by Betsy Miller, Farm Management Educator

I work with many types of farms and farmers in business planning.  I don’t keep track of the percentage, but I would say a majority of the folks I work with hire a professional to prepare their tax returns. However, I am a firm believer that a basic understanding of the rules is helpful even to those who hire a professional. 

When I sat down to write this I planned to share a few links of resources that would be helpful to farmers who either prepare their own returns or just want a better understanding.  What I found was a little disturbing.  Many of the sites that I used to find helpful are now out of date.  We all expect things to change from one year to the next, but there were some big changes in 2018 and many of the farm tax resources out there do not reflect or even mention those changes. 

I urge any of you who use the internet to find tax resources to check the dates on what you are reading. Make sure you are getting current information.

The one link that I will recommend is the IRS Pub 225 Farmers Tax Guide.