By Dave Roepke
Are you a farmer, for tax purposes, if you inherit land and lease it? What if you sell vegetables at a farmers market? As a livestock producer, can you claim depreciation on the purchase of animals? How should you handle a harvest that doesn't turn a profit on your tax return? What about a crop wiped out by storms?
For farmers, livestock producers and landowners who rely on trusted experts to navigate these kinds of questions, a tax preparer who grasps the unique complexities of agricultural income can be difficult to find. A new Iowa State program will aim to help by offering free ag-tax training to tax-prep professionals nationwide.
"We want to lift the veil for tax preparers who have been hesitant to take on farm clients and say, 'No, you can do this, and we're going to make you confident that you can do this,'" said Kristine Tidgren, director of the Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation (CALT).
CALT staff are partnering with the Ivy College of Business on the training program, which will hold in-person pilot workshops after the April 15 federal income tax deadline next year before launching an online version later that fall. Development of the training is supported by $2.8 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, part of a larger grant focused on improving agricultural taxpayer education and outreach.
Experts needed more than ever
The need for more tax professionals who work with farm income is clear to Tidgren, who hears about it from both farmers and tax preparers. The issue often arises when rural tax preparers retire, she said.
"It's really difficult to find someone who wants to come into a small town and buy the business to keep it going," said Tidgren, the Leonard Dolezal Professor in Agricultural Law and an adjunct associate professor in agricultural education and studies.
It's a familiar story in rural communities, where access to health care and legal services is also becoming more difficult. Tidgren said farm clients often get distributed among remaining tax firms when one closes, but consolidation ends up pushing business to metro areas, where experience with ag income -- and the basics of farming -- isn't as common.
Source : iastate.edu