More Developments Concerning Conservation Easements

Overview

The U.S. Tax Court continues to issue decisions involving conservation easements.  The IRS has many of these cases in the pipeline which means that the decisions will keep on coming.  This is definitely one area of tax that has been audited heavily and it can be anticipated that the audits will continue.  I have written prior posts on the issues surrounding conservation easements.  They can be beneficial for rural landowners from a tax perspective, but the deeds granting the easement must be drafted very carefully and attention to detail is a must.

In today’s post, I look at a few recent cases and an important IRS development concerning conservation easements.

Extinguishment Regulation Upheld.

Oakbrook Land Holdings, LLC v. Comr., 154 T.C. No. 10 (2020); Oakbrook Land Holdings, LLC v. Comr., T.C. Memo. 2020-54

In 2008, the petitioner donated a permanent conservation easement to a qualified organization and claimed a charitable deduction. The easement deed specified that upon extinguishment of the conservation restriction the donee would receive a share of the proceeds equal to the fair market value of the easement as of the date of the contribution. That value, the deed specified, was to be reduced by the value of any improvements that the donor made after granting the easement. The IRS denied the charitable deduction because (inter alia) the deed language violated the extinguishment regulation of Treas. Reg. §1.170A-14(g)(6).

The full Tax Court, agreeing with the IRS, upheld the validity of the regulation on the basis that the extinguishment regulation had been properly promulgated and did not violate the Administrative Procedure Act. The full Tax Court also determined that the construction of I.R.C.§170(h)(5) (e.g., that the donated easement be exclusively for conservation purposes), as set forth in the extinguishment regulation, was valid under the agency deference standard set forth in Chevron, U.S.A. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984).

In a related memorandum opinion, the Tax Court held that the easement deed did not create a perpetual easement because the donee’s share of the extinguishment proceeds was based on fixed historical value, reduced by the value of improvements that the donor made. It was not, as it should have been, based on a proportionate share of extinguishment proceeds that are at least equal to the total proceeds (unadjusted by the value of the petitioner’s improvements), multiplied by a fraction defined by the ratio of the fair market value of the easement to the fair market value of the unencumbered property determined as of the date of the execution of the deed. However, the Tax Court did not uphold penalties that the IRS imposed, finding that the petitioner’s position was reasonable. 

Charitable Deduction Denied – Bad Deed Language and Overvaluation

Plateau Holdings LLC, et al. v. Comr., T.C. Memo. 2020-93.

The petitioner, an entity, owned two parcels of rural land and donated two open-space conservation easements on the parcels to a land trust. The deeds were recorded the next day, and included language expressing an intent to ensure that the land “be retained forever in its current natural, scenic, forested and open land condition” and language preventing any use of the conserved area inconsistent with the conservation purpose. The petitioner claimed a $25.5 million charitable deduction for the donation. Eight days before the donation, an investor acquired nearly 99 percent ownership in the petitioner for less than $6 million.

The Tax Court determined that the deed language was similar to that deemed invalid in Coal Property Holdings LLC v. Comr., 153 T.C. 126 (2019) because the grantee wouldn’t receive a proportionate amount of the full sale proceeds. The Tax Court also upheld a 40 percent penalty under I.R.C. §6662(e) and I.R.C. §6662(h) for a gross misstatement of the value of the contribution. The Tax Court noted that the petitioner valued both properties well above 200 percent of market value, the cut-line for the gross misstatement penalty.  One parcel was valued a$10.9 million, or 852 percent of its correct value.  The other easement was valued at $14.5 million, or 1,031 percent of its proper value. 

Conservation Easement Not Protected In Perpetuity – The Extinguishment Issue 

Hewitt v. Comr., T.C. Memo. 2020-89.

The petitioner owned farmland and deeded a conservation easement on a portion of the property to a qualified charity as defined in I.R.C. §170(h)(3). The petitioner continued to own a large amount of agricultural land that was contiguous with the easement property, and he continued to live on the land and use it for cattle ranching. The petitioner claimed a charitable contribution deduction for the donation of $2,788,000 (the difference in the before and after easement value of the property) which was limited to $57,738 for the tax year 2012 – the year of donation. The petitioner claimed carryover deductions of $1,868,782 in 2013 and $861,480 in 2014.

The petitioner could not determine his basis in the property and, upon the advice of a CPA firm, attached a statement to Form 8283 explaining his lack of basis information. The deed stated that its purpose was to preserve and protect the scenic enjoyment of the land and that the easement would maintain the amount and diversity of natural habitats, protect scenic views from the roads, and restrict the construction of buildings and other structures as well as native vegetation, changes to the habitat and the exploration of minerals, oil, gas or other materials. The petitioner reserved the right to locate five one-acre homesites with one dwelling on each homesite. The deed did not designate the locations of the homesites but required the petitioner to notify the charity when he desired to designate a homesite. The charity could withhold building approval if it determined that the proposed location was inconsistent with or impaired the easement’s purposes.

