Guidance on Tax Incentives from the IRS
IRS Releases Guidance in Response to Request for Clarification on New Conservation Tax Incentive
In early 2007, the Land Trust Alliance submitted questions to the IRS and requested guidance on several questions regarding interpretation of the new law. See the document below for details.
- IRS Guidance on New Conservation Tax Incentive
- Alliance Summary of IRS Guidance
- Text of the Pensions Bill
IRS Provides Guidance on "qualified appraiser" to the Land Trust Alliance
In late 2006, the Land Trust Alliance received guidance from the IRS on several questions regarding the reforms for appraisals and appraisers. The IRS clarified that appraisals made before August 17, 2006 did not need to meet the new requirements passed in the Pension Protection Act. It also further defines who is qualified as a "qualified appraiser" under the new law. See the IRS guidance below.
IRS Response to Alliance Inquiry About Habitat Conservation Purpose
When the Land Trust Alliance heard that IRS agents in Colorado were telling easement donors that their easement did not qualify as protecting "a relatively natural habitat of fish, wildlife or plants" because it did not protect endangered species, we asked the IRS to confirm that this was NOT a requirement of the law. The letter below confirms that.
Alliance Seeks IRS Guidance on New Conservation Tax Incentive
In early January 2007, the Land Trust Alliance submitted a letter to the IRS Commissioner for Tax Exempt and Government Entities to ask for further guidance on outstanding questions regarding the expanded tax incentive for donations of conservation easements. Some of these questions include defining who can be a qualified farmer or rancher, and the applicability of the new law to gifts other than conservation easements.
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