Give a Hoot! Learn About Conservation Easements

A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a landowner and an eligible entity that imposes restrictions and/or affirmative obligations on the landowner's property to retain or protect natural or historic resources for the public good. Like a traditional common law easement, a conservation easement is a grant of less than the landowner's entire interest in the property and its terms are binding upon the successors and assigns of the original parties. Typically, donations of partial interests in real property are not tax-deductible, but the donation of a conservation easement is one of the narrow exceptions to this rule.

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Related Content

• Conservation Easements, Donor Advised Funds, and Sponsoring Organizations: Governing Principles
  Learn more about the donative intent requirement to qualify a bona fide conservation easement for federal tax purposes. Sincere generosity, coupled with an absence of self-interested motives, should help to minimize focus on a perceived reward or benefit inuring to the donor. A host of factors can indicate motives that may not align with, or may even contradict, a conservation easement donation's ostensible charitable foundation. 

• Commercial Real Estate Interests: Tax Considerations and Strategies on Disposition of Real Property
  Discover more about proposed regulations issued late last year to stem the tide of certain syndicated conservation easements that appear to be tax shelters for complex partnership structures by using overvalued conservation easement contributions.

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•  Tax Key Legal Developments Tracker (Federal)—keep up to date with key legal developments!
  • Business Entities. Treasury and the IRS issue final regulations concerning the election under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to treat the amount of certain tax credits as a payment of federal income tax. T.D. 9988, 89 Fed. Reg. 17546 (March 11, 2024).
  • Practice, Procedure, and Controversy. Treasury Department and the IRS invite the public to submit recommendations for items to be included on the 2024-2025 Priority Guidance Plan. I.R.S. Notice 2024-28.
  • Tax-Exempt Organizations. IRS announces revocation of certain R.C. § 501(c)(3)Organizations for failure to meet the code section requirements. Contributions made to those organizations by individual donors are no longer deductible under I.R.C. § 170(b)(1)(A). Announcement 2024-12.

DID YOU KNOW? Trying to address misrepresentations by companies advertising to taxpayers that their food plans are “tax deductible,” the IRS released FAQs on medical expenses related to nutrition, wellness, and general health to determine whether a food or wellness expense is a reimbursable (by a health FSA or an HSA) medical expense.

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