Conservation Easements

Some people are very interested in protecting the environment. Some want to protect their land to make sure it’s not altered from its true nature. Toby Mathis is joined by Tyler Surat, who works in the alternative energy sources industry. Tyler helps farmers and others with the conservation and preservation of their land by creating easements. They discuss the “ins and outs” of conservation easements, which involve tax credits and benefits.

Highlights/Topics:

• History of Conservation Easements: U.S. government trades tax for land to incentivize people for conservation via a deduction on donated land based on its asset value
• If you don’t have land to donate or your land isn’t worth anything, find people who do and only want a portion of the tax deduction
• Landowner raises money by having other people buy into a partnership to put a conservation easement on the property and have rights to the land
• Example: Investor/partner gives $100,000 and gets a $400,000 tax deduction
• Landowner has three options: Do nothing, develop land, or conserve it
• Limitations: 60% of adjusted gross income with federal donations and can carry forward unused portion (i.e., a a $200,000 benefit for $100,000 investment)
• Deal with reputable entities; know who you’re dealing with and how they create the lead
• Avoid investing in properties with no developmental value; invest in aggregate types of conservations that hold their value
• IRS is aware of abuse where investors who make most of the income in the United States try to mitigate their tax liability
• Investors get 4.5-5 multipliers, a $5 deduction for every $1 donated; for the IRS to audit that deduction on your personal tax return, it would have to question the entity/easement
• If you want to go green, have a tax appetite, or need an investment strategy, the IRS offers a 30% tax credit for solar or any other renewable energy

Resources

Tyler Surat’s Email

Tyler Surat’s Phone Number: 719-580-3051

Ducks Unlimited

501(c)(3)

Schedule A - Charitable Deduction

Zillow

Mar a Lago

Residential Energy Credit: Instructions for Form 5695 (2018)

Toby Mathis

Anderson Advisors

Tax and Asset Protection Event