SB 898 West Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Relating to valuation of farm property

SB 898 modifies how certain agricultural buildings on qualified farmland are taxed. Beginning January 1, 2027, these buildings (like barns, silos, and chicken houses) will be assessed at their salvage value for property tax purposes. Starting January 1, 2029, such buildings will no longer be included in property tax assessments at all. The bill directly affects farmers who own qualifying agricultural structures, reducing their property tax burden over time. This change applies only to buildings used solely for agricultural production or storage, not to residential or commercial properties.

Issues: ✓ Budget & Taxes

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 10, 2026 Last action Feb 25, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Version → Committee Substitute · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to expand its scope by adding a new co-sponsor and updating the legislative history. The core policy change involves shifting the statutory citation from the general real property article to a specific farm property article. The substantive provisions regarding the valuation of agricultural buildings at salvage value and their eventual removal from tax rolls remain consistent in intent, though the specific dates (2027 and 2029) and the definition of salvage value are now embedded within the new farm property article.

Scope change

The bill's scope was technically narrowed and clarified by moving from a general real property assessment article to a dedicated farm property article, while adding a definition of who qualifies as a farmer.

ELIGIBILITY

Added a specific definition stating that a person is not engaged in farming if they are primarily engaged in forestry or growing timber, and clarified rules for corporate farming entities.

TECHNICAL

Changed the statutory citation from Article 4 (Assessment of Real Property) to Article 1A (Appraisal of Property) and updated the section number from 11-4-10 to 11-1A-10.

TIMELINE

Replaced the detailed introductory text about the bill's purpose with a concise note, while retaining the effective dates of January 1, 2027, for salvage valuation and January 1, 2029, for tax removal.

DEFINITION

Added a specific definition of 'salvage value' as the lower of fair market salvage value or five percent of the original cost of the property.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 25, 2026

Committee

To Finance

upper

Feb 25, 2026

Committee

Committee substitute reported, but first to Finance

upper

Feb 10, 2026

Committee

To Agriculture

upper

Feb 10, 2026

Introduced

Introduced in Senate

upper

Feb 10, 2026

Committee

To Agriculture then Finance

upper

1 primary · 2 co-sponsors