Farm Industry Trends

  • Watch our for FBAR

    A new very nasty four letter word is FBAR which stands for Foreign Bank Account Report.  In a recent court case that is outlined at the Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation (CALT), a taxpayer lost a case with the IRS regarding an assessment of penalties under the FBAR program that were determined during a regular […]

    Read More

  • Is 2013 The Last Year to Deduct Sales Tax

    Under current law, 2013 is the last year that individual taxpayers will be allowed to deduct sales and use tax on their individual tax return as an itemized deduction.  Sales taxes were allowed to be deducted until tax reform was initiated in 1986.  The deduction was eliminated for many years (although state income taxes continue […]

    Read More

  • For Our CPA Readers

    The AICPA is presenting an Agriculture Conference next May in Austin, Texas. Here is a link to sign up for the conference. I am one of the committee members tasked with designing and putting on the conference and I believe that whether you have a tax or assurance background, there is something there for everyone with […]

    Read More

  • When Zero Equals $380 Now Equals $5,760

    In our last post , we discussed how having net gambling winnings of exactly zero could increase your 2013 income tax liability by $380.  We had a reader pose the following points: “Throw in some Social Security and a little more rent income and see what it does to your tax bill.  Is it possible […]

    Read More

  • Should You Delay Purchasing Fertlizer for Next Spring?!

    Based upon some recent AgWeb articles, it may be a good idea to wait about four to six weeks before making any serious fertilizer decisions for any 2014 spring needs. Although fertilizer prices have been dropping, Russia’s OAO Urakali (URKA), the world’s largest potash producer recently announced they will be increasing output next year by 24%, which […]

    Read More

  • Ode to Hay

    Here is my first attempt at a FarmCPA Today poem (most likely my last one too) On a perfect sunny afternoon day My client had hay That must be baled Before rain or hail Comes to ruin the day I had never operated a baler Nor been a tailor My client liked cheap labor Normally […]

    Read More

  • Department of Labor Waives Penalty

    We have previously provided notice on the requirement to provide notice to your employees by October 1 of the coverage options now available with the new Health Insurance Marketplace.  It was our assumption that if this notice was not properly provided and this omission was determined by the Department of Labor or the IRS, then […]

    Read More

  • Estimated 2014 Inflation Adjusted Tax Items

    Many of the provisions in the Tax Code are adjusted each year based upon the inflation for the fiscal year ended August 31.  This inflation adjustment number has been issued and the new estimated numbers for 2014 are as follows (the IRS will issue final numbers a little later on, however, they should agree or […]

    Read More

  • IRS Has Two Sets of De Minimis Rules

    On September 13, 2013, the IRS finally issued Final Regulations on how to treat repairs and maintenance and related capitalization rules.  Temporary Regulations had been issued a few years back and after much comment from the public, the IRS has now issued final Regs. In the original Temporary Regs., the IRS had provided for a […]

    Read More

  • It Only Takes Some Mold to Create a Problem

    Chobani Yogurt Twin Falls, Idaho plant is the largest yogurt facility in the world.  It produces about 1 million cases of yogurt per week and processes about 2-2.5 million pounds of milk per day. I took a trip to Southern Idaho last winter and drove by the plant.  It was almost ready to open and […]

    Read More