IRS agents evaluating conservation easements have severely undervalued properties – sometimes by tens of millions of dollars – without ever visiting those properties for a proper evaluation, a new report has found.
Landowners can enter into a conservation easement agreement with a land trust or government agency that protects the property’s natural, agricultural, or scenic resources while limiting future development. Landowners still own the land, but the property can never be altered according to the agreement. An independent review of more than 130 IRS property valuations has found that the federal agency drastically reduces the value of reviewed properties by approximately 97%, using methods not authorized by Congress.