Vermont’s Use Value Appraisal Program—commonly known as the Current Use Program—has been a central part of the state’s land management approach for more than four decades. The program is designed to reduce the property tax burden on agricultural and forest land by assessing it based on its productive use rather than its full market value. As enrollment continues to expand and out-of-state ownership of large parcels increases, questions are emerging about how the program intersects with private posting rights, public access, and statewide tax impacts.

Overview of the Current Use Program

Created in 1978, the program was intended to slow the conversion of farmland and forestland into development. Under Current Use, enrolled land is taxed at its “use value,” determined annually by the state, instead of its fair market value. This generally results in significantly lower property taxes for landowners. The program applies only to qualifying agricultural acreage and managed forestland. Structures, housesites, and other developed areas remain taxed at full value.

Enrollment Requirements and Obligations

To enroll forestland, owners must maintain an approved forest management plan outlining long-term stewardship practices, including periodic harvesting. Agricultural land must meet criteria for active farm use. Once enrolled, land must remain in productive use or risk triggering a Land Use Change Tax if it is developed or removed from the program. The tax is based on a percentage of the land’s fair market value at the time of change.

A notable feature of Current Use is that enrollment attaches to the land rather than to the individual owner. When an enrolled parcel is sold, the program does not automatically end. Instead, the new owner inherits both the reduced assessment and the associated obligations. The buyer may keep the land in the program by filing transfer paperwork and agreeing to the existing management plan. If the buyer withdraws the land or changes its use, the buyer—not the seller—is responsible for any resulting penalties.

Statewide and Local Tax Implications

Current Use plays a significant role in Vermont’s broader property tax system. State reports estimate that the difference between fair-market and use-value assessments results in approximately $70 to $80 million in foregone property tax revenue each year. This revenue is not eliminated; it is absorbed by the statewide education tax system and distributed across all other taxable properties.

About $55 million of that is reduced non-homestead Education Fund revenue; the municipal share is covered through state ‘hold harmless’ payments from the General Fund, rather than directly raising local municipal tax rates.

At the municipal level, the impact varies. Towns are required to raise the same total education liability regardless of how much land is enrolled in Current Use. In municipalities where a large share of acreage—sometimes more than half—is enrolled, the remaining fully taxable properties carry a proportionally larger share of the tax burden. This typically includes homestead parcels, commercial property, and small businesses.

Because enrollment attaches to the land rather than to the owner, and because land rarely leaves the program once enrolled, these tax-shifting patterns tend to persist over long periods. The statewide benefits and local tradeoffs of Current Use continue to be part of discussions about land use, taxation, and fiscal equity in Vermont.

Posting Rights and Their Relationship to Current Use

At the same time, Vermont law allows private landowners to post their property against hunting, fishing, trapping, or general public entry. Posting may occur for any reason and does not affect eligibility for Current Use. A landowner who receives the program’s tax reduction may, under current law, restrict all forms of public access.

This intersection—publicly subsidized tax reductions and full private posting rights—has become the center of an emerging policy question. The issue is not new, but rising land values and accelerated out-of-state purchases of large forest parcels have brought it into wider discussion.

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Out-of-State Ownership Trends

Data from the Department of Taxes show that Current Use now includes approximately 2.6 million acres, nearly half of Vermont’s private land base. Enrollment has grown steadily over time, and land once enrolled rarely leaves the program. For some buyers, including non-resident owners, Current Use reduces the carrying costs associated with large parcels. In certain cases, the program makes ownership possible where it might otherwise not be financially feasible.

At the same time, posting rates have increased in many regions. Hunters, outdoor recreation users, and some municipalities have raised questions about whether publicly supported tax reductions should be connected in any way to public access. While Vermont’s laws have long upheld private property rights, the combination of reduced assessments and restricted access has drawn attention as land availability shifts and the state considers future conservation and land-use goals.

Existing Policy Precedent for Access-Linked Privileges

Existing statutes provide one example of linking access to privileges. Under Vermont’s hunting regulations, Act 78 of 2013 granted landowners with 25 or more contiguous acres a guaranteed antlerless deer permit—but only if the land was not posted, except for designated safety zones. Posting the property removed that privilege. The rule does not apply to Current Use, but it illustrates a policy mechanism that ties access conditions to regulatory benefits.

A Question for Vermont’s Future Land Policy

As Vermont evaluates land-use policy in the context of housing shortages, conservation targets, and changing ownership patterns, questions about the relationship between tax incentives and public access have taken on renewed relevance. Some stakeholders have asked whether Current Use should remain fully independent of posting decisions, whether public access should be encouraged as a condition of enrollment, or whether any such change would conflict with long-standing expectations about private property rights.

The Current Use Program remains widely used and broadly supported for its role in maintaining working landscapes. Any potential change to the program’s structure or requirements would involve substantial legal, economic, and administrative considerations. The question now arising is not whether the program should continue but whether its intersection with posting practices warrants review.

As discussions continue, the central question is becoming more visible:

Should enrollment in a publicly supported tax program carry any expectations related to public access, or should Vermont maintain the current model in which landowners receive reduced assessments regardless of posting status?

The answer remains unresolved, but the issue is gaining prominence within ongoing conversations about land use, taxation, and public access across the state.

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Dave Soulia | FYIVT

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