New Tax Bill Appears Beneficial To Forest Landowners

In December, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the largest overhaul of the U.S. tax code in 30 years.  While it remains to be seen what effect the law will have on the economy, several key provisions are certain to affect forest landowners.

Most importantly, the bill preserves the existing tax provisions for commercial forestry, such as capital gains treatment of timber sales and deductions of certain forestry-related business expenses.  In addition, the law doubles the estate tax exemption level and allows for a new pass-through business deduction.

But the new tax law limits the property, state and local tax deductions to $10,000 for all three combined, which could have a negative impact on tree growers, especially those in high-tax states.

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