A property tax credit may be granted for land on which a perpetual conservation easement has been donated to the Maryland Environmental Trust (MET) or the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (See Tax Property Article §9-107).

The three requirements to be met are the land is: 1) unimproved, 2) non-commercial, and 3) subject to a perpetual conservation easement. With regard to the third requirement, the perpetual easement must be donated to the Maryland Environmental Trust with the Maryland Environmental Trust identified as a grantee under Title 3, Subtitle 2 of the Natural Resources Article or to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources with the Department of Natural Resources identified as a grantee, and it must be approved after June 30, 1986 by the Board of Public Works.

The property tax credit is effective for ONLY 15 consecutive tax years beginning July 1, following the donation of the easement. The property owner must make application to the local Supervisor of Assessments. (See attached Conservation Property Tax Credit Application). The Conservation Property Tax Credit Application can only be completed after the easement is approved by the Board of Public Works. The property owner must submit the application by October 1, in order to receive the credit for that current taxable year. If the easement is donated after July 1, it can only qualify for the credit for the tax bill issued the following July 1. The original application is to be kept on file by the local Assessment Office.

In October of each year, the Supervisor of Assessments is to submit a completed AIMS 11 reporting the accounts receiving this conservation credit to State Supervisor or their designee.

Although the credit is not an exemption, it is added in the AAVS Exemption Tab and must be entered using Exempt Code 30 (conservation tax credit). The tax credit is applied to 100% of the portion of land within the easement. When only a portion of the land on the property account is eligible for the credit, the value of the land should be entered into the “Override” area of the exemption line. When the entire tract of land on the property account is eligible for the credit, no override is needed since the entire value will receive the credit. The start and expiration date of the credit should be entered into both the exemption note field and parcel notes section of AAVS.

The valuation of land within a perpetual conservation easement is described within procedure 14-90-10. (Tax Property Article §8-209.1) 

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