6 min read
Understand your tax responsibilities when diversifying into value-added production and agritourism.
Farmers often see their value-added and agritourism ventures as related to and even an essential part of their overall farm operation. However, the law doesn’t always see it that way. When it comes to federal income taxes, the IRS treats “farming activities” and “non-farming activities” differently. Farmers are therefore required to report income and expenses from non-farming activities separately.
Farm income and expenses are reported on Schedule F, Profit or Loss from Farming. Non-farming income and expenses are reported on Schedule C, Profit or Loss from Business. The profit or loss from these activities—whether farming or non-farming—is then carried to the income section of the Form 1040. For a diversified farm, the ultimate question becomes where is the line drawn between “farming activities” and “non-farming activities”?
Various favorable tax provisions are available for farmers, and gross farm income reported on Schedule F is often a key part in meeting eligibility requirements. Nevertheless, wrongly reporting income on Schedule F can result in audits and back taxes. It’s best to play it safe and report income and expenses related to non-farming activities on Schedule C.
Farming activities include growing and harvesting crops, raising livestock or poultry, and preparing unmanufactured farm products for market and delivery to market. As a rule of thumb, work done on a farm in connection to farming operations is farming. Activities done on a farm that are tangential to farming and activities conducted off the farm are generally non-farming.
Processing is considered part of farming only to the extent that it is normally incidental to the growing, raising, or harvesting of commodities. This includes the washing, handling, packing, grading, or storing on a farm of any agricultural or horticultural commodity in its unmanufactured state, but only if the farmer regularly produces more than half of the commodity. Any resulting income and expenses for these basic farming activities should be reported on Schedule F.
Processing that goes beyond the minimum to prepare a product for initial sale is not a farming activity. Such activities include drying, chopping, canning, and so on, which are preformed to make a value-added product. Income and expenses related to such processing activities and the resulting value-added products should be reported on Schedule C. However, income and expenses related to the unmanufactured commodity used to make the value-added product could still be reported on Schedule F. How this is done is best explained by an example.
The harvesting of maple sap is farming, but the heating activities required to make syrup or sugar are not farming. For example, the cost of fuel used to heat the maple sap is not a farming expense and must be reported on Schedule C along with any other expenses and resulting income from maple syrup sales.
The IRS allows all income and expenses from operating a bee farm, including processing honey for sale, to be reported on Schedule F.
As customers seek new ways to connect with their food sources, many farms are hosting educational classes, tours, and other on-farm events including weddings, u-picks, hayrides, and so on. Each of these presents unique opportunities for farms to diversify their income streams. However, most, if not all, agritourism events are tangential to farming, and are therefore considered “non-farming activities” in the eyes of the law.
Accordingly, the safest approach is to report income and expenses associated with agritourism events and ventures on Schedule C.
Accounting for the associated income and costs for value-added and agritourism ventures can be intricate and complex. Farm Commons strongly recommends that farmers with diversified farms seek the advice of an accountant or tax attorney before filing their tax returns. For more details on properly reporting farm income and expenses, see IRS Publication 225, The Farmer’s Tax Guide.
© Farm Commons 2014 – 2024
Privacy Policy | Terms of Use