Land Tax Benefits with Conservation Easements

Journal of Financial Planning

If you're a physician with a largeamount of land and you're looking for apowerful estate and tax planning tool, aconservation easement is an instrumentyou may want to consider. According to the, under aconservation easement a landowner putscertain restrictions on the development oftheir land by giving veto power over theland to a land trust or government entity,and all subsequent owners of the propertyare bound by the agreement. The propertymust meet a set of standards to qualify forprotection. While protecting their property,the landowner is eligible for a range offederal, state, property, and estate taxreductions. Qualifying for an easement canbe complicated, as the easement requiresa thorough qualified appraisal. But if youwant to preserve your land for conservationor to keep it in your family, an easementcan provide a tremendous opportunity.If you feel conservation easements maybe something you'd be interested in foryour estate planning needs, contact yourfinancial advisor to go over the fine detailsof protection, appraisal, and tax benefits.