About Our Examples

These land protection examples are for illustrative purposes only. All examples assume that you itemize your deductions on your income tax return. Deduction and income calculations were made with an assumed donor age of seventy-two and a gift date of August 1, 2000, when the federal discount rate was 7.6 percent and the maximum federal capital gains tax rate was 20 percent. The benefits to you from any gift you make will vary, depending on factors such as your age, the actual date of your gift, income tax rates, the applicability of the alternative minimum tax, applicable state taxes, and charitable deduction percentage limitations.

The staff members of The Wildlife Land Trust are not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or tax advisory services. For specific cases, you should obtain the advice or assistance of your own attorney or other qualified advisor before making a gift to any charity. We are available to discuss any of the giving methods presented in this overview with you and your advisors.

Introduction

If you have sanctuary land that nurtures wild animals, and you would like to see your land remain a wildlife sanctuary forever, The Humane Society of the United States Wildlife Land Trust can help you.

The following sections explore each of the options for protecting your land. One or more of the options may be right for you. Each of them would greatly help the wildlife your land now nurtures and would thereafter protect forever.

1) DONATING A CONSERVATION EASEMENT - If you want to retain ownership of your land, but you want to arrange for its permanent protection now, you can do so by donating a conservation easement to The Wildlife Land Trust. A Wildlife Land Trust conservation easement prohibits recreational and commercial hunting and trapping, and development within protected areas. You continue to own your land. We permanently enforce the agreed-upon prohibitions specified in the conservation easement. A gift of a conservation easement to our Trust also may provide you and your estate with significant tax deductions. More...

2) DONATING LAND - You may wish to give your land to our Trust outright. When title to sanctuary land is transferred to us, we become responsible for its permanent protection. You can do this during your lifetime or arrange to have it done after your death. If done during your lifetime, you and your estate can qualify for significant tax deductions. If done after your death (through your will), a reduced but still significant tax deduction may accrue to your estate. More...

3) DONATING LAND WITH A RETAINED LIFE ESTATE - You also can transfer your property to us now, while continuing to live on it for the rest of your life. This retained life estate arrangement also may provide both you and your estate with significant tax deductions. More...

*Please note that the value of the deduction for each of these examples is limited to 30 percent of your adjusted gross income. The unused portion of this deduction, if any, can be used for tax deduction purposes for a total of six years.

Saving Sanctuary Land Now or Later--Your Decision

It's now up to you! If you have property that you want to have permanently protected by The Wildlife Land Trust, you can give us title to it or ask us to accept and hold a conservation easement on it. You can do this now or later (for example, in your will).

In either case, we will first undertake a careful examination of the property to objectively determine its sanctuary potential. We then will assist you in preparing a conservation easement agreement that reflects your wishes and our mission or, should you wish to donate title to your property to The Wildlife Land Trust, we will assist you throughout the transfer of title process. You are under no obligation during this review and preparation process should you change your mind. Our role is to find out more about your property's sanctuary characteristics and to assist you in fulfilling your land preservation wishes. Our goal is to permanently protect sanctuary property-yours or another property that your donation could help us acquire.

In electing any of these choices, you will either permanently preserve your land's value as a home for wildlife or allow us to sell or trade it in order to acquire other land with more suitable sanctuary characteristics. With either approach, you are choosing to save natural habitat for future generations. If you do this now, you may achieve significant tax savings. If you do this later, perhaps through your will, your estate may benefit from considerable tax savings.

The options discussed in this overview provide you with an extraordinary opportunity to leave an inheritance of unspoiled habitat to all who follow you. We hope you will call upon us to assist you in saving your sanctuary land for the benefit of future generations of humans and wildlife.