First, the disclaimer that actually matters: this page explains the general federal rules; it is not tax advice for your situation. Brackets, state taxes, AMT, and itemizing all change the outcome. Run your numbers with a CPA or enrolled agent before you rely on them.
The core rule: fair market value
Donate real estate you have owned for more than one year to a 501(c)(3) public charity and you can generally deduct its full fair market value (FMV) — what a willing buyer would pay a willing seller — not merely what you paid for it. Land held one year or less is limited to cost basis instead. FMV is established by a qualified appraisal (below), and the governing guidance is IRS Publication 561, Determining the Value of Donated Property.
The 30% AGI limit — and the five-year carryforward
Deductions for appreciated long-term property are capped at 30% of your adjusted gross income in the year of the gift. The excess doesn’t vanish: it carries forward for up to five more years.
Worked example: you donate land appraised at $100,000 and your AGI is $120,000. Your cap is $36,000 per year. You deduct $36,000 in year one, $36,000 in year two, and the remaining $28,000 in year three (assuming similar AGI). One gift, three years of reduced tax bills.
The quiet second benefit: no capital gains
Selling appreciated land triggers capital gains tax on the growth; donating it doesn’t, because no sale occurs. On land bought for $15,000 and worth $40,000, a seller owes tax on $25,000 of gain (about $3,750 at 15%) — a donor owes nothing, and deducts the full $40,000. For long-held, highly appreciated ground like family farmland, this pairing is where donation gets financially serious. (For recently inherited land, the stepped-up basis mutes this benefit — we say so on that page.)
The paperwork ladder
| Deduction claimed | What the IRS requires |
|---|---|
| Any amount | Written acknowledgment (donation receipt) from the charity — we provide this as a matter of course |
| Over $500 | Form 8283 filed with your return |
| Over $5,000 | A qualified appraisal, plus the charity’s signature on Form 8283 Section B — we sign promptly |
| Over $500,000 | The full appraisal attached to your return |
What a “qualified appraisal” means
Not a Zillow estimate and not the county assessment — a written appraisal by a credentialed appraiser who regularly values property of that type, completed no earlier than 60 days before the donation and no later than your filing deadline. The donor commissions and pays for it (typically a few hundred dollars for ordinary land) because the IRS requires it to be independent of the receiving charity. Think of it as the price of admission for deductions over $5,000 — and the document that sets exactly how large your deduction is.
Putting it together
The sequence for donors is simple: confirm you’ve held the property over a year, get the qualified appraisal if you’ll claim over $5,000, complete the donation (we handle the transfer side), keep our receipt, and file Form 8283 with your return. Whether the deduction beats a sale for your parcel is exactly what our donate-vs-sell comparison is for.
Selling property at a large gain this year, or thinking about splitting a parcel? The 30%-of-AGI cap works differently — and better — in a big-income year: see offsetting capital gains with a donation and partial land donation.