ACT QUICKLY! Enhanced Tax Incentives Set to Expire December 31, 2009
Ever Thought About Protecting Your Land?
In 2008, Congress enacted significant changes to the Federal income tax incentives for conservation agreement donations. The changes:
- Raised the deduction a landowner can take for donating a conservation agreement from 30% of their income in any year to 50%;
- Allowed qualifying farmers and farm corporations to deduct up to 100% of their adjusted gross income; and
- Increased the number of years over which any donor can take those deductions from 6 years to 16 years beginning the year the donation is made.
However, the law stipulated that the changes would expire on December 31st 2009.
If you or anyone you know is considering a conservation agreement on their land, now is the time to call The Land Trust and set up an initial site visit.
"We hear from many family farmers who want to protect the land that they have lived and worked on for generations, as well as landowners who have recently purchased land to start a new family legacy", explains Jeanie Nelson, Executive Director for The Land Trust for Tennessee. "These incentives will help make permanent land conservation more financially possible for all of them."
Since these changes are set to expire on December 31, 2009, that gives The Land Trust for Tennessee limited time to spread the news to landowners, communities, estate planners and tax advisors. Conservation agreement preparation may take anywhere from three to six months to complete, so if you have been considering protecting your land, now is the time to take the next step.
When the tax incentives were first enhanced in 2006, landowner response was phenomenal. We closed 50 conservation agreements in 2007, totaling more than 17,000 acres and effectively doubling our conservation impact over the previous eight years in just one.
This year, landowners have another chance to take advantage of the increased tax incentives. While most landowners who pursue conservation agreements are motivated more by a deep love of their land than tax savings, they describe the added benefits as “icing on the cake.”
If you have considered taking permanent action to ensure that your land stays open and green for your children and grandchildren, we urge you to talk to your tax advisor and give us a call. Our staff predicts that the expiring tax incentives will make 2009 another record year, and we would like to start the process with you early rather than later in the year. Doing so will ensure that we have plenty of time to carefully work together through the specific decisions you must make about your land’s future uses.
To receive additional information about these new tax incentives, please contact our office at (615) 244-5263 or email Emily Parish our Land Protection Manager at eparish@landtrusttn.org. Emily or another staff member will be happy to help answer your questions about the process of conserving your land. Additionally, if you are interested in hearing first hand from other landowners about their decision to protect their land and their experience with the conservation agreement process, our staff will gladly provide you with names and contact information.
Permanently protecting land with a conservation agreement allows a landowner to maintain private property rights and possibly realize significant federal income tax benefits as seen here at Windy Acres Farm in Orlinda, TN; photo by Nancy Rhoda
