Schedule F: Profit or Loss from Farming: Definition, Uses, Filing

What Is Schedule F: Profit or Loss from Farming?

If you are a farmer and your farming business is a sole proprietorship, you must file Schedule F (titled "Profit or Loss from Farming") to report your agricultural business’s net profit or loss for the tax year.

Livestock, dairy, poultry, fish, and fruit farmers as well as owner/operators of plantations, ranches, ranges, nurseries, or orchards are considered farmers for the purposes of Schedule F. Your farming profit or loss is then transferred to a Form 1040 for computing your total tax liability. Schedule F is to farmers what Schedule C is to other sole proprietors.

What Is Schedule F Used For?

Schedule F asks about your principal farming activity or crop; your income from selling livestock, produce, grains, or other products; and whether you received farm income from cooperative distributions, agricultural program payments, Commodity Credit Corporation loans, crop insurance proceeds, federal crop disaster payments, or any other sources. Schedule F provides different ways to account for your income depending on whether you use the cash or accrual method.

Cash Method

Farmers who use the cash method of accounting would report revenue in the tax year it is received from buyers. Farming expenses are deducted in the tax year they are paid.

Accrual Method

Under the accrual method, revenue and expenses are reported in the year transactions occur, even if money is received or paid out the following year.

Income Sources

In U.S. agricultural policy, farm income can be divided as follows:

• Gross Cash Income: the sum of all receipts from the sale of crops, livestock, and farm-related goods and services, as well as any direct payments from the government.
• Gross Farm Income: the same as gross cash income with the addition of non-money income, such as the value of home consumption of self-produced food.
• Net Cash Income: the gross cash income less all cash expenses, such as for feed, seed, fertilizer, property taxes, interest on debt, wages, contract labor, and rent to non-operator landlords.
• Net Farm Income: the gross farm income less cash expenses and non-cash expenses, such as capital consumption and farm household expenses.
• Net Cash Income: a short-term measure of cash flow.

Deductible Expenses

You’ll also need to fill out Schedule F to claim tax deductions for your farming business, which will lower your tax bill. Deductions you may be able to claim include—but are not limited to—the expenses you paid for:

• Business vehicle(s)
• Chemicals
• Conservation
• Depreciation
• Employee benefits
• Feed
• Fertilizers
• Freight and trucking
• Gasoline and other fuel
• Insurance
• Interest
• Hired labor
• Pension and profit-sharing plans
• Repairs and maintenance
• Seeds and plants
• Storage and warehousing, supplies
• Taxes
• Utilities
• Veterinary fees
• Rent or lease fees for vehicles, machinery, equipment, land, and the like

Payments Made to Third Parties

Schedule F also asks if you made any payments during the tax year that required you to file Form 1099 and if you have filed it. An example of a case where you would need to file Form 1099 is if you hired an independent contractor to perform more than $600 worth of work, such as transporting your produce to a weekly farmer's market, for your farm business. 

Additional Resources When Filing Schedule F

For more information, IRS Publication 225, the Farmer's Tax Guide, is a document that helps those involved in agribusiness navigate the farming-specific tax code. The document details and outlines how the federal government taxes farms. IRS Publication 225 outlines the different accounting methods that farmers may use for running their operations and how farmers must report farm income.

Along with IRS Publication 225, the IRS publishes IRS Publication 51, a document specific to the employers of agricultural workers. Publication 51 provides guidance on how individuals who employ workers in the agribusiness must comply with tax withholdings. Sometimes the U.S. Department of Labor requires employers to register with the DOL and also does not allow employers to label farm employees as independent contractors.

The Bottom Line

If you are a farmer and your farming business is set up as a sole proprietorship, you’re required to file a Schedule F to report net profits or losses each tax year. Farming profits or losses are transferred to Form 1040 to calculate your total tax liability for the year. Essentially, Schedule F is to farmers what Schedule C is to sole proprietors in other industries.