Conservation Easement Settlement: More Guidance, More Questions


Uplifted by some recent Tax Court victories on “technical” issues in conservation easement disputes, and cognizant of the enormous amount of additional cases headed its way in the coming years, the IRS announced a settlement initiative in June. The agency first described the terms of the settlement initiative through two means: a public release and private offer letters to eligible partnerships. Not surprisingly, that initial guidance had several holes. The IRS tried to plug them in October 2020 by publishing a chief counsel notice, along with a second release. This article analyzes all the information provided thus far about the settlement initiative, identifying key issues that remain unaddressed by the IRS, whether strategically or inadvertently.

Read the full article here.

About Hale E. Sheppard

HALE E. SHEPPARD, Esq. (B.S., M.A., J.D., LL.M., LL.M.T.) is a Shareholder in the Tax Controversy Section of Chamberlain Hrdlicka and Chair of the International Tax Group.

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