Reimbursed expenses.   If an expense is reimbursed, either reduce the expense or report the reimbursement as income when received. See Refund or reimbursement under Income From Other Sources in chapter 3.

Personal and business expenses.   Some expenses you pay during the tax year may be partly personal and partly business. These may include expenses for gasoline, oil, fuel, water, rent, electricity, telephone, automobile upkeep, repairs, insurance, interest, and taxes.

  You must allocate these mixed expenses between their business and personal parts. Generally, the personal part of these expenses is not deductible.

Reasonable allocation.   It is not always easy to determine the business and nonbusiness parts of an expense. There is no method of allocation that applies to all mixed expenses. Any reasonable allocation is acceptable. What is reasonable depends on the circumstances in each case.

Prepaid farm supplies are amounts paid during the tax year for the following items.

If you report your income and expenses under the cash method of accounting, you cannot deduct in the year paid the cost of feed your livestock will consume in a later year unless you meet all the following tests.

If you meet all three tests, you can deduct the prepaid feed, subject to the limit on prepaid farm supplies discussed earlier.

If you fail any of these tests, you can deduct the prepaid feed only in the year it is consumed.

This rule does not apply to the purchase of commodity futures contracts.

You can deduct reasonable wages paid for regular farm labor, piecework, contract labor, and other forms of labor hired to perform your farming operations. You can pay wages in cash or in noncash items such as inventory, capital assets, or assets used in your business. The cost of boarding farm labor is a deductible labor cost. Other deductible costs you incur for farm labor include health insurance, workers' compensation insurance, and other benefits.

If you must withhold social security, Medicare, and income taxes from your employees' cash wages, you can still deduct the full amount of wages before withholding. See chapter 13 for more information on employment taxes. Also, deduct the employer's share of the social security and Medicare taxes you must pay on your employees' wages as a farm business expense on the Taxes line of Schedule F (line 31). See Taxes, later.

The amount of wages paid to the child could cause a loss of the dependency exemption depending on how the child uses the money.

You can deduct most expenses for the repair and maintenance of your farm property. Common items of repair and maintenance are repainting, replacing shingles and supports on farm buildings, and minor overhauls of trucks, tractors, and other farm machinery. However, repairs to, or overhauls of, depreciable property that substantially prolong the life of the property, increase its value, or adapt it to a different use are capital expenses. For example, if you repair the barn roof, the cost is deductible. But if you replace the roof, it is a capital expense. For more information, see Capital Expenses, later.

You can deduct as a farm business expense interest paid on farm mortgages and other obligations you incur in your farm business.

The easiest way to trace disbursements to specific uses is to keep the proceeds of a particular loan separate from any other funds.

If the property that secures the loan is your home, you generally do not allocate the loan proceeds or the related interest. The interest is usually deductible as qualified home mortgage interest, regardless of how the loan proceeds are used. However, you can choose to treat the loan as not secured by your home. For more information, see Publication 936.

You can deduct breeding fees as a farm business expense. However, if you use an accrual method of accounting, you must capitalize breeding fees and allocate them to the cost basis of the calf, foal, etc. For more information on who must use an accrual method of accounting, see Accrual method required under Accounting Methods in chapter 2.

You can deduct in the year paid or incurred the cost of fertilizer, lime, and other materials applied to farmland to enrich, neutralize, or condition it if the benefits last a year or less. You can also deduct the cost of applying these materials in the year you pay or incur it. However, see Prepaid Farm Supplies, earlier, for a rule that may limit your deduction for these materials.

If the benefits of the fertilizer, lime, or other materials last substantially more than one year, you generally must capitalize their cost and deduct a part each year the benefits last. However, you can choose to deduct these expenses in the year paid or incurred. If you make this choice, you will need IRS approval if you later decide to capitalize the cost of previously deducted items.

Farmland, for these purposes, is land used for producing crops, fruits, or other agricultural products or for sustaining livestock. It does not include land you have never used previously for producing crops or sustaining livestock. You cannot deduct initial land preparation costs. (See Capital Expenses, later.)

Include government payments you receive for lime or fertilizer in income. See Fertilizer and Lime under Agricultural Program Payments in chapter 3.

You can deduct as a farm business expense the real estate and personal property taxes on farm business assets, such as farm equipment, animals, farmland, and farm buildings. You also can deduct the social security and Medicare taxes you pay to match the amount withheld from the wages of farm employees and any federal unemployment tax you pay. For information on employment taxes, see chapter 13.