The deed provided for the allocation of proceeds from an involuntary extinguishment by valuing the easement at that time by multiplying the then fair market value of the property unencumbered by the easement (less any increase in value after the date of the grant attributable to improvements) by the ratio of the value of the easement at the time of the grant to the value of the property, without deduction for the value of the easement at the time of the grant. The deed also stated that the ratio of the value of the easement to the value of the property unencumbered by the easement was to remain constant. The charity drafted the deed and a CPA firm reviewed it and advised the petitioner that it complied with the applicable law and regulations, and that he would be entitled to a substantial tax deduction.

The IRS denied the carryover deductions for lack of substantiation and assessed a 40 percent penalty under I.R.C. §6662(h) for gross valuation misstatement and, alternatively, a 20 percent penalty for negligence or disregard of the regulations or substantial understatement of tax. The petitioner bought additional land that he held through pass-through entities that would then grant easements. The petitioner recognized gain of over $3.5 million on the sale of interests in the entities to investors who then claimed shares in the easement deductions. The IRS claimed that these entities overvalued the easements for purposes of the deductions. Individuals in the CPA firm invested in the entities and claimed easement deductions. The Tax Court determined that the deed language violated the perpetuity requirement of I.R.C. §170 because of the stipulation that the charity’s share of proceeds on extinguishment would be reduced by improvements made to the land after the easement grant. The Tax Court did not uphold the penalties. 

Conservation Easement Doomed by Bad Deed Language

Woodland Property Holdings, LLC v. Comr., T.C. Memo. 2020-55

The petitioner donated a conservation easement to a qualified charity. The deed conveying the property contained a judicial extinguishment provision stating that the easement gave rise to a vested property right in the donee, the value of which "shall remain constant." The value of the donee's property right was defined as the difference between (a) the fair market value (FMV) of the conservation area as if unburdened by the easement and (b) the FMV of the conservation area as burdened by the easement, with both values being "determined as of the date of this Conservation Easement." The IRS took the position that the language failed to satisfy the "in perpetuity" requirement for such gifts. The petitioner pointed to the following deed language for support of the his position that the perpetuity requirement was satisfied:  "If any provision of this Conservation Easement is found to be ambiguous, an interpretation consistent with its purposes that would render the provision valid should be favored over any interpretation that would render it invalid."

The Tax Court, however, held that the provision did not help the taxpayer because it was a cure only for ambiguous provisions and the deed was unambiguous in limiting the donee's vested property right. In addition, the Tax Court noted that a statement from the donee organization that the easement be in full compliance with the tax law was immaterial. 

Conservation Easement Deduction Allowed At Reduced Amount. 

Johnson v. Comr., T.C. Memo. 2020-79

The petitioner is the president of a west-central Colorado company that manufactures and sells disposable ink pans for printing presses. He purchased a ranch in 2002 for 200,000 and carved out a permanent conservation easement that he donated to the Colorado Open Lands, a qualified charity. He made the donation in 2007. The easement encumbered 116.14 acres along with the water rights, leaving the remaining five acres unencumbered. The easement restricted the encumbered area from being subdivided, used as a feedlot, or used for commercial activities. It also restricted all construction within the encumbered area except for five acres that was designated a “building envelope”. The deed limited constructed floor space inside the building envelope to 6,000 square feet for single residential improvements and a cumulative maximum of 30,000 square feet for all improvements.

On his return for 2007, the petitioner claimed a $610,000 charitable contribution deduction for the donated easement, with carryover amounts deducted in future years. He also claimed certain farm-related expenses. The IRS denied the carryover charitable deductions in three carryover years on the basis that he had already deducted more than the easement’s value for previous tax years. The petitioner and the IRS agreed that the property’s highest and best use was for farming and a residence. The petitioner’s valuation expert used a quantitative approach by taking comparable sales adjusted by time between the time of those easement donations and when the petitioner donated his easement. The petitioner’s expert then adjusted for nearness of the encumbered property to town and size. He then factored in irrigation, topography and improvements to arrive at the value of the property before the easement. The expert did not have many post-donation comparable sales to work with in arriving at the value of the petitioner’s property after the easement donation.

The valuation expert for the IRS used the qualitative approach. By comparing several characteristics for each comparable, including market conditions at the time of sale, location/access, size, aesthetic appeal, zoning, and available utilities, to evaluate the relative superiority, inferiority, or similarity of each comparable to the ranch. The expert then evaluated the overall comparability of each property to the ranch.

The Tax Court preferred the approach of the petitioner’s expert, due to the IRS’s expert ignoring the quantitative factors. However, the Tax Court adjusted the value arrived at by the petitioner’s expert. Post-encumbrance nearby comparable sales were lacking, the Tax Court rejected both experts’ post-encumbrance direct comparable sales analyses. By ignoring an outlier from both of the experts, the parties were only two percent apart on value. The Tax Court split the difference between the parties and added it to the pre-easement value as adjusted to arrive at the easement’s value. Thus, the Tax Court allowed a $373,000 deduction for the easement. The Tax Court also disallowed various farming expense deductions including travel-related expenses due to the lack of substantiation. 

Conclusion

The saga of claimed charitable deductions for donated conservation easements will continue.  It seems that nothing generates more Tax Court litigation than a Code provision that the IRS despises.