Not farming isn’t farming. That is one way to look at Friday’s decision by the Eighth Circuit in Morehouse that Conservation Reserve Program payments to non-farmers are not self-employment income. Overturning a Tax Court decision, a split three-judge panel rejected the IRS assessment of self-employment tax on landowners who enrolled in the CRP when they were not engaged in the trade or business of farming. The appeals panel said the CRP payments to hold erodable land out of production are instead rental payments with respect to non-farmers; real estate rental income is not subject to self-employment tax.
Roger McEowen, who worked on the case from the taxpayer’s side, has a detailed analysis of the case and its history. He summarizes the state of CRP law:
Now, the Eighth Circuit’s reversal of the Tax Court means that non-farmers do not have to pay self-employment tax on CRP payments. That’s the case at least within the Eighth Circuit. Active Farmers still have to pay on CRP payments unless the 2008 Farm Bill provision applies to them. But, non-farmers and non-materially participating farm landlords are given relief within the Eighth Circuit. For CRP rents paid after 2007, the question is whether the recipient is a materially-participating farmer.
The “2008 Farm Bill provision” holds that CRP payments are not self-employment income for recipients receiving Social Security payments.
In Iowa, taxpayers might want to think twice before taking their CRP payments out of self-employment income. Iowa has a special exclusion of capital gain income for taxpayers who have held land for ten years and who have also “materially participated” in a business with the land for ten years. The Iowa Department or Revenue in a recently-released decision said that it would consider a taxpayer to be “materially participating” in CRP ground if self-employment tax were paid. Given how much appreciation there has been on farm ground in recent years, paying a little self-employment tax might be worth it to avoid Iowa tax on a big farm sale gain.
Cite: Morehouse, CA-8, No. 13-3110.
Paul Neiffer has more: Morehouse Appeal is Released – Taxpayer Victory
Making crashes more likely, for your safety. The Chicago Tribune reports that Chicago shortened yellow light times to increase red-light camera revenues. As Brian Gongol notes, this demolishes the argument that the cameras are for safety, rather than revenue: “It’s quite simple: If you want to cut down on red-light running and consequent crashes, you lengthen yellow lights and increase the gap between the red in one direction and the onset of green in the other.”
Our local politicians never seemed very concerned about dangerous intersections until they found a way to make money off of them. Nor did they experiment with non-revenue safety options, like longer yellow cycles and a delay between the red one way and the green light the other, before turning on the revenue cameras.
Russ Fox, You Filed That Extension, And Only Now Are Realizing the Deadline is Wednesday… “First, in most cases tax professionals say it’s better to extend than amend. But extending is now out [1], so it’s better to get a reasonable return in.”
Peter Reilly, Paper Filing 1040 On October 15th? Go To The Post Office! Use Certified Mail:
It is almost October 15th. October 15 is the extended due date of your federal individual tax return. If, like me, you still have not filed it and you are planning, unlike me, to paper file, use certified mail and save the return card when it comes back – especially if you owe money.
I e-file, myself, but if you are filing to claim a refund on a 2010 extended return, paper filing may be your only option — and then you absolutely should go certified mail, return receipt requested.
If you are an American abroad, Phil Hodgen explains how to obtain an Income Tax Return Extension Until December 15, 2014
TaxGrrrl, Trying To Reach IRS? Hold On Until Tuesday. Columbus Day, plus they shut down their computers for the weekend.
Tony Nitti, A Tale Of Two Activities: How To Beat The Hobby Loss Rules
Jack Townsend, Bitcoins Update
Jason Dinesen, Glossary: Filing Status
TaxProf, The IRS Scandal, Day 522
William McBride, EPI Perpetuates Myth of Low Corporate Taxes. (Tax Policy Blog). A lesson on the dangers of ignoring the ascendance of pass-through entities.
Daniel Shaviro, Frontiers of quasi-tax fraud. “Because (a) partnership tax rules are so complex that only a handful of people really understand them – perhaps a thousand across the entire country? – and (b) people at the IRS generally don’t understand them, and (c) the audit rate for partnership tax returns is below 1%, compliance with partnership tax rules that are meant to block abusive tax planning that contradicts the actual tenor of the rules has pretty much completely collapsed.”
Renu Zaretsky, Cheap Talk, Scoring, and Promises, No, it’s not another night at the singles bar; today’s TaxVox headline roundup covers developments in the medical device tax repeal effort, loophole closers, and talk (just talk) of tax reform.
Sebastian Johnson, State Rundown 10/10: Lottery Bust, Music Credits on the Table (Tax Justice Blog). New York considers expanding corporate welfare to record companies, of all things.
Unlike the politicians, they at least give you what you pay for. A summary of tax cases involving prostitutes in the wake of the Cartagena Hooker scandal from Robert Wood.
News from the Profession. Which Accounting Firm Fired an Employee for His Dispute with Comcast? A: PwC (Caleb Newquist, Going Concern). And they fired me when I didn’t even have cable.