You generally can deduct the ordinary and necessary cost of insurance for your farm business as a business expense. This includes premiums you pay for the following types of insurance.

If you lease property for use in your farm business, you can generally deduct the rent you pay on Schedule F. However, you cannot deduct rent you pay in crop shares if you deduct the cost of raising the crops as farm expenses.

If property you acquire to use in your farm business is expected to last more than one year, you generally cannot deduct the entire cost in the year you acquire it. You must recover the cost over more than one year and deduct part of it each year on Schedule F as depreciation or amortization. However, you can choose to deduct part or all of the cost of certain qualifying property, up to a limit, as a section 179 deduction in the year you place it in service.

Depreciation, amortization, and the section 179 deduction are discussed in chapter 7.

You can deduct expenses for the business use of your home if you use part of your home exclusively and regularly:

Your home office will qualify as your principal place of business for deducting expenses for its use if you meet both of the following requirements.

If you use part of your home for business, you must divide the expenses of operating your home between personal and business use.

You can deduct the actual cost of operating a truck or car in your farm business. Only expenses for business use are deductible. These include such items as gasoline, oil, repairs, license tags, insurance, and depreciation (subject to certain limits).

You can deduct ordinary and necessary expenses you incur while traveling away from home for your farm business. You cannot deduct lavish or extravagant expenses. Usually, the location of your farm business is considered your home for tax purposes. You are traveling away from home if:

If you meet these requirements and can prove the time, place, and business purpose of your travel, you can deduct your ordinary and necessary travel expenses.

The following are some types of deductible travel expenses.

You can deduct as Other expenses on Schedule F penalties you pay for marketing crops in excess of farm marketing quotas. However, if you do not pay the penalty, but instead the purchaser of your crop deducts it from the payment to you, include in gross income only the amount you received. Do not take a separate deduction for the penalty.

You can deduct the costs of maintaining houses and their furnishings for tenants or hired help as farm business expenses. These costs include repairs, utilities, insurance, and depreciation.

The value of a dwelling you furnish to a tenant under the usual tenant-farmer arrangement is not taxable income to the tenant.

If you use the cash method of accounting, you ordinarily deduct the cost of livestock and other items purchased for resale only in the year of sale. You deduct this cost, including freight charges for transporting the livestock to the farm, in Part I of Schedule F. However, see Chickens, seeds, and young plants, later.

The following list, while not all-inclusive, shows some expenses you can deduct as other farm expenses in Part II of Schedule F. These expenses must be for business purposes and (1) paid, if you use the cash method of accounting, or (2) incurred, if you use an accrual method of accounting.

Qualified production activities income.   The excess of your domestic production gross receipts for the tax year over your cost of goods sold and other deductions, expenses, or losses directly allocable to such receipts plus a ratable portion of other deductions, expenses, and losses that are not directly allocable to such receipts or another class of income is your qualified production activities income. This income is determined on an item-by-item basis.

Domestic production gross receipts.   Domestic production gross receipts include gross receipts from any lease, rental, license, sale, exchange, or other disposition of tangible personal property which was manufactured, produced, grown, or extracted by you in whole or in significant part within the United States.

  Domestic production gross receipts do not include gross receipts from property leased, licensed, or rented by you for use by any related person. See Internal Revenue Code section 199(c)(7) for the definition of related person.

Income from cooperatives.    If you receive a patronage dividend or qualified per-unit retain allocation from a cooperative which is engaged in the manufacturing, production, growth, or extraction in whole or in significant part of any agricultural or horticultural product or in the marketing of agricultural or horticultural products, your income from the cooperative can give rise to a domestic production activities deduction. This deduction amount is reported on Form 1099-PATR, box 6. In order for you to qualify for the deduction, the cooperative is required to send you a written notice designating your portion of the domestic production activities deduction.

More information.    For more information on the domestic production activities deduction, see the Instructions for Form 8903. Also, see chapter 16, Sample Return, for an example of how to figure the domestic production activities deduction.

Business start-up and organizational costs.   You can elect to deduct up to $5,000 of business start-up costs and $5,000 of organizational costs paid or incurred after October 22, 2004. The $5,000 deduction is reduced by the amount your total start-up or organizational costs exceed $50,000. Any remaining costs must be amortized. See chapter 7.

