News
Conservation Options for Landowners, 9/07
You own land that is open space and you want to preserve the beauty and feel of this open space… how do you do it? There are two basic ways to preserve and protect open space in perpetuity. One is a Land Donation (a fee title transfer) to the HNCLT. With this transfer of title, the HNCLT owns and maintains the land. The second option is to grant the Land Trust a Conservation Easement. With a Conservation Easement, the family continues to own and maintain the land but gives up the development rights.
Within both options, there are several different ways to proceed to the goal of preserving open space. Both Land donation and Conservation Easements provide tax strategies that will often serve to benefit your family. It is important to meet with an attorney and or tax specialist to determine the exact tax benefit in each situation. Often the total value of the gift is tax deductible whether against income tax, capital gains or in an estate plan.
(Land Trust Alliance) If you own land with important natural or historic resources, donating a voluntary conservation easement can be one of the smartest ways to conserve the land you love and protect America’s natural heritage, while maintaining your private property rights and possibly realizing significant federal tax benefits.
On August 3, 2006, Congress approved a tremendous expansion of the federal conservation tax incentive for conservation easement donations. On August 17, 2006 the President signed it into law. This was a great victory for conservation! Efforts are now under way to make these changes a permanent part of the tax code. Senate bill S. 469 has been introduced by Senators Max Baucus (D-MT) and Charles Grassley (R-IA) that would make the new tax incentive permanent. Representatives Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Dave Camp (R-MI) introduced H.R. 1576, which parallels the Senate bill. President Bush has also endorsed making the new tax incentive permanent in his fiscal year 2008 budget. If these expanded tax incentives are made permanent family farmers, ranchers, and other moderate-income landowners will be able to conserve the land they love while obtaining a significant tax benefit for making the charitable donation of a conservation easement. For further information and suggested reading about the new legislation and what you can do to help, please go to the Land Trust Alliance Web site, www.lta.org. You can contact HNCLT at (707)677-0716 or info@hnclt.org.
Older News
- Conservation Options for Landowners, 9/07
- Strategic Planning, 9/07
- Saunders' Memorial Park, 9/07
- Many Tasks, Many Talents, 9/07
- HNCLT Holdings and Activities
- Sept. 2004 President's Message
