David Schultz (Bloomberg): Former MLB Manager Loses Tax Case Over Inflated Land Donation:
Former Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost and his business partners will have to pay 40% in penalties to the IRS because the land donated for conservation easement purposes was grossly inflated, the US Tax Court said in an opinion Tuesday.
The case stems from land Yost purchased over several years in western Georgia, totaling more than 670 acres, according to a memorandum opinion by Judge Travis Greaves. The heightened IRS penalties of 40% for a gross valuation misstatement—instead of 20% accuracy-related penalties—are appropriate because the land was overvalued, according to Greaves.
As part of retirement planning after winning the World Series with the Royals in 2015, Yost became involved with conservation easement syndicators, William Wingate and Robert Schill, who planned to sell to investors the tax benefits from donating his land for conservation purposes. The IRS has been cracking down on syndicated conservation easements in recent years, having placed these transaction on their “dirty dozen” list of suspect tax avoidance schemes.
The donation at issue here occurred in late 2017 and involved nearly 418 acres of land, which the Yosts and their business partners used to claim more than $25 million in tax deductions. In 2021, the IRS rejected these deductions, the opinion said.
The syndicators, who had been involved in more than 100 conservation easement transactions, grossly overvalued Yost’s property by assuming it could someday be used for mining purposes, Greaves said.
But, due to a variety of factors, Yost’s land could never be used for mining and, therefore, the value of conserving it was far lower than they claimed, the opinion said.
This isn’t the first time a retired MLB player or coach has run afoul of tax laws related to conservation easements. Ex-Atlanta Braves players Ryan Klesko and John Smoltz lost their case at the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in 2025 over a $48 million tax deduction for donated land that was also located in Georgia.
The petitioners in this case are represented by Asbury Gardner. The firm didn’t immediately respond to questions.
The case is Yost v. Commissioner , T.C., No. 33677-21, 6/2/26.
