Donating land for conservation is one way a person can provide open space to future generations. The donor may get up to 30% of the donor's adjusted gross income and carried over for five years for the market value of an outright donation or the bargain sale of land to a land trust.

Estate Tax Benefits

Estate taxes can be a heavy burden to family-owned lands, when landowners try to keep these lands intact.  June 1998 national tax law expanded the estate tax benefits of donating a conservation easement. The recently-enacted financial bailout bill includes two tax provisions you should know about:

• An extension of the "IRA Charitable Rollover" provision, allowing donors over 70 ½  to make tax-free charitable contributions from their IRA accounts.
• An extension of the Pension Protection Act provision that removes the limitation on charitable deductions allowed S-corporation shareholders to their stock basis.

Also, the Wall Street Journal reported that longstanding tax law, combined with a souring economy, is encouraging developers to sell losing real estate investments by the end of the year-a potential opportunity for land trusts to acquire land at a steep discount.