Tax Court Cases Discussing § 170 And Substantial Compliance

The District Court ruled for the IRS on summary judgment, holding that the failure to comply with I.R.C. § 170(f)(8) was, in and of itself, fatal to the deduction claim. The court rejected substantial compliance.

We prepared this summary of the basic results of conservation tax cases to aid land trusts, but not to give tax, legal or other advice. To aid digestion, we distilled the cases to only their essential points and removed all nuance. Obtain legal counsel to apply these general observations to specific cases.

The District Court ruled for the IRS on summary judgment, holding that the failure to comply with I.R.C. 170(f)(8) was fatal to the deduction. The court rejected a substantial compliance argument in this respect.

The Tax Court held that the appraisal was not a 'qualified appraisal,' there was no reasonable cause exception, no substantial compliance, the endowment is not a deductible gift and no penalties due to reasonable reliance.

The Tax Court held that the appraisal was not a qualified appraisal due to omission of several dates and FMV. The Court found these omissions significant enough so as to preclude the application of the doctrine of substantial compliance.

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The Tax Court found for the taxpayer on all disputes with the IRS in this quid pro quo and substantial compliance donation case, including valuation and rejected all penalties. Despite several missing appraisal requirements, the appraisals provided enough information to evaluate the contributions.

This is a sample transparency, compliance and protection policy from the accredited Leelanau Conservancy.

Who has the legal right to sue in conservation easement cases? The Alliance's Conservation Defense team has compiled this list of cases where standing was approved or denied.

Brief filed by IRS. The Tax Court held that the appraisal was not a 'qualified appraisal,' there was no reasonable cause exception, no substantial compliance, the endowment is not a deductible gift and no penalties due to reasonable reliance.