Trump donates development rights for his golf course to a nonprofit. Report says he did it for an $825 million tax deduction while keeping the land

President Donald Trump transferred the right to build further on his Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida, to an environmental group last year. He continued to own the property itself. Forbes calculated that the step could keep more than $800 million of his income from being taxed for the year.

The transfer took place in September. Employees of the nonprofit examined the course over three days and produced a 180-page report. That report determined that the land met the standard for a natural habitat to be preserved. Only the development rights changed hands; ownership stayed with Trump.

Federal tax law permits owners to lower what they owe by handing over development rights and still holding the property. Officials treat the choice not to develop the land as a public benefit that counts as a charitable gift. Forbes calculated Trump’s cryptocurrency income last year at $1.4 billion and added more than $200 million from real estate holdings. 

Past conservation easements and IRS disputes over their value

Those figures indicated a potential tax bill exceeding $500 million. After reviewing comparable earlier deals and consulting eight specialists in the field, Forbes put the possible deductions for the year at $825 million.

Trump has completed at least five conservation easements across two decades. The earliest was in 2005 on land in Bedminster, New Jersey. In every instance, he surrendered development rights but did not sell or give away the property. Forbes estimated the combined effect of the donations could exclude more than $1 billion from taxable income and reduce the overall tax bill by roughly $450 million. 

The Internal Revenue Service has raised objections to arrangements of this type in the past. Examiners have asked both whether a golf course can properly be viewed as a nature preserve and whether the dollar value assigned to the unused development rights is realistic.

In the Bedminster matter, the agency assigned the deduction a value of zero while the appraisal submitted by the owner listed $39 million. Negotiations aimed at resolving that disagreement continued at least until 2011.

In December of last year, the Trump Organization conveyed the Jupiter development rights to Van Group Land Trust. The following month Trump filed suit against the IRS. He claimed the agency had not adequately safeguarded his tax records during his first term in office. 

At the time, he was simultaneously the plaintiff in the case and the sitting president of the government he was suing. Questioned about the apparent conflict of interest, he stated he would give “100% of any winnings to charity.” His Florida club has also been in the news over plans for free presidential memberships. 

In May, the Justice Department released the details of a settlement reached in the matter. The agreement prevented the government from pursuing claims against Trump, members of his family, or his companies that arose from issues already under review or that could become pending.

Attorney General Todd Blanche informed Congress that the settlement did not extend to the president’s 2025 tax return. The wording “could become pending,” however, has been read by some as leaving open the possibility of a broader effect.

Former officials who had worked at the IRS and the Justice Department described the settlement as “breathtakingly inappropriate.” A group of 35 former judges characterized the arrangement as the product of collusion. In July, the federal district judge assigned to the case concluded that the lawsuit had been brought in order to manipulate the judicial process. Trump has filed an appeal of that ruling.