Congress Extends Tax Break for Land Gifts

"Congress Extends Tax Break for Land Gifts"
The Chronicle of Philanthropy, May 23, 2008
By Elizabeth Schwinn

WASHINGTON -- Nonprofit organizations have won an extension of a generous tax incentive for donations of land or historically important property under a law approved by Congress Thursday.

A two-year extension of the so-called conservation easement deduction was included in a bill to protect farmers, which became law Thursday over President Bush’s veto.

The provision, created as a temporary, two-year incentive under the Pension Protection Act, expired at the end of last year. Conservation groups, including the Land Trust Alliance ... lobbied Congress to make the provision permanent, saying it does much to spur donations of property. ...

Landowners now have until December 31, 2009, to take advantage of the tax break when they donate ranches, wetlands, forests, and other properties for conservation. ©

Read the full article in The Chronicle of Philanthropy.