Historic Preservation Easements Have Been Unfairly Targeted by an Aggressive IRS Campaign. Take Action!
The Federal Historic Preservation Easement program is a tax incentive that promotes the preservation and rehabilitation of historic buildings by allowing deductions for charitable contribution of historic preservation easements. Unfortunately this important program has been been undercut by an aggressive IRS campaign aimed at ending abusive conservation easement transactions. The campaign has resulted in denying nearly all conservation and historic easement deductions and thus deterring investments in historic preservation. The impact of this action on the historic preservation community is amplified as the COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted many historic building owners and historic rehabilitation projects.
Take Action
Write your members of Congress and urge them to work with the IRS, Treasury, the White House Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and other agencies across the Administration on the following initiatives:
- Exempt Historic Preservation Easements from the IRS enforcement campaign.
- Quickly resolve pending Historic Preservation Easement cases.
- Provide clear regulations for historic property owners seeking to utilize this important program.
These actions will help ensure that historic preservationists can continue to protect and restore iconic federally recognized historic buildings across the country, furthering Congressional intent of the Historic Preservation Easement program. They will also spur new investment into historic neighborhoods in urban areas across the country, contributing to a post-pandemic economic recovery.
Send the sample letter below to your members of Congress today!
If you have a personal contact in your Representative or Senator’s Washington D.C or District office, contact that person directly. Be sure to include Preservation Action at rnaylor@preservationaction.org on your communication.
Learn more:
- Historic Preservation Easements One Pager
- Bloomberg Tax: Reverse Loophole Exploited by IRS Threatens Economic Revitalization
- Study: Preservation Easements and the Resurgence of Downtown Columbus
- Study: Using the Right Tools. Preservation Easements and Downtown Columbia, South Carolina