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For Landowners

Do you want to see your land conserved for the future? Are you planning ahead for retirement or beyond? Are you curious about what the financial and tax benefits may be for permanently protecting your land? We can help you understand the options for conserving your land and explain the process of protecting your land with a land trust to meet your goals.

As a first step, we recommend you take a look at this Vermont landowner’s guide to conservation-based estate planning.

Questions to Consider

As you start thinking about options for your land, it’s helpful to have a clear idea of your needs and goals. The answers to questions like these can help determine the options that will work best for you:

  • What is it about the land that’s important to you? To others in your family?
  • What are its special features: natural, agricultural, scenic, historic, or recreation?
  • Is it important to you to protect the whole parcel or a specific part of it?
  • How do you want to use the land in the future?
  • Do you want to continue owning the land?
  • Do you want to continue living on the land?
  • Do you want to pass the land on to someone in your family?
  • Do you want to donate your land or an easement?
  • Do you need to sell all or part of the land?
  • Is it important to you to reduce your income taxes or potential estate taxes?
  • Will you owe substantial capital gains taxes if you sell the land?
  • Do you want to be able to construct any additional buildings on the property?
  • What’s the timeframe during which you would want to make a decision about conserving your property?

Getting Advice

We can help answer your questions and guide you through the process of protecting your land. As you make decisions, you should also consult with your own qualified, independent legal and financial advisors.

Tax Incentives

The permanent federal conservation easement tax incentive is a powerful tool that helps Americans conserve their land voluntarily. If you own land with important natural, agricultural or historic resources, donating a conservation easement can be a prudent way to both save the land you love forever and to realize significant federal tax savings. Typically, conservation results in little impact on property taxes. Most of the land we protect is already enrolled in the Vermont Current Use Program and remains enrolled after it is conserved. Privately-owned conserved land remains on local tax rolls. 

Questions? Contact us for more information.