As March 1 approaches, we review the estimated tax rules for farmers. Generally, self-employed taxpayers are required to make quarterly estimated tax payments or pay a penalty. IRC § 6654(e)(1). A special rule applies to the payment of estimated tax by individuals who are “farmers” or “fishermen.”  This special rule protects farmers—whose income is often unpredictable and sporadic—from the burden of attempting to calculate and make quarterly estimated tax payments. IRC § 6654(i ..read more

On January 19, 2024, the bipartisan House Ways and Means Committee advanced H.R. 7024, the “Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024,” to the House floor by a vote of 40-3. This tax bill, if passed by Congress and signed by the President, would make changes impacting the 2023 tax year. A brief summary of the bill’s provisions follows. We will provide updates as they arise ..read more

In two separate lawsuits, several advocacy groups challenged Iowa’s Farm Trespass law and Trespass Surveillance statute. In both cases, a judge from the Southern District of Iowa previously held that the law violated the First Amendment and granted summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs. Animal Legal Defense Fund v. Reynolds, 591 F.Supp.3d 397 (S.D. Iowa 2022); Animal Legal Defense Fund v. Reynolds, 630 F.Supp.3d 1105 (S.D. Iowa 2022). The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals released two separate opinions on January 8, 2024, and reversed the district court’s decisions, ruling that both statu ..read more

In early 2022, the Iowa Legislature passed HF 2317. This law reduced individual and corporate income tax rates, provided exemptions from Iowa tax for most forms of retirement income--including retired farmer rental income--and scaled back the Iowa capital gain deduction. Most changes went into effect during the 2023 tax year.  In November of 2023, the Iowa Department of Revenue (IDOR) finalized administrative rules (Iowa Admin. Code r ..read more

On December 21, 2023, IRS announced a Voluntary Disclosure Program (VDP) through which eligible employers may repay 80 percent of the employee retention credit (ERC) to which they were not entitled and avoid civil litigation, penalties, and interest.  IRS initiated this program in response to myriad fraudulent ERC claims, many filed by promoters who aggressively marketed this program to employers. Employers who received improper ERC payments have until March 22, 2024, to submit applications to participate in the VDP ..read more

Beginning January 1, 2024, most small entities—including single member LLCs—must file online reports with the federal government, disclosing information about the beneficial owners of the entities. This new reporting requirement—estimated to impact at least 32.6 million entities in 2024—was created by the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). Existing entities will have until January 1, 2025, to make their first beneficial ownership information (BOI) report. Entities first created or registered in 2024 will have 90 days from creation to get their first reports filed ..read more

On September 8, 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) published a revised definition of “waters of the United States” or WOTUS. 88 FR 61964. To conform with the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Sackett v. EPA, 143 S. Ct. 1322 (2023) ruling, the agencies made various changes including the removal of the “significant nexus” standard and amending the definition of “adjacent.” The new rule went into effect September 8, 2023. Because the revision was required to make the Rule comply with the Sackett decision, no notice and opportunity for pub ..read more

On August 9, 2023, the Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed that a boundary by acquiescence was established between a farm and neighboring homeowner. The parties treated a fence as the boundary line for over ten years. Even though a homeowner later tore the fence down, the boundary line was still clearly marked from farming activities. Therefore, the Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s finding in favor of the plaintiffs ..read more

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Producers have until July 14, 2023, to apply for disaster relief under Phase 2 of the Emergency Relief Program (ERP Phase 2) or the Pandemic Assistance Revenue Program (PARP). The USDA recently extended the application deadline from June 2, 2023, to July 14, 2023. These are revenue loss assistance programs specifically targeting farmers who were impacted by natural disasters in 2020 or 2021 or COVID-related losses in 2020 ..read more