Exploring IRS Enforcement Campaigns on Charitable Donations

The IRS has been challenging various types of charitable donations for years, raising some standard arguments, evolving during the process, and expanding its focus over time. What started as the IRS scrutinizing donations that it considered abusive has morphed into frequent challenges to charitable gifts that are, by most accounts, routine. This presentation explores recent IRS attacks on charitable donations of conservation easements, artwork, ownership interests in special-purpose entities, closely held businesses, religious artefacts, bargain sales, and more.