According to the National Conservation Easement Database, there are about 40 million acres of land in the United States that get protection from perpetual conservation easements. “Conservation easements serve a very important public purpose and can be a powerful planning tool for the right client.” The Pension Protection Act of 2006 first introduced the enhanced conservation easement tax incentive. Congress had enacted a series of short-term extensions of the tax incentive until 2014 after they expired in 2011. The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 has reinstated the conservation easement tax incentive retroactively. This article describes how these incentives can benefit farmers and ranchers as well as the strict requirements for deductions. People taking advantage of the incentives need to be careful to follow the necessary requirements.
See Margaret St. John, In Land We Trust, Wealth Management, February 8, 2016.
Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse for bringing this article to my attention.
