Fee Title Land

When landowners donate property to the Santa Fe Conservation Trust, they are giving the property’s title and all of its rights and interest to the Santa Fe Conservation Trust. Like conservation easement donations, land donations can qualify as tax-deductible charitable donations if they benefit the public by permanently protecting important conservation resources and meet other federal tax code requirements. The Santa Fe Conservation Trust will consider the two following types of Fee Title land donations:

• Protected Lands
  Protected lands are property that a donor would like the Santa Fe Conservation Trust to permanently conserve. Our decisions to accept these donations are based on their alignment with our strategic conservation goals. In some cases, when a donated property has some value for conservation but SFCT is not the appropriate owner, SFCT may sell the property and reserve a conservation easement.
• Trade Lands
  Trade lands are properties donated to the Santa Fe Conservation Trust that may or may not have significant conservation characteristics. They can be developed or not, and can be residential, industrial, or commercial. The supporter allows SFCT to sell the property so that we can put the proceeds towards our most important conservation initiatives.

What are the Federal Tax Benefits for donating Fee Title?

The federal tax code allows individuals and businesses to make non-cash contributions to qualifying charities and to claim deductions for these contributions on their tax returns. Gifts of donated property and other non-cash items have long been an important source of revenue for many charitable organizations and a popular deduction for taxpayers. Landowners that donate Fee Title land to the Santa Fe Conservation Trust may be able to deduct up to 30% of their Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) for a carryover period of five years up to the Fair Market Value(FMV) of the Fee Title land. The FMV is determined by an appraisal conducted by an independent qualified appraiser.