How Much Does a Bee Ag Exemption Cost in Texas? Lease vs. DIY, Real Numbers (2027)

Quick answer: A fully managed honey bee ag exemption program in North Texas costs $385 per hive per year plus a one-time $200 setup fee through Ten Box Bees. Because most counties require 6 to 12 hives on 5 to 20 acres, the typical annual cost is $2,310 to $4,620. Most clients save $2,500 to $6,000 or more per year in property taxes after paying that fee, and some save considerably more.

The two ways to pay for a bee ag exemption

There are only two real options: keep the bees yourself, or lease managed hives from a commercial beekeeper. They cost about the same in year one. They are very different every year after.

Option 1: Lease managed hives

Ten Box Bees places and manages the colonies; you never touch a hive.

Included: hive placement, every inspection, queen replacement, varroa and hive beetle control, feeding in drought, dead-out replacement, a water source where needed, and the placement records and annual documentation your appraisal district asks for. Hive counts differ by county. Johnson County requires as few as 5 hives on 5 to 10 acres; Somervell starts at 4; Parker and Wise use the 6-to-12 table above. Your actual price depends on your county's number.

Option 2: Do it yourself

Realistic first-year cost for 6 hives in North Texas:

• 6 nucs (bees): $275 each, $1,650
• 6 complete hive setups (boxes, frames, bottom boards, lids): $200 to $300 each, $1,200 to $1,800
• Suit, gloves, smoker, hive tool: $250 to $400
• Mite treatment, feed, feeders: $150 to $300
• Beekeeping class: $99

Year-one total: roughly $3,350 to $4,250 for 6 hives, comparable to a lease. But the ongoing cost is where it separates. Expect to lose 30 to 50 percent of colonies per year in Texas until you get good at it, at $275 per replacement nuc, plus queens, treatments, and your own time: 2 to 4 hours per hive per month in season. If a colony dies in February and you do not replace it before inspection, you can lose the exemption for that year. Many landowners start DIY and switch to a lease after the first winter.

What you save

Agricultural valuation taxes qualifying acres on productivity value instead of market value. Productivity values in Johnson, Parker, Tarrant and neighboring counties generally run under $250 per acre. Market value on a 10-acre tract near Fort Worth is often $200,000 to $500,000 or more for the land alone.

Example, 10 acres in Johnson County, land valued at $300,000, combined tax rate about 1.8 percent:

• Taxes at market value: about $5,400 per year
• Taxes at ag value (about $150 per acre): about $27 per year
• Savings: about $5,370 per year
• Minus 8-hive lease: $3,080
• Net: about $2,290 per year, every year, plus honey and pollinators

Higher land values, lower hive counts, or a homestead already excluded push the net higher. That is why Tarrant and Parker County clients are often at the top of the range.

Hidden costs to know about

• The 5-year wait. If your land has no ag history, you pay for hives 5 years before the valuation starts. Five years at $3,080 is $15,400 for a savings stream of roughly $5,000 per year after. It still pays off, but plan for it. Land already under ag valuation switches immediately.
• Rollback. If you later change the land to a non-ag use, Texas recaptures 3 years of tax savings. Selling to someone who keeps it in ag use does not trigger it.
• Late filing. Missing April 30 costs a 10 percent penalty on the year's savings.
• Homestead carve-out. Your house acre does not count. A 5.5-acre lot with a home usually does not qualify.

Is it worth it on 5 acres?

Usually, if the land is worth more than about $150,000. At 6 hives ($2,310 per year), you need roughly $2,500 or more in tax savings to come out ahead. On a $150,000 tract at 1.8 percent, market-value tax is $2,700; ag-value tax is under $50. Below that land value the margin gets thin and DIY starts to make more sense, if you want to keep bees.

Frequently asked questions

Is the $385 per hive negotiable? It is a flat rate. What changes is the hive count, which is set by your county, not by us.

Do I get the honey? Honey from leased hives is harvested by Ten Box Bees and bottled as Fort Worth Honey. Clients get a discount; ask when you sign up.

Can I write the lease off? Talk to your CPA. Many landowners treat it as an expense of the agricultural operation.

What if I already have cattle? You can run bees on the 5 to 20 acres that will not carry cattle and keep both. Each portion has to meet its own intensity standard.

Get an exact number for your property

Ten Box Bees is a veteran-owned commercial beekeeping operation in Burleson managing 900+ hives across 73+ North Texas properties. We will pull your appraisal district record, tell you the exact hive count your county requires, and give you a written annual price. Call or text William at 940-597-5219 or request a free evaluation.

County-specific rules: Johnson · Tarrant · Parker

Tax figures are illustrative. Rates and productivity values vary by taxing unit and year. Confirm with your County Appraisal District and tax advisor.