Indiana assessors price land using the DLGF's 2021 Real Property Assessment Guidelines, Chapter 2. That means one of five unit methods (front foot, square foot, acreage, site value, or unit density), adjusted by influence factors for things like shape, topography, and restrictions on use. Land inside a public road right-of-way can't be assessed to the adjoining owner (IC 6-1.1-4-14). On farm parcels, the road strip is subtracted from the parcel's acreage.
Wrong acreage is an error in the property's description. You can raise it on a Form 130 up to three years after the taxes were first due (IC 6-1.1-15-1.1(b)). Arguing that an easement lowers your land's value is a valuation claim, and the June 15 deadline applies.
The Three Pricing Methods on Your Record Card
Assessors pick the method local buyers use to compare land:
- Front foot. This is the usual method for platted lots and downtown commercial strips, where sale price divided by frontage comes out about the same across similar parcels. The record card shows actual frontage, effective frontage, effective depth, and a depth factor.
- Square foot. This method applies when sale price divided by area is what stays consistent, for example when deeper lots with the same frontage sell for proportionally more.
- Acreage. This method is for uses that need a lot of land: rural homesites, excess acreage, commercial and industrial land, and irregular lots that are too awkward to size. On residential acreage, the homesite (type 9) and excess acres (type 91) are priced at separate rates.
Farmland is valued separately, by soil productivity against the statewide base rate. See the farmland base rate guide and our vacant land guide.
Legal, Deeded, and GIS Acreage Are Not the Same Number
Your parcel can carry three different acreage figures:
- Legal or deeded acreage comes from the recorded deed or plat. Chapter 2 says the best way to find a parcel's dimensions is to "read the deed or inspect a survey of the property."
- GIS acreage is calculated from the parcel polygon on the county tax map, which the auditor (or surveyor, by ordinance) maintains under IC 6-1.1-5-1. The Indiana Geographic Information Office compiles those county boundaries statewide. A polygon is a map drawing, not a survey.
- Assessed acreage is what the record card actually prices. On farmland, that's total acreage minus agricultural support land.
Compare all three before you file anything. Our parcel number guide shows how to match the state parcel ID to the county record, and the Marion County record card guide walks through the land section field by field.
Road Right-of-Way, Ditches, Towers, and Utility Easements
IC 6-1.1-4-14(a) says land may not be assessed to an adjacent owner if it lies within:
- a railroad, interurban, or street railway right-of-way,
- a levee line,
- a public drainage ditch, including adjacent land that can't be farmed because of the need for ditch access, or
- a right-of-way used and occupied as a public highway.
Railroad, levee, or ditch land never deeded to its user stays on the adjoining owner's parcel, but its value must be deducted (IC 6-1.1-4-14(b)). If you and the assessor disagree on the amount of such land, the assessor must have the county surveyor survey it (IC 6-1.1-4-14(c)). On farm parcels, Chapter 2 applies this through the type 8 "agricultural support land" codes:
| Land type | Treatment under the Guidelines |
|---|---|
| 81, legal ditch | No value; deducted from total parcel acreage, including the strip kept clear for ditch access |
| 82, public road | Dedicated right-of-way deducted from total parcel acreage |
| 83, transmission towers | 0.125 acre deducted per tower site; the line right-of-way itself is assessed by its land use and not deducted |
So utility and pipeline easement land stays in your acreage. Ditch maintenance is a separate charge; see drainage assessments and ditch fees.
Note
An easement affects value through an influence factor, not acreage. Code 6, "Restrictions," is a decrease "based on encumbrances, restrictive covenants, or obstructions that limit the use of the land." Other codes cover topography (1), shape or size (4), and "Other" (0).
Wetlands, Ponds, and Other Built-In Farm Adjustments
Chapter 2's Table 2-25 sets fixed influence-factor deductions by land use type: farmed wetlands (43) -50%, nontillable (5) -60%, woodland (6) -80%, and farm buildings, ponds, and wetlands (71-73) -40%. Ponds and wetlands also use a 0.50 productivity factor. Wetland type 73 requires 2.5 contiguous acres confirmed through Farm Service Agency records. If FSA has mapped wetland on your parcel and the card shows it as tillable, our soil assessment checklist covers how to review land classifications.
How to Fix an Acreage or Land Description Error
Form 133 no longer exists. The old objective-error statute, IC 6-1.1-15-12, was repealed by P.L.232-2017. The DLGF's appeals page says Form 133 was folded into the single Form 130. Objective claims now go on page 2 of that form.
Which deadline applies depends on what you're claiming:
- Wrong acreage, wrong land type, or a road strip that was never deducted is a description or clerical error under IC 6-1.1-15-1.1(a)(4)–(5). You have three years from when the taxes were first due. Our correction-of-error guide covers how to file.
- "My easement makes the land worth less" is a valuation claim. File it by June 15 (IC 6-1.1-15-1.1(b)(2)), using the steps in the Indiana appeal guide.
The auditor can also fix description errors on discovery (IC 6-1.1-15-12.1(b)), but only a filed Form 130 protects your timeline.
Tip
A survey is your strongest evidence. Under IC 36-2-12-9, a survey by the county surveyor is prima facie evidence of the corners and lines it establishes. The surveyor also keeps the county's legal survey record book (IC 36-2-12-10), so someone may already have surveyed your parcel.
Your Land-Record Checklist
- Pull the record card and write down the land type codes, acreage, and influence factors.
- Compare the deed or plat acreage with the GIS acreage and the priced acreage.
- Confirm that road (82) and legal ditch (81) acres are deducted, and count tower sites (83).
- Check the county surveyor's legal survey record before paying for a new survey.
- File a Form 130: page 2 for description errors (three-year window), page 1 for value (June 15).
- If the PTABOA denies the claim, see escalating to the Indiana Board of Tax Review.
Check any parcel's acreage and land values with Property Lookup, or let Tax Appeal build your Form 130.