Federal Tax Law

Act 67 of 2006 makes a number of changes to Pennsylvania's Tax Reform Code of 1971, including changes to the Inheritance and Estate Tax Act that provide for reduced valuation of land subject to agricultural conservation easement for inheritance tax purposes. 19 pp.

In 1997, for the first time in more than a decade, Congress added to the law significant new tax incentives for voluntary land protection by private landowners. This article includes background information, how the law works, and important issues to consider.

The purpose of this audit technique guide (ATG) is to provide guidance for the examination of charitable contributions of conservation easements. Users of this guide will learn about the general requirements for charitable contributions and additional requirements for contributions of conservation easements.

The Tax Court found no quid pro quo for the cash donation claimed as a charitable deduction and made in association with a facade easement contribution.

Section 2055 of the Internal Revenue Code governs the charitable estate tax deduction. The requirements for the deduction and some of the issues that typically arise with charitable gifts at death are discussed here.

Some donations of conservation easements qualify for a federal income tax deduction; others do not.

This 1989 decision by the United States Supreme Court confirmed that the quid pro quo test continues to survive as grounds for disallowance of a charitable contribution.

This document prepared by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy provides a brief outline of the federal IRS requirements for potential tax deductions from donation of land and conservation easements.

This is a notice to provide transitional guidance relating to the new definitions of "qualified appraisal" and "qualified appraiser" in § 170(f)(11) of the Internal Revenue Code, and new § 6695A of the Code.

This 2011 Tax Court opinion found that the requirement of a cash contribution as a condition of acceptance of a façade easement did not, by itself, result in a finding that the payment was non-deductible as part of a quid pro quo transaction.

The Internal Revenue Service declined to include the cash contribution issue in its appeal of the 2011 Kaufman II Tax Court Decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, decided on July 19, 2012.

This book describes the legal requirements for operating a land trust and keeping good organizational and transaction records. It teaches readers how to develop and implement policies to guide how a land trust creates, collects, retains, stores, protects, and disposes of these types of records. It also covers the issue of tax exemption, including the major requirements for maintaining charitable tax-exempt status and an overview of IRS Form 990.

A postmortem qualified conservation easement yields significant tax savings, and can provide a lasting legacy for the decedent and his heirs. In this article, Rhode Island attorney Robert G. Petix, Jr. analyzes the rules applicable to such easements, and shows planners how they can take a "second bite of the apple."

This briefing for the Senate Finance Committee provides an overview of the Federal tax treatment of charitable contributions and a discussion of economic issues relating to Federal tax incentives for charitable giving. 44 pages.

In Randal A. Schrimsher et ux. v. Commissioner; T.C. Memo. 2011-71; No. 945-09 (27 Mar 2011), the U.S. Tax Court determined that a claimed deduction of $705,000 for a façade easement would be denied due to a lack of a contemporaneous written acknowledgement.

For large estates, death triggers the possibility of federal estate tax. A conservation easement on the deceased person’s land—whether granted in life, by will, or by the person’s heirs—can reduce or eliminate the tax owed. WeConservePA guide. 2 pages.

This Tax Court decision disallowed a deduction for the contribution of a façade easement as well as the monetary contribution that accompanied the façade easement. The holding of the case was that the taxpayers failed to sustain their burden of proof that no benefit was received from the transaction. (Note that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in 2011 reversed the Tax Court decision as to the cash contribution.)

On June 15, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed, as to the cash contribution, the 2010 Scheidelman Tax Court decision that disallowed a deduction for the contribution of a facade easement and accompanying cash contribution.

Acquaints the reader with the basics of the federal estate tax and, to a lesser extent, the gift tax. 33 pages.

The Federal Law Re Donations Of Conservation Easements (and other partial interests)

To be recognized as a charitable contribution for federal tax purposes, donors must at a minimum demonstrate that they purposely transferred money or property to a qualifying charitable organization in excess of the value of any benefit received in return. That is the standard (the "excess value test") set by the United States Supreme Court in the 1986 American Bar Endowment (the "ABE") decision, which described the sine qua non of a charitable contribution as a transfer of money or property without adequate consideration.

In December of 2015 Congress made permanent a federal tax incentive for conservation easement donations that can help thousands of landowners conserve their land. This four page brochure summarizes the conservation easement tax incentive and provides answers to some frequently asked questions.

U.S. Treasury Regulations on Donations of Conservation Easements