Changes to CAUV Could Come in the New Year

By Peggy Kirk Hall

The Ohio General Assembly wrapped up its legislative session for the year last week, with much of the late-session energy given to property tax relief.  The legislature focused on strategies for reducing Ohio property taxes in five bills it just sent to the Governor (see our earlier post).  None of the bills addressed farmland taxation, however.  But a bill the legislature might consider when it returns in 2026 does propose changes to Ohio’s Current Agricultural Use Valuation (CAUV) Program for farmland property taxes.  H.B. 575, introduced by Rep. David Thomas (R-Jefferson) and Bob Peterson (R-Sabina) proposes a number of revisions to the CAUV program.

H.B. 575 doesn’t propose reductions to CAUV taxes, however.  Instead, the bill contains changes to how the CAUV program works.  The bill is consistent with plans in Ohio’s House for continuing to address property taxes.  Rep. Bill Roemer (R-Richfield), chair of the House Ways and Means Committee where H.B. 575 now sits, stated that the five recently passed bills represented most of the “big structural changes” to property taxation and that the legislature’s future focus will be on “fairness and efficiency.”  Sponsor Rep. Thomas agreed, stating that “the changes that need to happen now are about the process, helping taxpayers through the process and transparency.”  Process and transparency are two themes in H.B. 575’s revisions.  Here’s what the bill proposes to change about Ohio’s CAUV program.