Recent legislation has enhanced the value of an existing tax-savings opportunity....

New York State Enacts a First-in-the-Nation Tax Credit for Conservation Easements
For the past 6 years, the Land Trust Alliance and New York’s more than 80 land trusts have been working hard to create a state tax incentive for conservation. In late April, their efforts finally paid off: New York’s Conservation Easement Tax Credit officially became part of the State tax code.

Beginning next year, this innovative credit will give New York State landowners whose land is restricted by a conservation easement an annual refund of 25% of the property taxes paid on that land, up to $5,000 per year. It is available to all owners of easement-restricted land, regardless of when the easement was created, provided that the easement was wholly or partially donated to a land trust or a governmental agency.

The Conservation Tax Credit will create a huge incentive for conservation all across the state because it:

· Removes one of the most significant barriers to easement donations in NYS - the lack of property tax relief on easement-restricted lands;

· Enables landowners with modest incomes, such as retirees and farmers, to conserve their land without sacrificing financial security;

· Provides a powerful motivator for landowners to abide by the terms of their easements;

· Runs with the land so that successor owners will benefit from it as well as the original easement donors. This not only recognizes the ongoing public benefits of private land conservation, but also helps ensures that new owners, too, will comply with their easements.

· Runs with the land so that successor owners will benefit from it as well as the original easement donors. This not only recognizes the ongoing public benefits of private land conservation, but also helps ensures that new owners, too, will comply with their easements.

And, importantly, the Conservation Tax Credit does not reduce local property tax revenues, so there is no negative impact on town and county budgets.