IRS Has Close Eye on Tax-Exempt Orgs Making Conservation Deals

The IRS is auditing more than a dozen tax-exempt organizations involved in land conservation transactions known as syndicated conservation easements.

The IRS has stepped up its scrutiny of the transactions, investigating participants as well as appraisers, tax preparers, and others who have helped organize and sell investors on the deals. The agency is paying very close attention to tax-exempt organizations, reviewing the tax forms of any such entity that takes part in a deal, according to Sunita Lough, deputy commissioner for services and enforcement at the IRS.

“When we see an exempt organization that is involved in the ...