As we mentioned in yesterday’s Events post, Tim Gunn from the Trust for Architectural Easements gave a lecture last night about the tax write-off available to owners of historic buildings that donate a facade easement. Historically, people have been able to write off 10 to 15 percent of the value of their homes, not an insignificant amount in this day and age. The only problem is that, despite the existence of case law in support of the easement, the IRS has decided that it doesn’t think that owners of houses that are already restricted by existing landmark laws should be able to take the write-off. As a result, 40 or so homeowners in Brooklyn that participated in the easement program in 2003 and 2004 have gotten hit with an audit in the last couple of years, according to one of the affected homeowners. We’d be interested to hear from any readers who attended last night’s program what Mr. Gunn’s spin on the audit threat was and whether he provided any compelling evidence that it’s still worth the risk for those in existing landmark districts. Sounds to us like people in areas that may be landmarked in the next couple of years should be all over this while those whose props are already landmarked would do better to sit tight.
Thursday Events [Brownstoner]