CONSERVATION EASEMENTS: OVERVIEW & HOW TO MITIGATE RISK TO IRS CHALLENGES

Learning Objectives

• Tax planning opportunities with conservation easements.
• Potential IRS challenges to the charitable donation of conservation easements.
• Requirements taxpayer must meet in order to obtain that deduction.
• Overview of IRS Guide and Structuring easements to avoid IRS challenges
• Overview of Investment Partnerships, Process & Risks.

Course Description

Wall Street Journal published in March 2016 an article addressed how the then president-elect frequently donated development rights on his properties to conservation groups and these donations allowed Trump to take significant federal income tax deductions. 

In December 2016, the IRS declared syndicated conservation easements to be a listed transaction (Notice 2017-10). In December 2017, Fortune Magazine Published “The Billion Dollar Loophole”, which described in detail how high-income taxpayers are deriving tax benefits from syndicated conservation easement projects, again, Quoting Donald Trump as an example.  

Conservation easements granted in perpetuity as a charitable donation can provide donors with significant income, estate and property tax planning opportunities if structured properly. 

Section 170(h) of the Internal Revenue Code allows an income tax deduction to landowners of real estate who self-impose restrictions on the use and development of their land in order to achieve specified conservation purposes. The webcast will provide tax and related professionals with a comprehensive overview of meeting the IRC Section 170(h) requirements. It would include:

• Easement Valuation
  
• IRS Audit Guide
• The whole process of Investment
• Various Risks associated with the investments
• Attending this course will give you the tools you need to understand how to advise & strengthen client’s conservation easements and minimize the risk of a negative result in the event of an IRS challenge.

Overview

• CONSERVATION EASEMENT

  7 mins
• HISTORIC PRESERVATION EASEMENTS

  10 mins
• EASEMENT VALUATION

  13 mins
• HIGHEST AND BEST USE (HBU)

  16 mins
• IRS FOCUS & NOTICE 2017-10

  21 mins
• IRS FOCUS

  24 mins
• MONETIZATION

  34 mins
• INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIPS FOR CONSERVATION

  35 mins
• LAND CONSERVATION EXAMPLE

  45 mins