Does NH or any other state tax your coop?

[NottinghamChicks]

I was wondering if anyone has experienced a tax on their coops. I know my town in the great state of NH will tax your shed but curious if when they come around to assess if they will tax my coops the same.

Do farmers get taxed on their coops or barns? I would think because you are raising food for yourself that is is exempt. Whay are some of your experiences and where do you reside?

 

[GardenerGal]

My county's poultry inspector (in Mass.) told me that there is a tax on poultry in my city, but that it is a very old law that no one remembers or just doesn't bother about it. Whew.

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

I get taxed on every free standing building on the property. That's why I add-on instead of build a separate building.

 

[NottinghamChicks]

Quote:
But does the state tax you for your coop as an out building on your tax bill? I have not been reassesed yet so they do not have my two coops listed at town hall or taxed, but I am told that they will show up as taxable when they catch up with us. I hope they don't tax my coops and my poultry. We do pay to license our dogs, but that is to assure compliance with the state law for rabies vaccinations. I hope they don't start collecting for each chicken also

 

[Tala]

Most people "get around" the outbuilding tax by having "portable" sheds. For example the ones on skids that can be delivered to your house on a truck. Other places have different rules. In some cases it's not a taxable building if it doesn't have electricity to it, for example. It varies.

My "coop" is basically an "animal pen" with a roof on it, like a dog kennel. If they are gonna start taxing me on it, they haven't told me yet

but I don't think it qualifies as a building under local code, so I feel pretty confident about it. It is a smart thing to think of, BEFORE you build your coop, you know in case you should go for the "portable" route

 

[GardenerGal]

Quote:
But does the state tax you for your coop as an out building on your tax bill? I have not been reassesed yet so they do not have my two coops listed at town hall or taxed, but I am told that they will show up as taxable when they catch up with us. I hope they don't tax my coops and my poultry. We do pay to license our dogs, but that is to assure compliance with the state law for rabies vaccinations. I hope they don't start collecting for each chicken also

Massachusetts doesn't have a coop tax, but individual towns and cities can impose an excise tax (like for a car). When I had a horse, I had to pay an excise tax on it in the town where it was stabled!

While Googling for information, I came across a site that says that in Erie County, PA you can get around their county coop tax by making it a "temporary" structure, meaning it doesn't have a permanent foundation. He puts his coops up on trusses (you could use cinderblock). Here's a link so you can look at photos of coops on trusses (scroll down):

http://www.fredsfinefowl.com/basiccoop.html

I like Tala's portable "animal pen" approach.

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Taxed by roof square footage here. So anything under a roof gets taxed in our county. It's very low here in the country though, so I don't worry much about it.