Mountanos v. Comr., T.C. Memo. 2013-138

(petitioner conveyed conservation easement on 882 acres of undeveloped land to land conservancy; at time easement granted, land under long-term contract limiting use and development; petitioner claimed $4,691,500 charitable deduction as value of easement, but could only take $1,343,704 of deduction in tax year due to ceiling imposed by I.R.C. Sec. 170(b)(1)(B); unused portion carried over to 2006, 2007 and 2008; IRS challenged carryover amount; petitioner claimed highest and best use of property was as residential development and vineyard and IRS claimed there was no reduction in FMV of property due to easement; court agreed with IRS - petitioner failed to establish that FMV after easement was less that FMV of property before easement grant; petitioner also failed to establish that either residential development or vineyard use was property's highest and best use before easement imposed; petitioner failed to show that vineyard use a legally permissible use or economically feasible due to restricted access to property and lack of water; 40 percent gross valuation misstatement penalty imposed for underpayments for years at issue - no reasonable cause exception).