Tax Court Deal Erases Partnership’s $19.9 Million Easement Claim

The US Tax Court signed off on a settlement Friday that eliminated a Georgia partnership’s $19.9 million claimed charitable contribution deductions for a conservation easement.

MR Minerals LLC’s charitable contribution deduction taken for its 2019 tax year was adjusted to zero, Judge Kathleen Kerrigan said for the court, assessing an imputed underpayment of $7.4 million. A conservation easement allows a property owner to donate the future development potential for a piece of land in exchange for tax benefits.

• MR Minerals donated the easement over its 320-acre property in Twiggs County, Ga., to the nonprofit corporation, Southern Conservation Trust Inc., and ...