Among the many ways that Congress uses tax laws to influence taxpayers’ spending, encouraging donations to charitable causes is perhaps the least controversial. Section 170 of Title 26 of U.S. Code, for example, has outlined Internal Revenue Service (IRS) policy on charitable contributions and gifts for decades. For many taxpayers, such donations include small payments [...]
There are many tax and social benefits to gifting a conservation easement. Unfortunately, some taxpayers are in too much of a hurry to make the contribution and do not complete all of the steps necessary to receive all of the tax benefits. The U. S. Tax Court, in Minnick and Lienhart v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo [...]