Schedule F

If you are a farmer and your farming business is a sole proprietorship, you must file Schedule F (titled “farming profit and loss”) to report the net profit or loss from your farming business for the tax year.

Livestock, dairy, poultry, fish, and fruit farmers, as well as owners/operators of plantations, ranches, meadows, nurseries, or orchards, are considered farmers for Schedule F purposes. Their farm profit or loss is then transferred to Form 1040 to calculate their total tax liability.

Schedule F is to farmers what Schedule C is to other sole proprietors.

The key to understanding Schedule F

The IRS schudele F is used to report taxable income earned from farming or ranching activities. This schedule must be included on the Form 1040 tax return, regardless of the type of farming income and whether or not it is a principal business activity.

Schedule F also allows for various credits and deductions related to farming.

What is schedule F used for?

Schedule F asks about your primary farming activity or crop; your income from the sale of livestock, produce, grain, or other products; and whether you received farm income from cooperative distributions, farm program payments, Commodity Credit Corporation loans, crop insurance proceeds, federal crop disaster payments, or any other source.

You will also need to fill out Schedule F to claim your farm business tax deductions, which will reduce your tax bill. Deductions you can claim include, but are not limited to:

All previous versions of Schedule F are available on the IRS website.