As March rolls around, Alabama farmers are right in the middle of their least favorite season: tax season. As a result, many people are hurriedly gathering up the receipts from shoeboxes and the truck dashboard to get them to their tax preparer. Farmers do not have to be tax experts, but they can certainly benefit from knowledgeable interactions with their tax preparer.

There is so much more to farm-tax preparation than simple 1040EZ tax filing. Farmers should do all they can to use the current year’s farm-specific opportunities to benefit their operations. This is why it is extremely important that farmers secure the services of a tax preparer—an enrolled agent or certified public accountant—that is familiar with the intricacies of farm-tax preparation and can have tax strategy conversations with the farmer. Listed below are currently available resources that should help Alabama farmers answer some of the more common questions, such as the following:

• Do I need to report my farm income?
• What forms do I need to be prepared to help fill out?
• What kind of things can I deduct?
• How do I report farm income?
• What are the rules specific to farm depreciation?

Choosing a Tax Preparer

• Choosing a Tax Professional (Internal Revenue Service)
• How to Choose a Tax Professional (Rural Tax Education)

General Farm-Tax Guidance

• Who’s a Farmer? (Internal Revenue Service)
• Business or Hobby? (Alabama Cooperative Extension System)
• Introduction to Agricultural Tax Issues (Rural Tax Education)
• Tax Estimator Tool (Rural Tax Education)
• www.RuralTax.org (Rural Tax Education)
• Publication 225 – Farmer’s Tax Guide (Internal Revenue Service)
• Small Business/Self Employed Tax Center (Internal Revenue Service)
• Interactive Tax Assistant (Internal Revenue Service)
• Taxes for Farmers and Ranchers (US Department of Agriculture)
• Tax Training Videos (US Department of Agriculture)

Farming-Specific Tax Topics & Q/A

• Section 179 Accelerated Asset Deduction/Depreciation (Internal Revenue Service)
• What is Income Averaging? (Internal Revenue Service)
• Employer’s Tax Guide (Internal Revenue Service)
• Tax Guide for Owners and Operators of Small and Medium Size Farms (Rural Tax Education)
• Farm Depreciation Guide (US Department of Agriculture)
• Mythbusters – General Farm Tax Questions (US Department of Agriculture)
• Mythbusters – Farm Employees (US Department of Agriculture)
• Mythbusters – 1099’s (US Department of Agriculture)
• Using Excel for Farm Records (Alabama Cooperative Extension System)
• Writing Off Farm Equipment for Tax Purposes (Alabama Cooperative Extension System)

Internal Revenue Service Forms

• Farm Profit and Loss (Form 1040, Schedule F)
• Farm Income Averaging (Form 1040, Schedule J)
• Farm Rental Income and Expense (Form 4835)