Federal Tax Law

Act 67 of 2006 (PA tax code amendment)

2006
Organizations/Sources: Pennsylvania General Assembly
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.
Last Modified
Jul 16, 2012
Viewed
7889 times

An Important Estate Tax Incentive for Landowners

Authors: Stephen Small
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.
Last Modified
Mar 28, 2011
Viewed
4469 times

Conservation Easement Audit Techniques Guide

2012
Organizations/Sources: Internal Revenue Service
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.
Last Modified
Jun 14, 2012
Viewed
4923 times

Dunlap v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo. 2012-126)

2012
Organizations/Sources: United States Tax Court
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.
Last Modified
Jul 30, 2012
Viewed
6188 times

Estate Tax Charitable Deduction

Organizations/Sources: The Planned Giving Design Center
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.
Last Modified
Mar 28, 2011
Viewed
6114 times

Federal Tax Deductibility of Conservation Easement Donations

2021
Authors: Nate Lotze and Andrew M. Loza
Some donations of conservation easements qualify for a federal income tax deduction; others do not.
Last Modified
Feb 06, 2021
Viewed
3733 times

Hernandez v. Commissioner, 490 U.S. 680 (1989)

1989
Organizations/Sources: U.S. Supreme Court
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.
Last Modified
Oct 18, 2010
Viewed
5546 times

IRS Appraisal Requirements for Gifts of Land and Conservation Easements

Organizations/Sources: Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
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.
Last Modified
Oct 27, 2015
Viewed
8619 times

IRS Issued Guidance Regarding Appraisal Requirements for Noncash Charitable Contributions

2006
Authors: Susan J. Kassell
Organizations/Sources: Internal Revenue Service
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.
Last Modified
Oct 27, 2015
Viewed
5084 times

Kaufman v. Commissioner (136 T.C. No. 13)

2011
Organizations/Sources: United States Tax Court
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.
Last Modified
Apr 06, 2011
Viewed
6295 times

Kaufman v. Commissioner (US Court of Appeals, 1st Circuit, 2012)

2012
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.
Last Modified
Jul 30, 2012
Viewed
6578 times

Nonprofit Law and Recordkeeping Volume II

2008
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.
Last Modified
Sep 14, 2017
Viewed
3320 times

Postmortem Conservation Easements: Substantial Estate Tax Savings

2003
Organizations/Sources: The Planned Giving Design Center
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."
Last Modified
Mar 28, 2011
Viewed
4660 times

Present Law And Background Relating To The Federal Tax Treatment Of Charitable Contributions

2011
Organizations/Sources: Joint Committee On Taxation
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.
Last Modified
Oct 24, 2011
Viewed
4222 times

Randal A. Schrimsher et ux. v. Commissioner

2011
Organizations/Sources: United States Tax Court
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.
Last Modified
Oct 29, 2015
Viewed
6593 times

Reducing Federal Estate Tax: A Conservation Easement Benefit for Large Estates

2023
Authors: Andrew M. Loza
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.
Last Modified
Apr 13, 2023
Viewed
2601 times

Scheidelman v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo. 2010-151)

2010
Organizations/Sources: United States Tax Court
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.)
Last Modified
Jul 30, 2012
Viewed
6927 times

Scheidelman v. Commissioner (US Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit, 2012)

2012
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.
Last Modified
Jul 30, 2012
Viewed
6864 times

The Federal Estate and Gift Tax -- 2011, 2012 and Beyond

2012
Acquaints the reader with the basics of the federal estate tax and, to a lesser extent, the gift tax. 33 pages.
Last Modified
Feb 16, 2012
Viewed
3673 times

The Federal Law Re Donations Of Conservation Easements

The Federal Law Re Donations Of Conservation Easements (and other partial interests)
Last Modified
Oct 17, 2009
Viewed
3503 times

United States v. American Bar Endowment, 477 U.S. 105 (1986)

1986
Organizations/Sources: U.S. Supreme Court
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.
Last Modified
Mar 28, 2011
Viewed
7341 times

Using the Conservation Tax Incentive

2016
Organizations/Sources: Land Trust Alliance
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.
Last Modified
Feb 09, 2016
Viewed
3146 times

U.S. Treasury Regulations on Donations of Conservation Easements

Organizations/Sources: U.S. Treasury
U.S. Treasury Regulations on Donations of Conservation Easements
Last Modified
Oct 26, 2010
Viewed
6602 times