Court Backs IRS in Dispute Over Easement Facade

By Grant Williams

A federal judge has ruled that owners of a house in a historic district in Oak Park, Ill., cannot take a $216,000 charitable-contribution deduction for donating a facade easement on their home to a preservation group.

Under the terms of the easement, the owners cannot change the front or two sides of the house without written permission from the charity. They must maintain them properly.

The Internal Revenue Service argued that the owners did not follow a federal law that says