IHTM24061 - Agricultural purposes: Qualifying uses of land

The following land uses should be accepted as for the ‘purposes of agriculture’ within the meaning of IHTA84/S117

• cultivation to produce food for human and animal consumption – ‘food’ in this context would include, for example, grapes grown to produce wine and apples grown to produce cider,
• use to support livestock kept to produce food for human consumption, such as meat or milk or other products such as wool,
• the keeping of such other animals as may be found on an ordinary farm, for example, horses kept for farm work,
• the breeding and grazing of racehorses on a stud farm. This is not an agricultural purpose (IHTM24068) under general law, but is made one for the purposes of agricultural relief by IHTA84/S115 (4),
• land set aside for permanent or rotational fallow (IHTM24064)
• cultivation of short rotation coppice (IHTM24063).

Land that is normally used for agricultural purposes may occasionally be used for other purposes. Provided those other purposes are not the primary reason for the occupation of the land, the land should be regarded as occupied ‘for the purposes of agriculture’ when considering a deduction for relief. One example is a normal working farm over which an annual point-to-point horse race is run.