Farm Taxes
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We Don’t Want a Partnership
One of my readers sent me a question about a farming operation that applies to many farm families. I am going to summarize the question as follows: Scenario: 160 acre cropland is titled as Kevin XXX and Mary XXX, JTWRS (50%) and The Jane M YYYY Trust (50%). Kevin and Jane M are brother and […]
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Watch Your Real Estate Tax Bill
I think that most farmers know that the residential and commercial real estate markets have gone through dramatic changes in the last few years. I know that in our area that residential prices peaked out about three years ago and in many of the cities near me the price is at least 50% below the […]
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Your CRP Payments May Not Be Subject to SE Taxes
For many years the IRS battled with taxpayers regarding whether Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) payments received by retired taxpayers were subject to self-employment taxes. The taxpayers argued that once a farmer is retired, the payments are simply rent payments and not subject to these taxes. The IRS countered that the payments are still subject to […]
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How a Tax Credit Works
A reader on the Agweb.com site left an interesting comment about my posting on the Ag Security Credit. His question was whether an income tax credit needs to be recorded as income in the year after you take the credit. The answer in almost all cases is no. If a farmer takes a business tax […]
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Where’s My Step Up
Some of my readers may have noticed that I have started writing a blog on the Agweb.com site. From my web traffic, I can see that many of those readers have checked out this site. I am honored to be doing the blog, but with three weeks left in tax season, I am hoping that […]
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Energy Credit Applies to Farmers Too
In preparing income tax returns this tax season, I am seeing a lot more of the non-business energy property credit being taken on taxpayers returns. This credit is for the installation of exterior doors and windows, insulation and related materials to make a home more energy efficient. The credit is allowed for 30% of the […]
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The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Health Care Act) – Tax Provisions
My good friend Scott Heintzelman of The Exuberant Accountant recently posted a summary of the information on the new Health Care act that passed Sunday night and I thought I would post the same summary since this new Act will affect all of us as Americans and as farmers. Premium Assistance Credit The act provides […]
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Take Your Chemical Ag Credit
In 2008, Congress enacted a new agricultural chemical security credit that may apply to some farmers and will certainly apply to those farmers who have expanded their business into the fertilizer and farm chemicals operations. This credit allows you to take a 30% credit for expenses related to enhancing the security of a facility in […]
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$70,000 of Taxable Income Equals Zero Tax
There is about a month left before the April 15 tax filing deadline (except for those people who file extensions) and one of the nice tax benefits still available this year is the long-term capital gains rates for those taxpayers in the normal 15% tax bracket and lower. For those taxpayers, the net capital gains […]
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Some Steps to a Farm Transition
Having just recently returned from my taping for the Legacy Project on farm succession planning, I will be trying to do several posts over the next few weeks on this very important subject. Elizabeth Williams from the DTN/Progressive Farmer had a very good post on the five steps needed for the farm transition. The article […]