Free CT-242-I (Instructions) - New York

New York State Department of Taxation and Finance

Instructions for Form CT-242
Claim for Conservation Easement Tax Credit
Tax Law -- Section 210.38

CT-242-I

General information
Important reminder to file a complete return: You must complete all required schedules and forms that make up your return, and include all pages of those forms andscheduleswhenyoufile.Returnsthataremissing required pages or that have pages with missing entries are considered incomplete and cannot be processed, and may subject taxpayers to penalty and interest. The conservation easement tax credit is available to Article 9-A taxpayers who own land that is subject to a conservation easement (see Definitions) held by a public or private conservation agency. The credit is available for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2006. The credit is not available to New York S corporations. The allowable credit is 25% of the school district, county, and town real property taxes paid in 2008 on the land subject to the conservation easement (excluding real property taxes paid on buildings, structures, and other improvements). However, the combination of the conservation easement tax credit with any other tax credit for the school district, county, and town real property taxes cannot exceed the amount of these taxes. The maximum conservation easement tax credit a taxpayer may claim is limited to $5,000 in any given year. If the amount of the credit exceeds the taxpayer's tax for the year, the excess will be treated as an overpayment of tax that can be credited or refunded (without interest).

Dedications of land for open space through the execution of conservation easements for the purpose of fulfilling density requirements to obtain subdivision or building permits are not considered a conservation easement for purposes of this credit. Land means a fee simple title to real property located in New York State, with or without improvements. This includes rights ofway;waterandriparianrights;easements;privileges,and all other rights or interests relating to or connected with real property, excluding buildings, structures and improvements. Public or private conservation agency means: · anystate,local,orfederalgovernmentalbody;or · anyprivatenot-for-profitcharitablecorporationortrustwhich: -- is authorized to do business in New York State, -- is organized and operated to protect land for natural resources, conservation, or historic preservation purposes, --isexemptfromfederalincometaxationunderIRC section501(c)(3),and -- has the power to acquire, hold, and maintain land or interests in land for such purposes.

Line instructions
Part 1 -- Computation of credit
Enter the information relating to the real property taxes paid in 2008 on land (or a portion of land) subject to a conservation easement held by a public or private conservation agency. If you need additional space, attach a separate sheet listing this information in the same format as requested in columns A through E of Part 1. Write the name and employer identification number (EIN) of your corporation on each sheet. Column A -- Allowable real property taxes means the school district, county, and town real property taxes paid on the land (or a portion of the land) subject to a conservation easement. Allowable real property taxes do not include city or village property taxes, special ad valorem levies, or special assessments.(SeeRealPropertyTaxLaw(RPTL) sections 102-14 and 102-15 for the definition of special ad valorem levies and special assessments.) Enter the real property taxes paid during the 2008 tax year for each conservation easement only once. Use a separate line for each conservation easement. Allocation of real property tax -- If only a portion of the land you own is subject to a conservation easement, or if the property you own includes buildings, structures, or improvements that are taxed, do not enter the full amount of property tax in column A. You must allocate the portion of school district, county, and town real property taxes that corresponds to the portion of your land subject to a conservation easement. Base the allocation on the value of the land. Your local assessor may be able to tell you the value of the portion of your land subject to a conservation easement (excluding the value of any buildings, structures, or improvements) and the total value of your land subject to taxes. If your assessor is unable to provide this information, you may determine the value by using any other reasonable method, such as basing the value on the recent sale price of similar property in your area. Keep records to substantiate how you allocated the taxes.

