Do the new incentives really apply to all "qualified conservation contribution" gifts?? As noted above, under the terms of the statute, the new incentives apply to gifts of all "qualified conservation contributions". Under Section 170(h) of the tax code, "qualified conservation contributions" include (1) the gift of a remainder interest in land for conservation purposes; (2) a gift of the fee interest in real estate for conservation purposes with a reserved right to extract oil, gas, and subsurface minerals (so-called "qualified mineral interest" gifts); and (3) the gift of a "qualified real property interest," including a conservation easement.

See the spreadsheets that follow. Note that these are "simple" examples and do not include a lot of the other usual items that show up on individual income tax returns, such as mortgage interest, capital gains and losses, etc.

In none of the scenarios below has the Alternative Minimum Tax ("AMT") come up.

These spreadsheets do not address state income tax issues. Also, new software is not yet available for the new conservation donation tax incentives, so I had to improvise a bit here and there to adapt. I believe these calculations are correct, however. The spreadsheets do not address corporate income tax situations.

Here is a sneak preview of the important surprise. In many of the following situations (see $100,000 of AGI, $200,000 of AGI), when the entire deduction is "used up" before the carryforward period runs out, the income tax savings appear to be higher when the deduction is taken up to 50% of AGI each year instead of up to 100% of AGI each year. This may be because of the "progressive" income tax: the more income you have, the higher the tax rate. When only the "top half" of your income is sheltered by a deduction, that is your higher-taxed income. By eliminating all taxable income with a 100% deduction, you are also avoiding paying tax on lower-taxed income. This is all food for thought. With an elderly donor (my definition of elderly goes up a little bit each year) and a 15-year carryforward, long-term income tax planning also might want to think a bit about life expectancy.

In that regard there is one other related issue. Any unused carryforward deduction (in the case of any charitable gift) "expires" with the death of the donor. Married couples that own land and want to take advantage of this extended carryforward should consult with their advisors about structuring their land ownership, and easement donation, to take this issue into consideration.

Finally, the calculations are not intended to prove any particular point other than the fact that each donor must get his or her own tax and legal advice. It is often not prudent to generalize about income tax consequences.

The spreadsheets begin on the next page.