Ag Docket Blog

November 26, 2019 | Kristine A. Tidgren

On November 22, 2019, IRS released TD 9884, finalizing regulations confirming that individuals taking advantage of increased gift and estate tax exclusion amounts in effect from 2018 to 2025 will not be adversely impacted after 2025 when the exclusion amount is scheduled to drop to pre-2018 levels.

October 30, 2019 | Kristine A. Tidgren

On October 29, 2019, USDA issued an interim final rule for the establishment of a Domestic Hemp Production Program. The rule implements provisions within the 2018 Farm Bill[i]  authorizing the production and transportation of hemp.

On October 16, 2019, the United States Tax Court issued an opinion determining the correct way for an agricultural cooperative to characterize payments made to patrons and to calculate its DPAD deduction. Although IRC § 199 (DPAD) was repealed by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2018, the opinion remains timely and relevant.

September 30, 2019 | Kristine A. Tidgren

On September 30, 2019, IRS released proposed regulations clarifying the application of the employer shared responsibility provisions and nondiscrimination rules to individual coverage HRAs, authorized by final regulations issued Ju

September 28, 2019 | Kristine A. Tidgren

On September 24, 2019, IRS issued Rev. Proc. 2019-38, the final safe harbor under which a rental real estate enterprise will be treated as a trade or business for purposes of IRC § 199A.

On September 26, 2019, the USDA announced that producers participating in the federal crop insurance program who had a 2019 prevented planting indemnity because of flooding or excess moisture will receive an automatic “top-up” payment on their indemnity. Approved Insurance Providers (AIPs) will begin issuing these payments in mid-October.

September 13, 2019 | Kristine A. Tidgren

On Thursday, September 12, 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Army released a final rule to repeal the embattled 2015 Clean Water Rule, also known as WOTUS.

The Seventh Circuit recently ruled that the USDA acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it treated several acres of an Indiana couple’s farm as a converted wetland and rendered their entire farm ineligible for USDA benefits.  Boucher v. USDA, No. 16-1654 (7th Cir. 2019).

On August 29, 2019, IRS issued draft instructions for Form 8995, Qualified Business Income Deduction Simplified Computation. The instructions provide some useful soft guidance, as well as a new QBI flowchart. Detailed below are some highlights. We we will watch for the instructions for Form 8995-A.

August 25, 2019 | Kristine A. Tidgren

As many farmers continue to struggle with high debt and uncertain markets, new attention is focused on remedies for financially distressed farmers. President Trump signed into law the Family Farmer Relief Act of 2019 on August 23, 2019. This law increases the amount of debt a farmer may have, yet still remain a “family farmer” eligible for Chapter 12 bankruptcy protection.

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