Since 2006, an enhanced charitable income tax deduction has allowed family farmers, ranchers, and forest land owners to receive a significant tax benefit for donating a conservation easement on their land. Unfortunately, it expired at the end of 2014. Representatives Mike Kelly (R-PA) and Mike Thompson (D-CA) introduced the Conservation Easement Incentive Act (H.R. 641) to make the incentive permanent. America’s 1,700 local land trusts and a diverse coalition of more than 60 national conservation, agriculture, and sporting organizations, including our IWLA organization, are working together to make the incentive permanent.
For more information, see the Land Trust Alliance’s Advocate Alert, and also a letter from Independent Sectors urging House and Senate leadership to permanently restore and extend charitable giving incentives.
