480-a Enrollment Incentive
480-a, the New York Forest Tax Law, is a property tax reduction program for those owning at least 50 wooded acres. You can get up to an 80% reduction in your taxes if you commit to 10 or more years of timber management.
Woodland owners in the New York City Watershed can get funding from the Watershed Agricultural Council to help them enroll in 480-a. The funding helps pay for your property’s management plan, which 480-a requires you to have.

To find out if your property is in the NYC Watershed, please contact our office at 607-865-7790.

Already in 480-a? You can receive payment from WAC for updating your management plan if your land is in the NYC Watershed. Check out our 480-a Update Incentive to find out how.

To start your 480-a enrollment, do the following:

  1. Complete an application for WAC funding for your 480-a management plan and send it to us.
  2. Contact a Watershed Qualified Forester who can write your management plan.
  3. Work with your forester to create your plan and submit all required applications and documents to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
  4. Once you’ve enrolled in 480-a, send WAC a copy of your 480-a certificate of approval, management plan, and work schedule. WAC will send you a check for your cost-share amount within 30 days.