Land Conservancy sets tax incentive seminar

WOODSTOCK – The Land Conservancy of McHenry County will host a free seminar July 24 for landowners interested in learning more about an income tax incentive available for landowners who choose to preserve their agricultural, natural or historic land.

The seminar, which will take place at the McHenry County Farm Bureau on McConnell Road in Woodstock, will feature information from legal, tax, estate planning and real estate valuation experts, as well as local landowners who participated in the program in previous years.

The income tax incentive for land conservation has been in place since 2006 but is set to expire at the end of 2009.

According to a Land Conservancy news release, the incentive, which applies to a landowner’s federal income tax:

• Raises the deduction a donor can take for donating a voluntary conservation agreement from 30 percent of their income in any year to 50 percent;

• Allows farmers and ranchers to deduct up to 100 percent of their income; and

• Increases the number of years over which a donor can take deductions from six to 16 years.

In McHenry County, The Land Conservancy of McHenry County more than doubled the land protected through voluntary conservation agreements in 2007 and 2008, in large part because of the tax incentive.

To date, The Land Conservancy has worked with 43 landowners to preserve nearly 1,700 acres of land that includes more than 500 acres of farmland.To register for the free seminar, call The Land Conservancy at 815-337-9502.