Do you accept farms with aging barns, silos, or abandoned equipment?

Yes, absolutely. You do not need to clean up the land, remove dormant equipment, or repair failing infrastructure before donating. We accept rural estates entirely as-is, saving you the time and heavy out-of-pocket costs of preparing the property for a traditional sale.

What if my farm has back taxes or existing agricultural liens?

We evaluate properties with back taxes or liens on a case-by-case basis. If accepted, you won't pay a dime in closing costs or transfer fees. We take care of the heavy lifting for you—from clearing existing agricultural liens to handling all the complex deed paperwork required to legally transfer your farm.

How is the value of my farm determined for my tax deduction?

We coordinate directly with independent, certified agricultural appraisers nationwide to ensure your farm is evaluated at its highest possible use. Federal tax codes allow you to deduct the full, current appraised value of your agricultural land, completely separate from your original purchase price.

Donate farmland to charity: cropland, pasture, orchards and farmsteads Farmland donation specialists: (888) 228-7320

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Donate farmland to charity: a farmhouse, barn and grain bins at the edge of a soybean field

Donate Farmland to Charity: Cropland, Pasture and Farmsteads

Real Estate with Causes accepts donated farmland nationwide: row-crop ground, pasture and hay land, orchards and vineyards, irrigated fields and whole farmsteads with a house and outbuildings. Families donate farmland when no one is taking over the operation, when heirs live far away, or when appreciated land held for decades would carry a large capital gains bill on sale. We prepare and record the deed in the county where the land sits.

(888) 228-7320 Read the farmland FAQs

Tell us about the farm

Every property gets a look. Name, phone and email are the only required fields.

Farmland Donation Intake

What kind of farm or ranch ground?

City, state and ZIP

Estimated Property Value?

Total acres

Tillable acres, if you know

Parcel or APN number

Irrigation and water rights

Is it leased to a farmer?

Enrolled in CRP or a conservation program?

Buildings on the ground

Barns, grain bins, shop, a house. Leave blank if it is bare ground.

Fully IRS Compliant

We Handle the Paperwork

Form 8283 Done Right

501(c)(3) Recognized Charity

How donating farmland works

Farmland comes with a few questions a house does not: the tenant, the season and any program contracts. We sort those out before anything is signed.

Step one

Tell us about the farm

County, acreage, how it is farmed now and by whom, and anything owed against it. Send the lease, any program contracts and the tax bill if you have them. A specialist reviews and calls back.

Step two

We plan around the season and record the deed

Timing is set to respect the current crop year and the tenant’s lease. Our staff prepares the deed for the state and records it with the county.

Step three

The farm becomes ours

Property taxes, insurance and the landlord relationship transfer on the day the deed records. You receive a written acknowledgment and, where required, a signed Form 8283.

Selling farmland versus donating it

Farmland held for a generation often has a very low basis, which makes the tax side of this comparison larger than for most property.

	Selling the farm	Donating the farm
Time to be done with it	Listing or auction, buyer financing and closing, usually timed around harvest and the lease year.	No listing and no auction. The schedule is set by title, the tenant’s lease and the crop year.
What you pay	Broker or auctioneer commission, seller closing costs and survey where required.	No escrow, no closing and no commission. The qualified appraisal is your expense and your choice of appraiser. Back taxes are usually the donor’s, though we sometimes absorb them where the land supports it.
The tenant	The lease usually has to be terminated or honored by the buyer, depending on state law and notice dates.	The lease transfers with the land and we become the landlord through its term.
Tax outcome	Capital gains on decades of appreciation above a low basis, plus recapture on depreciated farm buildings.	A charitable deduction reported on Form 8283. For land held more than a year the deduction is generally fair market value, limited to 30% of AGI, with a five-year carryforward.
Program contracts	Buyers may need to assume or end conservation or commodity program contracts, sometimes with repayment.	Tell us what the land is enrolled in. We look at how a contract transfers before the gift is completed.
Where the value goes	To you, less commission, closing costs and tax.	To our charitable programs, less the cost of the transfer and the sale.

We do not provide tax or legal advice. Deduction outcomes depend on holding period, property type, use and a qualified appraisal. See IRS Publication 526, Publication 561 and the Form 8283 instructions, and consult your own advisor.

Every farm is different, and we see all of them

Six kinds of agricultural land that reach us regularly. Find the one closest to yours.

Contour-farmed row-crop ground with a gravel township road along the timber

Row-crop ground Corn, soybeans, wheat and small grains, usually cash-rented to a neighboring operator. Soil productivity and drainage drive the appraisal.

Fenced pasture with cattle grazing and a mature oak in the open

Pasture and hay land Fenced grazing and hay ground, often with a pond or creek. Fencing, water and any grazing lease are part of the review.

