Land donation

CASE STUDY: Snyder Heritage Farm Alfred and Gladys Snyder wanted to ensure that their Polk County farm would continue to support wildlife, not urban sprawl. READ MORE

Land donations can create a permanent family legacy. Joe McGovern

We love this land and we want to give it to someone who will protect and cherish this legacy as we have. We want to see others experience its special features during our lifetimes and to know that future generations will experience them as well.

Donating land to a conservation partner is usually the simplest conservation option because financing and price negotiations aren’t necessary. Simply talk with your intended recipients to confirm that they will accept your land gift. Then transfer the title. You can also donate non-conservation land to support other conservation efforts.

Financial benefits

Even people who give their land away may still receive financial compensations:

• You will no longer pay property taxes or costs of management.
• If your recipient is a qualified government agency or nonprofit organization, you may be able to claim an income tax deduction of the land’s fair market value (as determined by a qualified appraiser). Some landowners donate the land in installments or partial interests over a period of years to maximize their tax benefits.
• You may be able to reduce your federal estate tax and your heirs’ state inheritance tax.

Other benefits

Donating land for conservation also provides intangible benefits:

• Because you are making a gift, you have more control in choosing your land’s future owner, land uses, management goals and transaction timing.
• You may get naming rights to the property—allowing you to memorialize your family name or someone/something else of your choice.
• You share in the excitement of seeing the conservation project unfold before your eyes.

Talk it over

Be sure to discuss land gifts with your potential recipient in advance. Conservation staff can help clarify your wishes and/or suggest changes in gift timing that could be mutually beneficial.

If your land has special long-term management needs, consider donating or bequeathing funds to help cover your recipient’s future expenses associated with the gifted property. (For more, visit the long-term stewardship section.)

Find more details about the financial and tax impacts of conservation protections.

reprinted from Landowner’s Options, © 2007, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation