Clean and Green is a preferential tax assessment program enacted in 1974 under the stated goal of “protecting the Commonwealth's valuable farmland, forestland, and open spaces.” It bases property taxes on use values rather than fair market values. This ordinarily results in a tax savings for landowners..
Once enrolled, the general rule is that the landowner is obligated to continue using the land in a qualified use indefinitely or face the penalty of roll-back taxes for the most recent seven years, PLUS 6% of that difference per year. If a landowner sells a property enrolled in Clean & Green, the buyer will be obligated to continue using the land in a qualified use or pay roll-back taxes and interest.
Clean & Green also has limitations as to subdividing the property. No more than 2 acres can be split off (3 acres where municipalities require a 3 acre minimum lot size) per year for the purpose of building a residence. The total of these types of subdivisions can never exceed a total of 10 acres. These split offs would be subject to the roll back tax but only for the portion that is being split off.
A subdivision can can be made dividing the property into parcels that are more than 10 acres minimum. As long as they remain the same use, it would then not be subject to the roll back taxes.
While enrolling in the Clean and Green program may be free and save thousands in taxes in the short run by reducing the annual tax rate, make sure you are aware of how this impacts your land value. It will limit the use of the property unless you take the steps necessary to remove the enrollment and pay the mandatory differences in the taxes plus a 6% interest rate. If you are thinking of selling the property, it could also limit the size of your interested buyer pool.