Could Virginia grant a land-preservation credit when the taxpayer filed Form LPC-1 almost a year after the statutory deadline?

Plain-English summary

Virginia denied a Land Preservation Tax Credit application for a real-property interest donated on July 6, 2015. The applicable statute required the taxpayer to submit Form LPC-1 by December 31 of the following calendar year, making December 31, 2016 the deadline.

The Department did not receive the application until December 20, 2017. The taxpayer's reasons for missing the deadline and misunderstanding of the law did not permit the Department to grant the credit.

The ruling also described the historical credit as 40% of qualifying donated property's fair market value and noted the $75 million annual statewide cap beginning in 2015.

Common questions

What was the filing deadline? December 31, 2016.

When was the application received? December 20, 2017.

Could the Department waive the deadline? The ruling did not allow it.

Citations and references

• Va. Code § 58.1-512, including subsection D 4 a
• 2015 House Bill 1828, Chapter 235 of the Acts of Assembly

Source

• Landing page: Virginia Laws, Rules & Decisions
• Ruling: P.D. 18-146

Original ruling text

July 17, 2018

Re: § 58.1-1821 Application: Land Preservation Tax Credit Application

Dear *:

This will reply to your letter in which you appeal the denial of an application for the Land Preservation Tax Credit (the “Credit”) submitted by * (the “Taxpayer”).

FACTS

The Taxpayer filed its application for the Credit with the Department on December 20, 2017, for a real property interest donated on July 6, 2015. The Department did not certify the Credit because the application was filed after the December 31, 2016 deadline required by law for claiming the Credit. The Taxpayer contends that it missed the filing deadline for a variety of reasons and it misunderstood the law. The Taxpayer requests that the Department grant the Credit.

DETERMINATION

Virginia Code § 58.1-512 provides a Credit for 40% of the fair market value of real property or an interest in real property donated to an eligible charitable organization or instrumentality of the Commonwealth for qualifying land conservation purposes. Beginning with 2015, the total amount of the Credit available for all taxpayers for each calendar year is limited to $75 million. The Department issues the Credit in the order that each Credit application (Form LPC-1) is received.

In 2015, the General Assembly enacted House Bill 1828 (Chapter 235, Acts of Assembly ) requiring eligible taxpayers making donations after July 1, 2015 to submit their Credit applications by December 31 of the year following the calendar year of the conveyance. This requirement is clearly set forth in the instructions for the Credit application.

In this case, the Taxpayer’s donation was made on July 6, 2015. By law, the deadline for the Taxpayer to file its Form LPC-1 to receive the Credit was December 31, 2016. See Virginia Code § 58.1-512 D 4 a. The Department received the Taxpayer’s Form LPC-1 on December 20, 2017, well after the filing deadline passed. Because the Taxpayer failed to submit its application in a timely fashion, the Taxpayer’s request cannot be granted.

The Code of Virginia sections and public documents cited are available on-line at www.tax.virginia.gov in the Laws, Rules and Decisions section of the Department’s web site. If you have any questions regarding this determination, you may contact * in the Office of Tax Policy, Appeals and Rulings, at ***.

Sincerely,

Craig M. Burns

Tax Commissioner

AR/1651.B