Business of Farming

For purposes of soil and water conservation expenses, you are in the business of farming if you cultivate, operate, or manage a farm for profit, either as owner or tenant. You are not farming if you cultivate or operate a farm for recreation or pleasure, rather than for profit. You are not farming if you are engaged only in forestry or the growing of timber.

Farm defined. A farm includes stock, dairy, poultry, fish, fruit, and truck farms. It also includes plantations, ranches, ranges, and orchards. A fish farm is an area where fish and other marine animals are grown or raised and artificially fed, protected, etc. It does not include an area where they are merely caught or harvested. A plant nursery is a farm for purposes of deducting soil and water conservation expenses.

Farm rental. If you own a farm and receive farm rental payments based on farm production, either in cash or crop shares, you are in the business of farming. If you receive a fixed rental payment not based on farm production, you are in the business of farming only if you materially participate in operating or managing the farm. See Landlord Participation in Farming in chapter 15.

If you get cash rental for a farm you own that is not used in farm production, you cannot claim soil and water conservation expenses for that farm.

Example. You own a farm in Iowa and live in California. You rent the farm for $125 in cash per acre and do not materially participate in producing or managing production of the crops grown on the farm. You cannot deduct your soil conservation expenses for this farm. You must capitalize the expenses and add them to the basis of the land.

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