Can Schedule F farm deductions be taken in addition to standard deduction? Family Farm question.

Your friend is absolutely right! Schedule F is for reporting farm income and expenses as a business, which is completely separate from your personal deductions. When you operate a farm business (even a small one), you report all farm income and expenses on Schedule F. The net profit/loss from Schedule F then gets transferred to your Form 1040 as business income. This happens regardless of whether you take the standard deduction or itemize personal expenses on Schedule A. Think of it this way - your farm is a business, and those $3,800 expenses are business deductions, not personal itemized deductions. You can deduct those farm expenses on Schedule F AND still take the standard deduction for your personal expenses. They're two separate things! Just make sure you're legitimately operating your farm with the intent to make a profit, keep good records of all income and expenses, and you'll be fine.

Hey there, I was in a similar situation with my small herb farm last year. I was totally confused by all the farm tax stuff until I discovered https://taxr.ai and it seriously saved me hours of frustration. I uploaded my receipts and it automatically sorted my deductible farm expenses for Schedule F. The system even flagged some expenses I didn't realize were deductible (like a portion of my phone bill since I use it for farm business). What's awesome is it specifically identifies Schedule F deductions and separates them from personal expenses, so you don't have to wonder what goes where. They have specific knowledge about farm deductions that general tax software often misses.

Wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai after being skeptical in my last comment. I decided to try it with my alpaca farm expenses from last year, and I'm genuinely impressed. The system correctly identified all my feed, fencing repair, and veterinary expenses as Schedule F deductions. I was also able to properly allocate my utility expenses between personal and farm use. The thing that surprised me most was discovering I could deduct some expenses I had completely missed, like a portion of my internet service since I use it to market and sell my alpaca wool products online. It ended up saving me about $1,250 in taxes that I would have otherwise missed. Definitely worth checking out if you're running a small farm operation.

I see people giving great advice about Schedule F, but I also want to mention that getting help directly from the IRS can be worth it if you're uncertain. I tried calling them about my farm tax questions last year and kept getting the "call volume too high" message for WEEKS. I finally discovered https://claimyr.com which got me connected to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent I spoke with confirmed everything about Schedule F being separate from the standard deduction and gave me specific guidance on what farm expenses qualified. They were surprisingly helpful with my small sheep farm questions.

I need to eat some crow here. After ranting about Claimyr in my last comment, I decided to try it out of desperation because I needed farm-specific tax help before filing my taxes next week. I had some questions about depreciating my tractor and other farm equipment that I couldn't get clear answers on. The service actually worked! I got connected to an IRS agent in about a half hour. The agent walked me through exactly how to handle depreciation for my farm equipment on Schedule F versus taking Section 179 deductions. They even explained how to properly categorize different types of fencing as either repairs (fully deductible immediately) or improvements (which need to be depreciated). Saved me a ton of stress and potentially an audit. Sometimes it's worth admitting when you're wrong!

Just want to add something important that hasn't been mentioned yet - if your farm shows losses for 3 or more years out of 5, the IRS might classify it as a "hobby" rather than a business. If that happens, you lose the ability to deduct expenses against other income. To protect yourself, keep detailed records showing your efforts to make your farm profitable. This includes business plans, marketing efforts, changes in operating methods, etc. The IRS looks at your "intent to make a profit" when determining if your farm is a legitimate business.

Quick warning - don't forget to pay self-employment tax on your farm income! Schedule F income is subject to self-employment tax (15.3% covering both Social Security and Medicare). This catches a lot of new farmers by surprise.

Omar, your buddy gave you solid advice! As a newcomer to farm taxes myself, I was confused about this same thing last year. Schedule F business deductions are completely separate from your personal standard deduction - you get both! Think of it this way: your farm is a business entity, so those $3,800 in feed, equipment repairs, and seed costs are business expenses that get deducted on Schedule F. Meanwhile, you as an individual can still claim the standard deduction (or itemize if that's better) for your personal expenses. They don't interact with each other at all. Just make sure you keep detailed records of all your farm income and expenses, and that you're operating with genuine profit intent. The IRS wants to see that this is a real business, not just a hobby. Good luck with your farming venture!