   You elect to deduct start-up or organizational costs by claiming the deduction on the income tax return filed by the due date (including extensions) for the tax year in which the active trade or business begins. However, if you timely filed your return for the year without making the election, you can still make the election by filing an amended return within 6 months of the due date of the return (excluding extensions). Clearly indicate the election on your amended return and write “Filed pursuant to section 301.9100-2” at the top of the amended return. File the amended return at the same address you filed the original return. The election applies when figuring taxable income for the current tax year and all subsequent years.

  For more information about start-up and organizational costs, see chapter 7.

Crop production expenses.   The uniform capitalization rules generally require you to capitalize expenses incurred in producing plants. However, except for certain taxpayers required to use an accrual method of accounting, the capitalization rules do not apply to plants with a preproductive period of 2 years or less. For more information, see Uniform Capitalization Rules in chapter 6.

Timber.   Capitalize the cost of acquiring timber. Do not include the cost of land in the cost of the timber. You must generally capitalize direct costs incurred in reforestation. However, you can elect to deduct some forestation and reforestation costs. See Forestation and reforestation costs, below. Reforestation costs include the following. You can choose to capitalize certain indirect reforestation costs.

   These capitalized amounts are your basis for the timber. Recover your basis when you sell the timber or take depletion allowances when you cut the timber. See Depletion in chapter 7.

Forestation and reforestation costs.   You can elect to deduct up to $10,000 of qualifying reforestation costs paid or incurred after October 22, 2004, for each qualified timber property. Any remaining costs can be amortized over an 84-month period. See chapter 7. If you make an election to deduct or amortize qualifying reforestation costs, you should create and maintain separate timber accounts for each qualified timber property. The accounts should include all reforestation treatments and the dates they were applied. Any qualified timber property that is subject to the deduction or amortization election cannot be included in any other timber account for which depletion is allowed. The timber account should be maintained until the timber is disposed of. For more information, see Notice 2006-47.

  

You may be able to elect to deduct more than $10,000 of qualifying reforestation costs if any portion of your timber property is located in certain areas. For more information, see Publication 4492, Information for Taxpayers Affected by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma.

   You elect to deduct forestation and reforestation costs by claiming the deduction on the income tax return filed by the due date (including extensions) for the tax year in which the expenses were paid or incurred. If you are filing Form T, Forest Activities Schedule, also complete Form T, Part IV. If you are not filing Form T, attach a statement to your return with the following information.

  

If you elected to deduct qualifying reforestation costs on a return that was filed before June 15, 2006, but did not complete Part IV of Schedule T or attach the statement described above, you should do so with this year's return.

  However, if you timely filed your return for the year without making the election, you can still make the election by filing an amended return within 6 months of the due date of the return (excluding extensions). Clearly indicate the election on your amended return and write “Filed pursuant to section 301.9100-2” at the top of the amended return. File the amended return at the same address you filed the original return.

   For more information about forestation and reforestation costs, see chapter 7.

  

For more information about timber, see Agriculture Handbook Number 718, Forest Landowners' Guide to the Federal Income Tax. You can view this publication on the Internet at www.fs.fed.us/publications.

Christmas tree cultivation.   If you are in the business of planting and cultivating Christmas trees to sell when they are more than 6 years old, capitalize expenses incurred for planting and stump culture and add them to the basis of the standing trees. Recover these expenses as part of your adjusted basis when you sell the standing trees or as depletion allowances when you cut the trees. For more information, see Timber depletion under Depletion in chapter 7.

  You can deduct as business expenses the costs incurred for shearing and basal pruning of these trees. Expenses incurred for silvicultural practices, such as weeding or cleaning, and noncommercial thinning are also deductible as business expenses.

  Capitalize the cost of land improvements, such as road grading, ditching, and fire breaks, that have a useful life beyond the tax year. If the improvements do not have a determinable useful life, add their cost to the basis of the land. The cost is recovered when you sell or otherwise dispose of it. If the improvements have a determinable useful life, recover their cost through depreciation. Capitalize the cost of equipment and other depreciable assets, such as culverts and fences, to the extent you do not use them in planting Christmas trees. Recover these costs through depreciation.

You cannot deduct certain personal, living, and family expenses as business expenses. These include rent and insurance premiums paid on property used as your home, life insurance premiums on yourself or your family, the cost of maintaining cars, trucks, or horses for personal use, allowances to minor children, attorneys' fees and legal expenses incurred in personal matters, and household expenses. Likewise, the cost of purchasing or raising produce or livestock consumed by you or your family is not deductible.

You cannot deduct the following items on your tax return.

