Taxes, Cash & Savings · Surprise rank #98
Land Under a Conservation Easement? NY Gives a Refundable Credit of 25% of Eligible Property Taxes—Up to $5,000 a Year
New York's conservation easement credit is a refundable income-tax credit based on qualifying property taxes paid on land subject to a conservation easement held by a public or private conservation agency.
Who
Eligible individual and business taxpayers who own land subject to a qualifying conservation easement.
What to do
Start here: Keep the property-tax and easement documentation and file Form IT-242 for individuals/other qualifying taxpayers or CT-242 for qualifying corporations.
Eligibility: The taxpayer or business must own qualifying easement land and meet the Tax Department rules. New York S corporations and their shareholders are excluded from this credit.
What you get
The credit equals 25% of qualifying school, county and town real-property taxes paid on the easement land, excluding taxes attributable to buildings and improvements.
Benefit: A refundable New York tax credit capped at $5,000 per year.
Possible value: Up to $5,000 annually.
Good to know
Important: The credit is based only on eligible taxes attributable to the easement land, not buildings or improvements, and combined property-tax-based credits cannot exceed the qualifying taxes paid.
Availability: Active
Why people miss it: Owners may know about the conservation restriction but not that it can generate a recurring refundable state income-tax credit.
Sources reviewed: Aug 10, 2026