Under a conservation easement, a property's owner gives up the right to make certain changes to that property, to preserve it for future generations. Such an easement usually limits the usefulness of the property and lowers its value. When a conservation
facade easementfacade donationeasement tax deductionAn overview of the legislative history and case law development of the qualified conservation donation under IRC Section 170(h), also known as the conservationAsbury, Anson HSocial Science Electronic Publishing...
In any event, irrespective of the details, the conservation easement tax expenditure should be designed to promote a concept of conservation value – an affirmative value – that represents the best use of the land. The value of the tax expenditure should no longer be defined by what is lost...
The Forest Legacy Program, created in 1990, allows the secretary of agriculture to purchase conservation easements on forest areas that are threatened with development for other uses. The 1969 US Internal Revenue Code began permitting landowners to take a charitable tax deduction for qualified ...
When easements are sold, the price is often the difference between the value of the land if used for development and its value under current use. When easements are donated, a federal income tax deduction can be taken. Typical easement holders are land trusts managed by non-profit ...
No taxpayer contemplating involvement in the syndication of a conservation easement tax deduction should do so without the advice of a partnership tax expert and without the benefit of a formal tax opinion letter from that expert. Is This Really Happening?
To qualify for this income tax deduction, the easement must be: a) perpetual; b) held by a qualified governmental or non-profit organization; and, c) serve a valid "conservation purpose", meaningthe property must have an appreciable natural, scenic, historic, scientific, recreational, or open...
It relates the decision of the Tax Court that language in a conservation easement agreement is sufficient to satisfy the gift substantiation requirements. It also states that a partial summary judgment was granted by the Tax Court to the government on the point that the gift was not a qualified...
How long does an easement last? An easement's duration is usuallyset up to last forever(the legal term is in perpetuity); certain government programs allow for ten to thirty-year easement contracts. Tax benefits, however, are only available for permanent easements. ...
Mitigation and Tax Deductions: Where Angels Fear to Tread IntroductionIn a typical mitigation land transaction, a developer transfers a property right to a land trust in the form of a conservation easement or fee title without claiming an income tax deduction. However, on rare occasions, a deve...