The deal was placed by a financial planner six years ago. The K-1 showed a sizable charitable contribution flowing through from the partnership, the CPA reported it on the return, and that year’s tax bill went down.
Last month, an IRS Statutory Notice of Deficiency arrived, addressed personally. The partnership-level proceeding disallowed the deduction in full, and the agency is now assessing the underlying tax, a 40% gross valuation misstatement penalty, and six years of compounding interest against an individual account.
You did not structure the deal. You did not promote it. You relied on the professionals who recommended it and the appraisal that supported it. None of that prevents the IRS from collecting personally against you. The partnership-level case resolved without your direct control, and the assessment is now sitting in your name.
Interest has been running since the year the deduction was claimed. Penalty exposure can equal or exceed the original tax benefit. Georgia will follow with its own assessment as soon as the federal data reaches the state.
Wiggam Law is an Atlanta tax law firm that represents individual investors facing IRS assessments arising from syndicated conservation easement deductions.
The firm’s work in this area is investor-side: stopping interest from compounding through § 6603 deposits, disputing assessments at the individual level, pursuing refund claims after payment, and resolving the parallel Georgia state exposure through the Department of Revenue’s Voluntary Disclosure program.
Tax law is the only practice area at this firm. Call (404) 609-1300 in Atlanta or (404) 537-5030 in Norcross to discuss the assessment in front of you.
The investor’s position in a conservation easement matter is procedurally different from the partnership’s, the promoter’s, and the appraiser’s. The defense strategy has to be built for the investor’s facts, deadlines, and assets.
Tax law exclusively: Every attorney at the firm works on tax matters. Investor representation in syndicated easement cases sits in the same practice area as the rest of the firm’s IRS work.
Investor-side, not promoter-side: The firm does not represent the underlying partnerships.That separation matters when individual investor interests diverge from the partnership’s.
Federal and Georgia state coordination: Federal disallowance of an easement deduction triggers state-level consequences in Georgia. The firm handles both fronts in a single strategy.
Strategic, not sympathetic: The IRS does not reduce an investor’s exposure based on the fact that the investor relied on professionals. The firm builds the legal posture that creates real leverage.
Investors facing assessments need representation that knows the procedural map for the individual partner, not the entity. That is what this firm does.
Different procedural stages and different relief pathways require different strategies. The firm represents Atlanta investors across the full range.
| Case Type | Authority or Forum | What It Involves |
|---|---|---|
| Notice of Deficiency Response | IRS Office of Appeals / U.S. Tax Court | Individual-level response to assessment following certain partnership-level adjustments |
| § 6603 Deposit Strategy | IRC § 6603; Rev. Proc. 2005-18 | Deposits in the nature of a cash bond to stop interest from compounding during dispute |
| Individual Penalty Defense | IRC §§ 6662, 6664 | Reasonable cause and good faith reliance defenses at the individual partner level |
| Tax Court Petitions | U.S. Tax Court | Pre-payment litigation following an individual Notice of Deficiency |
| Refund Claims | IRC § 6511; refund litigation under the Kwong pathway | Post-payment refund claims and federal court refund litigation |
| Georgia Voluntary Disclosure | Georgia DOR Voluntary Disclosure Program | Resolution of parallel state-level exposure with limited look-back and penalty waiver |
| Collection Defense | IRC §§ 6320, 6330 | Collection Due Process hearings, installment agreements, and currently-not-collectible status |
| Innocent Spouse Relief | IRC § 6015 | Relief where a spouse was unaware of the easement investment or its tax treatment |
Each case type follows different procedural rules and different deadlines. The firm matches strategy to posture from the first meeting.
Conservation easement defense at the individual partner level uses a different toolkit than the partnership-level case used. The four strategies below are the ones that protect investor cash flow, preserve refund opportunities, and resolve state exposure.
IRC § 6603 allows a taxpayer to make a deposit in the nature of a cash bond to stop the accrual of interest on a potential underpayment while the substantive dispute remains open. Rev. Proc. 2005-18 governs the procedural mechanics.
The interest exposure on an aged conservation easement assessment is often the single largest component of the total liability. A properly structured § 6603 deposit stops the meter without conceding the merits of the underlying dispute.
Even after a partnership-level proceeding has resolved, the individual partner retains procedural rights at the partner level. The forums and deadlines are specific.
The individual-level dispute is not a re-litigation of the partnership case. It is a distinct procedural track with its own deadlines and its own defenses.
For investors who have paid the assessment, refund litigation is a separate procedural path with its own jurisdictional and timing requirements. The framework established in the Kwong line of authority governs refund claims arising from partnership-allocated adjustments.
Refund litigation is not the right vehicle for every investor. Where it does apply, sequencing the claim correctly preserves the issue for federal court review.
Federal disallowance of a conservation easement deduction creates parallel exposure under Georgia income tax, because Georgia taxable income flows from federal adjusted gross income. The Georgia Department of Revenue offers a Voluntary Disclosure Agreement (VDA) program that allows taxpayers to come forward before enforcement action.
Investors who address only the federal side of the assessment often face a Georgia letter shortly after. The VDA program is the route that resolves the state exposure on the most favorable terms available.
Conservation easement matters at the investor level rarely produce a single binary outcome. The defense aims at the strongest combination of cash-flow protection, penalty reduction, and refund recovery the facts support.
These outcomes do not arrive on their own. They follow from the legal and factual record the defense team builds at the individual partner level.
If the partnership-level case has resolved against the deduction, the proportional share of the tax adjustment is assessed against the individual partners through their K-1s. Penalty and interest also flow through. The exposure is personal.
In most cases where significant interest has accrued and the substantive dispute is genuine, yes. The deposit stops the interest from compounding without conceding the merits. The analysis is case-specific and turns on the size of the liability and the strength of the underlying position.
A Statutory Notice of Deficiency gives the partner 90 days to file a Tax Court petition. After that window closes, the assessment becomes final and the next opportunity is post-payment refund litigation.
Yes, if the procedural requirements are met. Refund claims under IRC § 6511 must be filed within specific statute-of-limitations windows, and refund litigation follows the Kwong-line framework. The firm evaluates timing and viability at the first meeting.
Yes. The Georgia Department of Revenue picks up federal adjustments through information-sharing. Investors who address only the federal side typically face a Georgia letter within months. A VDA is often the most favorable route for resolving the state exposure.
Reasonable cause and good faith reliance on professional advice can defeat penalties under IRC § 6664(c). The defense requires specific evidence of the reliance, the qualifications of the adviser, and the disclosures made. The analysis is individual to each partner.
No. The firm represents individual investors. Where partnership and partner interests diverge, the firm acts for the partner.
A conservation easement assessment does not pause for a holiday or a personal calendar. The IRS sets the deadlines, and the procedural windows close whether or not the investor is ready. The firm represents clients at every stage these cases reach:
Tax law is the only thing this firm does. Every attorney on staff works on IRS and Georgia Department of Revenue cases daily. That focus is the reason Atlanta investors trust the firm with conservation easement assessments that have to be handled correctly the first time.
Call (404) 609-1300 in Atlanta or (404) 537-5030 in Norcross.
