Farm Taxes
-
ACA Makes Health Insurance Taxable – Or Does It?
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) contains various provisions that affect farmers, even those with less than 50 employees. One of the primary provisions concerns the payment of health insurance premiums for employees who are not covered by a group plan. In the past, the payment of these premiums was usually deductible for the farmer/employer and […]
-
How Low is Too Low For A Rental Arrangement?
We had a reader ask the following question: “Does leasing cropland to a family member for substantially less than fair market value become “gifting” subject to taxes for value above gifting limit?” The answer, like many tax questions, is “it depends”. The rental of real estate or other properties between related parties is always open […]
-
Decant a Trust – Not Wine
The Wall Street Journal had an interesting story regarding the decanting of a trust when it is appropriate. When a farmer sets up an irrevocable trust and funds it, it is normally extremely difficult to change the structure of the trust, even by the farmer. This usually involves a costly trip to the courts to […]
-
Remember Your Simplified Home Office Deduction
Beginning this year, a taxpayer is allowed to use a simplified home office deduction. In years past, a taxpayer was required to calculate this deduction based upon the office square footage divided by the home’s total square footage. This percentage was then multiplied against the following items: Interest Real estate taxes Insurance Repairs Other home […]
-
Related Parties Muck Up a 1031 Exchange
In the North Central Rental & Leasing, LLC v. US decision out of North Dakota just released this week (the cite is AFTR 2d 2013-7045 (I do not have a link to the actual case on a free site yet)), the Court found that the taxpayer’s use of related parties to help accomplish a Section 1031 exchange was […]
-
Cutting Horse Loss Not Always Deductible
One of the most challenged “businesses” by the IRS is anything that involves a horse. In a US Tax Court case issued on Monday, December, 30, 2013, a rich Texas family found out how much it can cost when the loss is not allowed. In the Travis Mathis and Bettina Jary-Mathis case, the facts are […]
-
Some Quick Year-End Tax Tips
Since it is Christmas the day after tomorrow, I am simply going to give you some quick year-end tax tips. But first, Merry Christmas to all of our readers. I now have three sons living in the Los Angeles area, so my wife, youngest son and I are headed down Christmas day to spend the […]
-
Tax Filing Begins January 31, 2014
The IRS announced in Notice 2013-100 that the official start of the filing season for 2013 tax returns will begin on January 31. This is one day later than for 2012 tax returns. The 2012 tax season filing delay was due to the many changes brought about by the tax law signed into law on […]
-
How Many 2013 Tax Brackets
I made a bet with my wife the other day that there was at least 30 tax brackets for 2013. Now my wife really does not care how many tax brackets there are and she knew I was teasing her about this, but for 2013, there is probably at least 60 or more tax brackets for […]
-
Is it Time for an IC-DISC
Many farmers or groups of farmers are starting to earn a greater percentage of their income from sale of products directly for exports. If this applies to your farm operation and the amount of foreign exports is greater than $1 million, then you should consider forming an interest charge – domestic international sales corporation (IC-DISC). This […]