland income capitalization rate, which shall be
25

determined based on the calculation year rate under
26

Section 2032A of the Internal Revenue Code, or its analog

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LRB104 21867 HLH 37695 b
1

in cases when the rate is not published by the Farm Credit
2

Bank district that contains Illinois, plus 3%; except
3

that, in cases when that calculated rate exceeds 10%, the
4

income capitalization rate will be 10%; and, in cases when
5

that calculated rate falls below 8%, the income
6

capitalization rate will equal 8%

the moving average of
7

the Federal Land Bank farmland mortgage interest rate as
8

calculated by the Department
;

9

(e)
the
equalized assessed value per acre of farmland
10

for each soil productivity index, which shall be 33-1/3%
11

of the agricultural economic value, or the percentage as
12

provided under Section 17-5; but any increase or decrease
13

in the equalized assessed value per acre by soil
14

productivity index shall not exceed 10% from the immediate
15

preceding year's soil productivity index certified
16

assessed value of the median cropped soil;
in tax year
17

2015 only, that 10% limitation shall be reduced by $5 per
18

acre;

19

(f) a proposed average equalized assessed value per
20

acre of cropland for each individual county, weighted by
21

the distribution of soils by productivity index in the
22

county; and

23

(g) a proposed average equalized assessed value per
24

acre for all farmland in each county, weighted (i) to
25

consider the proportions of all farmland acres in the
26

county which are cropland, permanent pasture, and other

SB4204
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LRB104 21867 HLH 37695 b
1

farmland, and (ii) to reflect the valuations for those
2

types of land and debasements for slope and erosion as
3

required by Section 10-125.
4
(Source: P.A. 98-109, eff. 7-25-13.)

5

(35 ILCS 200/10-125)
6

Sec. 10-125.
Assessment level by type of farmland.
7
Cropland, permanent pasture
,
and other farmland shall be
8
defined according to
guidelines issued by the Department of
9
Revenue

U.S. Census Bureau definitions
in use during that
10
assessment year and assessed in the following way:

11

(a) Cropland shall be assessed in accordance with the
12

equalized assessed value of its soil productivity index as
13

certified by the Department and shall be debased to take
14

into account factors including, but not limited to, slope,
15

drainage, ponding, flooding, and field size and shape.

16

(b) Permanent pasture shall be assessed at 1/3 of its
17

debased productivity index equalized assessed value as
18

cropland.

19

(c) Other farmland shall be assessed at 1/6 of its
20

debased productivity index equalized assessed value as
21

cropland.

22

(d) Wasteland shall be assessed on its contributory
23

value to the farmland parcel.
24

In no case shall the equalized assessed value of permanent
25
pasture be below 1/3, nor the equalized assessed value of

SB4204
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LRB104 21867 HLH 37695 b
1
other farmland, except wasteland, be below 1/6, of the
2
equalized assessed value per acre of cropland of the lowest
3
productivity index certified under Section 10-115.
4
(Source: P.A. 86-954; 88-455.)

5

(35 ILCS 200/10-135)
6

Sec. 10-135.
Farmland not subject to equalization.
The
7
assessed valuation of farmland assessed under Sections 10-110
8
through 10-130 shall not be subject to equalization by means
9
of State equalization factors.
Equalization factors applied by
10
a chief county assessment officer or a Board of Review under
11
Sections 9-205 and 16-60 shall be applied to assessments of
12
farmland only to achieve assessments as required by Sections
13
10-110 through 10-130.
14
(Source: P.A. 92-301, eff. 1-1-02.)

15

(35 ILCS 200/10-145)
16

Sec. 10-145.
Farm dwellings.
Each farm dwelling and
17
appurtenant structures and the tract upon which they are
18
immediately situated shall be assessed by the local assessing
19
officials at 33 1/3% of fair cash value except that in counties
20
that classify property for purposes of taxation in accordance
21
with Section 4 of Article IX of the Constitution they shall be
22
assessed at the percentage of fair cash value as required by
23
county ordinance. That assessment shall be subject to
24
equalization by the Department under Sections 17-5 through

SB4204
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LRB104 21867 HLH 37695 b
1
17-30
and local equalization applied under Sections 9-205 and
2
16-60
.
3
(Source: P.A. 82-554; 88-455.)