Rows of apple trees in fruit with a mowed grass alley between them

Orchards and vineyards Permanent plantings are part of the land’s value, and their age and condition matter to the appraisal.

Machine shed and three grain bins on a farmstead behind a spruce windbreak

Whole farmsteads The house, the machine shed, the bins and the ground together. Many families donate the farmstead after the last generation to farm it has passed.

Market garden rows of lettuce and chard with a hoop house at the far end

Organic and specialty farms Certified organic ground carries its certification history with it. Tell us the certifier and the status.

Aerial view of three center pivot irrigation circles on dryland ground

Irrigated cropland Pivots, wells and water rights are often worth as much as the soil. We review how the water rights are held and whether they transfer with the land.

Farm equipment donation: the machinery that stays behind

The ground and the iron are two separate gifts. We take the farmland; our sister program Cars with Causes takes the machinery, and the two can be scheduled around the same date so the place is cleared once. If a line of equipment is sitting in the shed while the land changes hands, start at farm and ag equipment donations and name what is there. A whole dispersal goes on one form: tractors, harvest equipment, the hay outfit, tillage, grain handling, the shed row of three-point implements.

Most farms send a farm tractor or two, sometimes a combine harvester with its corn and grain heads, and the hay equipment: a round baler, a mower conditioner, a rake or tedder. Tillage and planting equipment moves the same way, whether that is a planter, a grain drill or a disc harrow, and so do the things that make a farmstead run: grain augers and bins, a sprayer, center pivot irrigation, dairy and barn equipment.

Two practical differences from the land. Ag equipment is not titled, so ownership is shown by a bill of sale, dealer paperwork, a depreciation schedule or estate documents. And the machinery is valued on its own: the appraisal of your farmland does not cover it, and equipment that clears $5,000 is appraised separately under that program's rules.

Machine pages for the equipment we see most on donated farms

Farm tractor Row-crop tractor Utility tractor Antique tractor Combine harvester Corn and grain heads Round baler Mower conditioner Rake or tedder Planter Grain drill or seeder Disc harrow Field cultivator Grain cart Grain auger or bin Sprayer Center pivot irrigation Manure spreader Dairy and barn equipment Farm UTV

The tax deduction for donating farmland

Farmland is often long-held, highly appreciated property, which is where a donation’s tax treatment differs most from a sale.

How the deduction is calculated

For land held more than a year, the deduction is generally fair market value as established by a qualified appraisal, limited to 30% of adjusted gross income, with a five-year carryforward. Electing the 50% limit means deducting your basis instead.

Appraisal and documentation

Above $5,000 the IRS requires a qualified appraisal and Form 8283 Section B, signed by the appraiser and acknowledged by us. Above $500,000 the appraisal is attached to your return. Farmland appraisals rely on comparable sales and productivity.

What changes the answer

Depreciated farm buildings, severed mineral or water rights, crops in the ground and a remaining mortgage are each treated differently. A mortgage makes the gift a bargain sale. None of these rule a donation out.

Full tax benefits guide How Form 8283 works Capital gains on appreciated land Mineral and gas rights

Farmland donation questions, answered

The farm is rented to a neighbor. What happens to his lease? +

The lease transfers with the land and we become the landlord for its remaining term. We will want a copy of the lease, written or not, and we will tell the tenant who to pay. If the lease is a handshake, state law usually sets the notice rules and we follow them.

There is a crop in the ground. Can I still donate this year? +

Yes, but the timing and the crop need to be addressed in the gift. A growing crop can belong to you, the tenant or both depending on the lease, and it is handled separately from the land. We usually plan the recording date around harvest to keep it simple.

The land is enrolled in a conservation program. Does that stop a donation? +

No, but the contract matters. Some program contracts can be transferred to a new owner and some require repayment if ended early. Send us the contract and we will look at how it transfers before anything is signed.

Can I donate the land and keep the farmhouse? +

Often, yes, if the house can be separated as its own parcel under local rules. That usually means a survey and a split approved by the county. Keeping a right to use part of the same parcel is a different thing, a partial interest, and generally does not qualify for a deduction.

Do the mineral or water rights go with the farm? +

Only if you own them and the deed conveys them. In many areas minerals or water rights were severed long ago, and in others they are the most valuable part of the property. Tell us what your deed and county records show, and your advisor can confirm the tax effect of including or reserving them.

All frequently asked questions

Not farmland? We take these too

Eight other property classes, each with its own transfer rules and its own page.

Donate a House Donate Land Commercial Property Industrial Property Apartments and Condos Land Contracts Hotels and Lodging Unique Property Assets

Tell us about the farm and we will review it

Send the county, the acreage and how it is farmed now, and we will tell you plainly what a donation would look like.

(888) 228-7320 Contact us