U.S. President Donald Trump has secured large tax deductions by donating development rights on his golf courses to environmental nonprofits while keeping ownership of the properties, according to Forbes, which estimates he was shielded from more than $800 million in taxable income over the past year.
Forbes reported on the 21st that Trump donated the rights to further develop the Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida, to an environmental nonprofit in September of last year. A 180-page report compiled by the group's staff after a three-day survey of the property concluded that the course qualified as a natural habitat worth protecting. Trump retained ownership of the club and gave up only the development rights.
The U.S. tax code allows landowners to reduce their tax bills by relinquishing development rights while continuing to hold the land. The rationale is that forgoing development preserves natural habitat, and that this public benefit can be treated as a charitable contribution.
Forbes estimated that Trump's cryptocurrency earnings last year reached $1.4 billion, with more than $200 million added from real estate, pushing his expected tax liability above $500 million. Drawing on comparable past transactions and the views of eight industry experts, Forbes estimated he could claim deductions worth $825 million for the year.
Trump has donated at least five conservation easements over 20 years, beginning in 2005 with a property in Bedminster, New Jersey. In each case he gave up development rights without transferring ownership. Forbes estimated the donations could keep more than $1 billion in income out of taxable territory and cut his tax bill by about $450 million.
The Internal Revenue Service has previously challenged such transactions on two fronts, questioning whether golf courses qualify as nature preserves and whether the forgone development rights are worth as much as owners claim. In the Bedminster case, the IRS effectively valued the deduction at zero against a $39 million appraisal, and settlement discussions between the two sides continued until at least 2011.
The Trump Organization donated development rights at the Jupiter course to Van Group Land Trust in December of last year. A month later, Trump sued the IRS, alleging the agency had failed to protect his tax information during his first term. He was simultaneously the plaintiff and the president running the government being sued. Asked about the conflict of interest, he said he would give 100% of any winnings to charity.
The Justice Department disclosed the terms of the settlement in May. The agreement barred the government from bringing against Trump, his family and his businesses any claims arising from matters already pending or that could become pending. Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress the settlement did not apply to the president's 2025 tax filing, though a close reading of the phrase "could become pending" leaves room for the opposite interpretation.
Former IRS and Justice Department officials called the settlement "breathtakingly inappropriate," and 35 former judges described it as the product of collusion. In July, the federal district judge handling the case found that the lawsuit had been filed to manipulate the judicial process. Trump has appealed.