Blue Line Conservation Incentives

Virginia’'s Land Preservation Tax Credit program is a market based approach for Virginia individual and corporate income taxpayers to participate directly in conserving Virginia’'s farms, open spaces and other significant parcels or lands. Easement donors and subsequent buyers of the tax credits use their credits to offset Virginia income tax liability dollar-for-dollar up to $100,000 per year for five to ten years depending of the date of the original tax credit issuance.

Many easement donors may not have sufficient Virginia income tax liability to use all of their credits and contract with BlueLine to provide market structure for the sale of their tax credits.

	Throughout the year, BlueLine organizes an exchange for unused seller tax credits to be matched to other interested Virginia taxpayers looking to support the easement program as well as reduce their Virginia tax liability.

	Credits represented by BlueLine are supported by our knowledge of Piedmont land and our scrutiny of each individual easement thereby removing the guesswork for the buyer.

	Credits are purchased by the buyer directly from the seller at a value with discounts ranging generally from 15-40% of face value of the credit, allowing buyers to realize a tax savings when they file their credits with their tax returns.

	Many of our credits are backed with the assurance of a seller's indemnification or backed by a letter of credit from quality commercial banks.

	Typically, the seller pays all transaction costs associated with the sale of the credits.

Tom Taxpayer expects to owe $20,000 in Virginia taxes for the year. He agrees to purchase $20,000 income tax credits at $.80. He writes a $16,000 check to BlueLine and receives from BlueLine an executed Virginia tax form to be submitted with his filing. That form contains a space for the LP number referring to the underlying Virginia easement and indicating his ownership of a $20,000 income tax credit payable towards his Virginia income tax liability for that year and beyond, for the life of the specific credit's term. The IRS allows an itemized deduction for state income taxes.