Land Deals Led to Charitable Tax Deduction of $6.8b in 2017: IRS

Tax-advantaged land transactions, known as syndicated easements, led to charitable contribution deductions of about $6 billion in 2016 and $6.8 billion in 2017, Internal Revenue Service says.

• Agency identifies about 249 passthrough entities that took part in the deals in 2016 and 244 that took part in 2017, according to a letter IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig sent to Republican Senator Chuck Grassley
• NOTE: Grassley and Democratic Senator Ron Wyden began investigation into the deals in March last year on concerns that the transactions, which involve multiple people claiming a tax break for making land-use donations, are costing the Treasury billions ...