The federal income tax benefits of donating a properly structured conservation easement are similar to other gifts of land, but were recently enhanced by Congress in 2015 to encourage more landowners to use this effective land protection tool.²  The new law allows the landowner to take a deduction for the value of the donated easement up to 50% of the donor's adjusted gross income for the year of the donation.  For qualifying farmers or ranchers who receive more than 50% of their gross income from the trade or business of farming, the deduction limit is increased to 100% of adjusted gross income.  If the deduction amount exceeds these limits, the donor may carry over the balance of the deduction for up to 15 succeeding years.