Tax Court rejects charitable deduction – Conservation easements require strict substantiation rules

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Abstract: The Internal Revenue Code allows taxpayers to take charitable deductions for qualified conservation contributions. But satisfying the requirements for deductions without solid expert input is difficult, as the taxpayer in one recent case learned. After she donated a façade conservation easement, the IRS challenged the value she claimed as a deduction. This article explains why the appeals court rejected her appraiser’s opinion and accepted the IRS’s position that an easement wouldn’t materially affect the value of her property.