Conservation Easement Attorney
Last updated on February 28, 2025
Cal Bomar is a former IRS Chief Counsel attorney who specializes in IRS and state tax cases involving syndicated conservation easements. Our team includes some of the best-known tax lawyers in the U.S. Whereas most law firms that handle these cases represent promoters, our firm only represents investors in easement deals. We are focused on getting investors the most favorable relief. We understand how stressful an IRS tax case can be and know that conservation easement investors find themselves in this situation through no fault of their own. It is important to address the problem so that you can get a positive result and put it behind you.
For more information on conservation easements, check out our conservation easements frequently asked questions page.
Here’s What You’ll Get From The Bomar Law Firm:
1. A free consultation and strategy session with a former IRS attorney.
2. The vast experience and resources of our best tax lawyers in Atlanta.
3. Attorneys whom you can reach and receive an update from the same day.
4. Attorneys and staff who care about you and your case and who will fight tirelessly to get you to the most favorable result.
Why Is The IRS Attacking Syndicated Conservation Easement Deals?
To create a syndicated conservation easement, a promoter brings together a group of investors, places them into a passthrough entity (like an LLC that is a partnership for tax purposes) that has purchased land, and then places a conservation easement on that land restricting the private use of the property in order to protect its conservation value. The partnership takes a charitable deduction for the reduction in the value of the land and passes that tax deduction to the investors on Form K-1.
Conservation easements are legal when set up correctly and using the actual value of the property. In fact, easements were often marketed to investors as a way to help the environment in a way that was legal and even encouraged by Congress. Most promoters told investors that they used very conservative appraisals, using two appraisers and taking the lower of the two appraisals. Investors were often advised by an attorney and CPA that the transaction was legal. In addition to the appraisals, many were also shown opinion letters from law firms that the transactions were done legally.
IRS asserts that most syndicated conservation easement transactions are abusive. IRS points to examples of promoters who appraised the land at extreme multiples over its recent purchase price. IRS also seeks to disallow deductions using technical defects, such as asserting that the deed of conservation did not meet the requirements because it did not convey the property in “perpetuity” (forever). The IRS has indicated that it may also challenge the transactions based on the partnership anti-abuse rule, economic substance and other rules or doctrines. The IRS asserts that the easements have resulted in the Treasury losing over twenty billion dollars to fake charitable deductions since 2010.
Ongoing Developments In IRS Conservation Easement Cases
As of January 2023, the IRS and DOJ have obtained more than a million pages of documents in their investigations of syndicated conservation easement transactions. IRS intends to audit all conservation easement deals that are not beyond the statute of limitations on assessment.
In criminal investigations, the DOJ has focused heavily on promoters who took the most extreme valuation multiples and those who falsified documents (such as backdating). Most promoters of syndicated conservation easements have stopped doing new deals, but both DOJ and IRS appear to be focusing additional resources on those that continue.
After several attempts, Congress passed a law that will disallow future syndicated conservation easement deals that are more than 2 1/2 times the Taxpayer’s basis.
Many of these cases are now going to trial, and this will continue throughout 2023. Most of these cases involve a very large imposition of tax and penalties at the partner level via computational adjustments as the cases conclude at the partnership level. Obtaining relief at the partner level will be vital as the cases progress – just as it is already needed in those that have already concluded. Deadlines and statutes of limitation will apply to relief available to investors, so it is important to consult with an attorney as soon as possible.
2024 Conservation Easement Case Updates: A New IRS Settlement Initiative For Syndicated Conservation Easements (SCEs)
In 2024, we started seeing cases make their way through court and investors are starting to receive settlement offers from the IRS. Over the summer, the IRS issued several rounds of letters to taxpayers, proposing settlements and offering a variation of the standard settlement terms for non docketed cases that are still under examination.
With looming deadlines, the number of cases on the IRS Tax Court docket ballooned. In an effort to relieve the bottleneck of conservation easement cases, the IRS is offering more favorable settlement terms for cases that are under audit but not yet docketed in tax court. Like SCEs that are currently docketed, the new initiative for undocketed cases is aimed at reducing the deduction to the invested capital and imposing penalties and back taxes on the amount due. The difference lies in the size of the penalties imposed. The penalty for gross valuation misstatements under the new initiative for undocketed cases is 5% (10% for docketed cases) and the tax rate at the partnership level is 21% (usually 37% for docketed cases).
Why You Should Consult The Experienced Tax Law Attorneys At Bomar Law Firm
This new initiative gives conservation easement clients whose cases have not been added to the court’s docket a choice; continue on the path to litigation or take advantage of the IRS’s new offer. If you’ve received a settlement offer, it’s important to contact an experienced tax law attorney before you make a decision. At Bomar Law Firm we can help review the settlement offer and help navigate next steps.
Our legal team is led by Cal Bomar, who holds an LL.M. in Taxation from New York University and previously worked as tax counsel for the IRS Office of Chief Counsel in Washington, D.C. He brings an insider perspective and more than 20 years of experience to bear on tax law cases. Our firm also includes tax law attorneys Charlie M. Shaw, who is a Distinguished Member, Lawyers of Distinction Top 10% of Attorneys Award recipient with almost 30 years of experience, and Jeffrey L. Cohen, who has represented small businesses and individuals before the Internal Revenue Service and the Georgia Department of Revenue since 1982.
Our firm is well respected in the legal community with a long track record of success for our clients. We can evaluate the merits of the case against you, provide counsel and offer guidance on next steps. If you are already facing a lawsuit, a conservation easement attorney can help you prepare for criminal interviews and civil lawsuit tax relief associated with IRS penalties resulting from an IRS audit.
For more information on conservation easements check out our conservation easements frequently asked questions page.
How Can You Contact Us To Obtain Relief?
To speak with a conservation easement tax attorney for a detailed analysis of how to get a positive result in your case, contact Bomar Law Firm.
The firm also handles other IRS tax matters, audits, tax relief and Tax Court litigation. Reach out for a free consultation by calling 404-841-6561 or sending an email.