The at-risk rules limit your deduction for losses from most business or income-producing activities, including farming. These rules limit the losses you can deduct when figuring your taxable income. The deductible loss from an activity is limited to the amount you have at risk in the activity.

You are at risk in any activity for:

You are not at risk, however, for amounts you borrow for use in a farming activity from a person who has an interest in the activity (other than as a creditor) or a person related to someone (other than you) having such an interest.

For more information, see Publication 925.

A passive activity is generally any activity involving the conduct of any trade or business in which you do not materially participate. Generally, a rental activity is a passive activity.

If you have a passive activity, special rules limit the loss you can deduct in the tax year. You generally can deduct losses from passive activities only up to income from passive activities. Credits are similarly limited.

For more information, see Publication 925.

Presumption of profit.   Your farming or other activity is presumed carried on for profit if it produced a profit in at least 3 of the last 5 tax years, including the current year. Activities that consist primarily of breeding, training, showing, or racing horses are presumed carried on for profit if they produced a profit in at least 2 of the last 7 tax years, including the current year. The activity must be substantially the same for each year within this period. You have a profit when the gross income from an activity is more than the deductions for it.

  If a taxpayer dies before the end of the 5-year (or 7-year) period, the period ends on the date of the taxpayer's death.

  If your business or investment activity passes this 3- (or 2-) years-of-profit test, presume it is carried on for profit. This means the limits discussed here do not apply. You can take all your business deductions from the activity on Schedule F, even for the years that you have a loss. You can rely on this presumption in every case, unless the IRS shows it is not valid.

  If you fail the 3- (or 2-) years-of-profit test, you still may be considered to operate your farm for profit by considering the factors listed earlier.

Using the presumption later.   If you are starting out in farming and do not have 3 (or 2) years showing a profit, you may want to take advantage of this presumption later, after you have had the 5 (or 7) years of experience allowed by the test.

  You can choose to do this by filing Form 5213. Filing this form postpones any determination that your farming activity is not carried on for profit until 5 (or 7) years have passed since you first started farming. You must file Form 5213 within 3 years after the due date of your return for the year in which you first carried on the activity, or, if earlier, within 60 days after receiving a written notice from the IRS proposing to disallow deductions attributable to the activity.

  The benefit gained by making this choice is that the IRS will not immediately question whether your farming activity is engaged in for profit. Accordingly, it will not limit your deductions. Rather, you will gain time to earn a profit in 3 (or 2) out of the first 5 (or 7) years you carry on the farming activity. If you show 3 (or 2) years of profit at the end of this period, your deductions are not limited under these rules. If you do not have 3 (or 2) years of profit (and cannot otherwise show that you operated your farm for profit), the limit applies retroactively to any year in the 5-year (or 7-year) period with a loss.

  Filing Form 5213 automatically extends the period of limitations on any year in the 5-year (or 7-year) period to 2 years after the due date of the return for the last year of the period. The period is extended only for deductions of the activity and any related deductions that might be affected.

Limit on deductions and losses.   If your activity is not carried on for profit, take deductions only in the following order, only to the extent stated in the three categories, and, if you are an individual, only if you itemize them on Schedule A (Form 1040).

Category 1.   Deductions you can take for personal as well as for business activities are allowed in full. For individuals, all nonbusiness deductions, such as those for home mortgage interest, taxes, and casualty losses (see chapter 11), belong in this category. For the limits that apply to mortgage interest, see Publication 936.

Category 2.   Deductions that do not result in an adjustment to the basis of property are allowed next, but only to the extent your gross income from the activity is more than the deductions you take (or could take) under the first category. Most business deductions, such as those for fertilizer, feed, insurance premiums, utilities, wages, etc., belong in this category.

Category 3.   Business deductions that decrease the basis of property are allowed last, but only to the extent the gross income from the activity is more than deductions you take (or could take) under the first two categories. The deductions for depreciation, amortization, and the part of a casualty loss an individual could not deduct in category (1) belong in this category. Where more than one asset is involved, divide depreciation and these other deductions proportionally among those assets.

  

Individuals must claim the amounts in categories (2) and (3) above as miscellaneous deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040). They are subject to the 2%-of-adjusted-gross-income limit. See Publication 529, Miscellaneous Deductions, for information on this limit.

Partnerships and S corporations.   If a partnership or S corporation carries on a not-for-profit activity, these limits apply at the partnership or S corporation level. They are reflected in the individual shareholder's or partner's distributive shares.

More information.   For more information on not-for-profit activities, see Not-for-Profit Activities in chapter 1 of Publication 535.