As the 2023 filing season begins, taxpayers and their preparers must sort through new guidance and rules to determine their requirements for the 2022 tax year. This post details 10 key considerations for these returns.
Agricultural supply dealer liens—intended to encourage suppliers to provide necessary feed and supplies to agricultural producers—can be difficult to enforce.
On December 16, 2022, the North Carolina Supreme Court denied an appeal claiming that the state’s Right to Farm Act was unconstitutional. Previously, the North Carolina Court of Appeals had granted the State’s motion to dismiss under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 12(b)(6). Rural Empowerment Ass’n for Cmty. Help v. North Carolina, 2021 WL 6014722 (N.C. App. Dec. 21, 2021).
On October 18, 2022, the USDA announced that it had already provided nearly $800 million in assistance to distressed borrowers to help cure delinquencies and resolve uncollectable farm loan debts.
The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard law requires all bioengineered food to disclose its bioengineered status to consumers through “text, symbol, or electronic or digital link.” 7 U.S.C. § 1639b(b)(2)(D). The USDA, through the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), promulgated the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard rule in 2018 .A group of retail stores and food advocacy groups brought suit in the Northern District of California claiming that the regulations violated the Administrative Procedure Act. A federal judge agreed and found that the USDA failed to comply with the disclosure statute’s directive to “provide additional and comparable options” to ensure that consumers could access the electronic disclosure.
On September 26, 2022, a federal judge in the Southern District of Iowa again found an Iowa farm trespass law to be unconstitutional. Under Iowa Code § 727.8A (the “Trespass Surveillance law”), anyone who trespasses and “knowingly places or uses a camera or electronic surveillance device that transmits or records images or data while the device is on the trespassed property” is guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor. This is Iowa’s third farm fraud and trespass law found to be in violation of the First Amendment by this court.
On August 24, 2022, IRS issued broad penalty relief to most taxpayers who filed 2019 and 2020 returns late.
As production costs continue to rise, farmland owners and tenants may be reconsidering the terms of their farm leases. Both tenants and landlords should be aware of Iowa’s farm lease auto-renewal statute.
On August 23, 2022, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) announced that the court-appointed receiver for B & B Farm Store Inc., a grain dealer and warehouse operator from Jesup, Iowa, had consented to a voluntary rev
Update: President Biden signed this bill into law on August 16, 2022.
On June 30, 2022, the Iowa Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, overruled 18-year-old precedent to find that Iowa’s right to farm statute, Iowa Code § 657.11, does not violate the inalienable rights clause of the Iowa Constitution.
President Biden signed the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act (P.L. 117-43) into law on September 30, 2021. It authorized $10 billion to assist agricultural producers impacted by wildfires, droughts, hurricanes, winter storms, and other eligible disasters experienced during calendar years 2020 and 2021. The USDA has determined that the money will be funding two new programs, the Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP) and the Emergency Relief Program (ERP).
On March 22, 2022, the Director of the Iowa Department of Revenue joined the IRS in granting estimated tax penalty relief to qualifying farmers who did not file their 2021 returns and pay their taxes by March 1, 2022. In Order 2022-1, Iowa waives the underpayment of estimated tax penalty for any qualifying farmer who files their 2021 Iowa income tax return and remits payment by May 2, 2022.
On March 3, IRS announced that it would be providing limited penalty relief for qualified farmers required to file Form 7203, S Corporation Shareholder Stock and Debt Basis Limitations.
On March 1, 2022, Governor Kim Reynolds signed HF 2317 into law. The new tax law will reduce individual and corporate income tax rates, provide exemptions from Iowa tax for certain forms of retirement income--including retired farmer rental income--and scale back certain tax credits.
Potential tax changes dominated most 2021 tax discussions. Proposals such as the American Families Plan sought to significantly increase the capital gains tax rate and require recognition of capital gain at death or at gift.
IRS announced January 10 that it will begin accepting and processing 2021 tax year returns for individuals beginning January 24, 2022. IRS began accepting e-filed business returns on January 7, 2022.
Like 2020 before it, 2021 was no ordinary year. As we leave the year behind, we review key tax considerations arising from 2021’s unique circumstances and look ahead to the 2022 tax filing season.
With high crop yields and robust commodity prices, many farmers are closing 2021 with more income than they expected. Likewise, input costs for 2022 are on track to reach record highs.
Many farmers regularly and generously give to their churches or other charitable organizations.