4

(35 ILCS 200/10-150)
5

Sec. 10-150.
Property under forestry management plan.
In
6
counties with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, any land being
7
managed under a forestry management plan accepted by the
8
Department of Natural Resources under the Illinois Forestry
9
Development Act shall be considered as "other farmland" and
10
shall be valued at 1/6 of its productivity index equalized
11
assessed value as cropland. In counties with more than
12
3,000,000 inhabitants, any land
totaling

totalling
15 acres or
13
less for which an approved forestry management plan was in
14
effect on or before December 31, 1985, shall be considered
15
"other farmland". The Department of Natural Resources shall
16
inform the Department
and each chief county assessment officer

17
of each parcel of land covered by an approved forestry
18
management plan
, and the Department shall notify each chief
19
county assessment officer of each parcel of land covered by an
20
approved forestry management plan
.
21
(Source: P.A. 88-455; 89-445, eff. 2-7-96.)

22

(35 ILCS 200/10-152)
23

(Section scheduled to be repealed on December 31, 2026)
24

Sec. 10-152.
Vegetative filter strip assessment.

SB4204
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LRB104 21867 HLH 37695 b
1

(a) In counties with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, any
2
land (i) that is located between a farm field and an area to be
3
protected, including but not limited to surface water, a
4
stream, a river, or a sinkhole and (ii) that meets the
5
requirements of subsection (b) of this Section shall be
6
considered a "vegetative filter strip" and valued at 1/6th of
7
its productivity index equalized assessed value as cropland.
8
In counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, the land shall
9
be valued at the lesser of either (i) 16% of the fair cash
10
value of the farmland estimated at the price it would bring at
11
a fair, voluntary sale for use by the buyer as a farm as
12
defined in Section 1-60 or (ii) 90% of the 1983 average
13
equalized assessed value per acre certified by the Department
14
of Revenue.
15

(b) Vegetative filter strips shall meet the standards and
16
specifications set forth in the Natural Resources Conservation
17
Service Technical Guide and shall contain vegetation that (i)
18
has a dense top growth; (ii) forms a uniform ground cover;
19
(iii) has a heavy fibrous root system; and (iv) tolerates
20
pesticides used in the farm field.
21

(c) The county's soil and water conservation district
22
shall assist the taxpayer in completing a uniform certified
23
document
as prescribed by the Department of Revenue
in
24
cooperation with the Association of Illinois Soil and Water
25
Conservation Districts that certifies (i) that the property
26
meets the requirements established under this Section for

SB4204
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LRB104 21867 HLH 37695 b
1
vegetative filter strips and (ii) the acreage or square
2
footage of property that qualifies for assessment as a
3
vegetative filter strip. The document shall be filed by the
4
applicant with the Chief County Assessment Officer. The Chief
5
County Assessment Officer shall promulgate rules concerning
6
the filing of the document. The soil and water conservation
7
district shall create a conservation plan for the creation of
8
the filter strip. The plan shall be kept on file in the soil
9
and water conservation district office. Nothing in this
10
Section shall be construed to require any taxpayer to have
11
vegetative filter strips.
12

(d) A joint report by the Department of Agriculture and
13
the Department of Natural Resources concerning the effect and
14
impact of vegetative filter strip assessment shall be
15
submitted to the General Assembly by March 1, 2006.
16

(e)
(Blank).

This Section is repealed on December 31,
17
2026.
18
(Source: P.A. 99-560, eff. 1-1-17; 99-916, eff. 12-30-16.)

19

Section 99.
Effective date.
This Act takes effect upon
20
becoming law.

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