The IRS has announced the Applicable Federal Rates for September 2017, including the Section 7520 rate of 2.4%.

A NIMCRUT shelters gain upon the sale of a highly appreciated vacation home.

Donors constantly attempt to restrict their gifts. This article addresses the issues created when donors place such restrictions. It begins with a review of the various types of restrictions donors desire, including purpose, spending and investment; analyzing the tax issues caused by donor restrictions; and shows why some restrictions can render a gift non-deductible. Restrictive purpose clauses and the review of a charity's options with an unworkable gift are discussed. Finally, the article focuses on spending restrictions or endowments: how to create an endowment, what spending limitations apply, and how a charity can build a "better" endowment.

The 5th Circuit federal appeals court in Bosque Canyon Ranch, LP v. Commissioner vacated a decision of the Tax Court, which had disallowed charitable deductions for conservation easements where the boundaries of residential homesites within the subject parcels might later be altered.