Title: Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act of 2020
Policy area: Taxation

Summary:
Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act of 2020
This bill limits the aggregate amount of a partner's annual tax deductions for qualified conservation contributions of a partnership to 2.5 times the partner's adjusted basis in the partnership. (Under current law, a qualified conservation contribution is the contribution of a qualified real property interest to a qualified organization exclusively for conservation purposes.) The limitation applies for the first three taxable years after the individual becomes a partner in the partnership. It does not apply to certain family partnerships.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5019 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5019

  To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to limit the charitable 
      deduction for certain qualified conservation contributions.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 15, 2020

  Mr. Daines (for himself, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Grassley, and Mr. Wyden) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                          Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to limit the charitable 
      deduction for certain qualified conservation contributions.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Charitable Conservation Easement 
Program Integrity Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON DEDUCTION FOR QUALIFIED CONSERVATION 
              CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY PASS-THROUGH ENTITY.

    (a) In General.--Section 170(h) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(7) Limitation on deduction for qualified conservation 
        contributions made by pass-through entity.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In the case of any qualified 
                conservation contribution of any partnership (whether 
                directly or as a distributive share of such 
                contribution of another partnership), no amount of such 
                contribution may be taken into account under this 
                section by any partner of such partnership as a 
                distributive share of such contribution if the 
                aggregate amount so taken into account by such partner 
                for the taxable year would (but for this paragraph) 
                exceed 2.5 times the portion of the adjusted basis of 
                such partner's interest in such partnership (determined 
                immediately before such contribution and without regard 
                to section 752) which is allocable (under rules similar 
                to the rules of section 755) to the qualified real 
                property interest with respect to which such 
                contribution is made.
                    ``(B) Exception for contributions outside 3-year 
                holding period.--Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to a 
                partner's distributive share of a qualified 
                conservation contribution if such contribution is 
                made--
                            ``(i) at least 3 years after the date the 
                        partnership acquired the entirety of the 
                        qualified real property interest with respect 
                        to which such contribution is made,
                            ``(ii) at least 3 years after the date the 
                        partner acquired the partner's entire interest 
                        in the partnership with respect to which such 
                        distributive share is determined, and
                            ``(iii) if the interest in the partnership 
                        making such contribution is held through 1 or 
                        more partnerships, at least 3 years after each 
                        such partnership acquired the entirety of the 
                        interest in any such partnership with respect 
                        to which such distributive share is determined.
                    ``(C) Exception for family partnerships.--
                Subparagraph (A) shall not apply with respect to any 
                qualified conservation contribution made by any 
                partnership if substantially all of the partnership 
                interests in such partnership are held, directly or 
                indirectly, by individuals who are members of the same 
                family (within the meaning of section 529(e)(2)).
                    ``(D) Application to other pass-through entities.--
                Except as may be otherwise provided by the Secretary, 
                the rules of this paragraph shall apply to S 
                corporations and other pass-through entities in the 
                same manner as such rules apply to partnerships.
                    ``(E) Regulations.--The Secretary shall prescribe 
                such regulations or other guidance as may be necessary 
                to carry out, and prevent the avoidance of, the 
                purposes of this paragraph, including, in the case of 
                tiered partnerships, such reporting to the Secretary 
                and among such partnerships as the Secretary determines 
                appropriate.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
        amendment made by this section shall apply to contributions 
        made in taxable years ending after December 23, 2016.
            (2) Certified historic structures.--In the case of 
        contributions the conservation purpose (as defined in section 
        170(h)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) of which is the 
        preservation of a certified historic structure (as defined in 
        section 170(h)(4)(C) of such Code), the amendment made by this 
        section shall apply to contributions made in taxable years 
        beginning after December 31, 2018.
            (3) No inference.--No inference is intended as to the 
        appropriate treatment of contributions made in taxable years 
        ending on or before the date specified in paragraph (1) or (2), 
        whichever is applicable, or as to any activity not described in 
        section 170(h)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as 
        added by this section.
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