Definitions
Conservation easement is defined in Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) Article 49 as a perpetual and permanent easement on land located in New York State which: · isheldbyapublicorprivateconservationagency; ·servestoprotectanyofthefollowing: -- open space, -- biodiversity, or -- scenic, natural, agricultural, watershed, or historic preservationresources; · isfiledwiththeDepartmentofEnvironmentalConservation (DEC) by the person causing such document to be so recorded,asprovidedforinECLArticle49; · complieswiththeprovisionsofECL,Article49,Title3;and · complieswiththeprovisionsoftheInternalRevenueCode (IRC)section170(h). Note: A taxpayer should maintain adequate records to substantiate the conservation easement's compliance with the provisionsofIRC170(h).Thisincludes,butisnotlimitedto,a copyoffederalForm8283,Noncash Charitable Contributions, for the year of the donation. Also acceptable is a letter from the public or private conservation agency stating that the conservation easement was donated or purchased · fornoconsiderationoranominalamount,or · forlessthanfairmarketvalue(FMV),provided,inthiscase, theletterisaccompaniedbyanappraisalindicatingtheFMV of the conservation easement that was made at the time of the purchase of the easement. The appraisal must be made by a qualified appraiser as defined in federal regulations section1.170A-13(c)(5).

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CT-242-I (2008)

If you own land subject to a conservation easement with one or more other person(s), you should include only the total allowable real property taxes you paid in 2008 in column A. Column C -- If the land subject to a conservation easement also entitles you to claim any of the following credits, compute any of these credits that apply to you before continuing with this form: · farmers'schooltaxcredit(FormCT-47),and · either the QEZE credit for real property taxes (Form CT-606) or the remediated brownfield credit for real property taxes (Form CT-612). If you included the allowable real property taxes from column A in the computation of any of the credits listed above, enter in column C the amount of the credit(s) that is based on the same real property taxes. If only a portion of the credit is based on the same taxes used in column A, prorate the amount of the credit(s) to enter in column C accordingly. Line 6 -- If you are claiming more than one credit, enter the amount of the other credits claimed before this credit. Otherwise enter 0. If filing as a member of a combined group, include any amount of tax credit(s) being claimed by other members of the combined group, including conservation easement tax credits, that you wish to apply before this credit. See the instructions for your franchise tax return for a listing of credits and the order in which the credits are applied. See Form CT-600-I, Instructions for Form CT-600, to determine the proper ordering of multiple credits.

Need help?
Internet access: www.nystax.gov (for information, forms, and publications) Fax-on-demand forms: Forms are available 24 hours a day, 7daysaweek. 1800748-3676 Telephone assistanceisavailablefrom8:00A.M.to 5:00P.M.(easterntime),MondaythroughFriday. To order forms and publications: 1 800 462-8100 Corporation Tax Information Center: 1 888 698-2908 From areas outside the U.S. and outside Canada: (518) 485-6800 Text Telephone (TTY) Hotline (for persons with hearing and speech disabilities using a TTY): If you haveaccesstoaTTY,contactusat1800634-2110. If you do not own a TTY, check with independent living centers or community action programs to find out where machines are available for public use. Persons with disabilities: In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, we will ensure that our lobbies, offices, meeting rooms, and other facilities are accessible to persons with disabilities. If you have questions about special accommodations for persons withdisabilities,pleasecall1800972-1233.

Part 4 -- Conservation easement identifying information
Enter the information for each easement in the same order as the easements are listed under Part 1. Address -- Enter the address of the land subject to a conservation easement as it appears in your deed or other instrument that records the easement. Include the name of the city, village, or town and county where the easement is located. Name of conservation agency -- Enter the name of the public or private conservation agency that holds the conservation easement. Recording information -- Enter the recording information (typically county, liber, and page or instrument number) assigned to the conservation easement at the time it was recorded and indexed in the county clerk's office for the county inwhichthepropertyislocated.Recordinginformationshould be available through the county clerk's office or from the agency that holds the conservation easement. Date of conveyance -- Enter the date the conservation easement was conveyed to the public or private conservation agency. DEC identification number -- Enter the identification number assigned to the conservation easement when it was filed with DEC. This number should be available from the agency that holds the conservation easement. The letters CE have been preprinted in the entry space for the DEC identification number.