Farm Taxes
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Happy Thanksgiving and Update on Kid’s Wages Post
Some of my fondest memories as a child was going to my grandparent’s house for Thanksgiving. My mother was the oldest of 12 kids and many times we would have 30 to 40 people at the house. The best thing was my grandmother’s pumpkin and apple pie. I know if she was still alive and […]
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Paying 4 Kids Equals $8,300 of Tax Savings
While growing up on the farm with my brother and sister, we worked in spring and fall planting plus doing the summer harvest. Most of the time, my parents never did pay a wage to either my brother or I, however, they did purchase a car for us and put us through college. This means that […]
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Fourteen Years to Pay Estate Taxes
For 2009, a taxpayer can leave an estate of $3,500,000 tax free to his/her heirs. They can also leave an unlimited amount to their spouse. With proper planning, this means that most farm families will be able to shelter $7,000,000 or more in farmland values from the estate tax. A benefit that the IRS provides […]
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What About 2010 Roth Conversions
The ROTH IRA has been around for many years. For many farmers and others that have income over $100,000 annually, they have either been unable to contribute to a ROTH IRA or convert a regular IRA to a ROTH IRA. Starting in 2010, these rules are changing for ROTH IRA’s. Here are 6 things that you […]
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Extension & Expansion of Homebuyer Credit
The Senate appears to be moving closer to passing a bill to extend and expand the homeowners credit to purchase a home. This credit was designed to help stimulate the housing market and I know in our area (which tends to have moderate to lower priced homes) that this credit is probably responsible for most […]
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Defer the Crop Insurance Payment – MAYBE!
Several of my farm clients have called me and asked whether receiving a crop insurance payment this year is taxable in 2009 or 2010. I commonly tell them the answer is yes. It may be taxable in 2009 or 2010 depending on what type of crop insurance it is and other matters. In general, if […]
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Pay Your Kids – It Pays at Tax Time
I remember working on our wheat and pea farm for my parents when I was in high school. During spring, I would help plant the peas. During harvest, I drove the combine for about 3 to 4 weeks depending on the yields, weather and how much custom cutting we did. In the fall, I would […]
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Don’t Forget the State When it Comes to Estate Taxes
Currently, for people dying in 2009, you can have a taxable estate of up to $3.5 million and not pay any federal estate taxes. For 2010, this amount is unlimited, but goes back to $1,000,000 in 2011 and beyond. Congress is working on changing these amounts and my guess is that the current $3.5 million amount […]
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Make Sure to Take Capital Gains This Year
If you combined taxable income including capital gains is in the 15% tax bracket or lower, then all of your long-term capital gains will be tax free in 2009. This also applies to qualified dividend income. For example, if you file a joint return with your spouse and have farm income of $50,000, have two […]
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Farmers Tax Guide
I have had several requests from farmers and their advisors regarding an online farmers tax guide. From what I can tell there is no such thing, but in the near future, there should be one. I am working on a “wiki” based online farmers tax guide. This guide would be for income, estate, excise […]