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fud1
New Member

Can the cost of pheromones be included in fire mitigation deductions?

Pheromones help protect my trees from being killed by pine beetles. The beetles can kill the trees and make them more prone to fire.
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5 Replies

Can the cost of pheromones be included in fire mitigation deductions?

No. That is a personal expense. 

fud1
New Member

Can the cost of pheromones be included in fire mitigation deductions?

The cost of the pheromones is a personal purchase, but so is a chainsaw, gas and oil for the saw, rental of a chipper, payment to trucker to haul off forest debris.  The latter all qualify for deductions under the fire mitigation clause.  Pheromones were purchased to reduce possibilities of a forest fire i.e. fire

mitigation.

Please respond ASAP

Thank you

Gerald Fedrizzi

Can the cost of pheromones be included in fire mitigation deductions?


@fud1 wrote:

The cost of the pheromones is a personal purchase, but so is a chainsaw, gas and oil for the saw, rental of a chipper, payment to trucker to haul off forest debris.  The latter all qualify for deductions under the fire mitigation clause.  Pheromones were purchased to reduce possibilities of a forest fire i.e. fire

mitigation.

Please respond ASAP

Thank you


The problem is that we need a lot more information.  Generally speaking, anything you do to manage your personal property is non-deductible.  You can usually deduct ordinary and necessary business expenses related to the production of income, such as selling timber off your land.  Then, there may be special federal or state programs that relate to specific purposes, such as land conservation, that have different rules than the general rules for personal or non-business property.  And most people here won't be familiar with every single rare and uncommon thing in the tax code.

 

I do recall answering another question recently about payments a person received from a conservation program and whether they were taxable, but I didn't keep notes and would have to research it all over again.

 

To start out, is this a state or federal conservation program?  Is it a tax credit, or is it a payment, and are you trying to deduct expenses from the payment or use expenses to qualify for the credit?  Which tax form is it reported on?

Irene2805
Expert Alumni

Can the cost of pheromones be included in fire mitigation deductions?

No - the pheromones are not deductible.  Assuming this is the state of Colorado you are referring to, the CO Department of Revenue states the following:

Wildfire mitigation measures that qualify for the subtraction are any of the following activities so long as such activities meet or exceed any applicable standards established by the Colorado State Forest Service or the Division of Fire Prevention and Control:

 

 creating a defensible space around structures;

 establishing fuel breaks;

 thinning of woody vegetation for the primary purpose of reducing risk to structures from wildland fire; or

 secondary treatment of woody fuels by lopping and scattering, piling, chipping, removing from the site or prescribed burning. For information about standard

For more information, see Income 65: Wildfire Mitigation Measures Subtraction

 

You may want to discuss this issue with the appropriate authorities.  For information about standards established by the Colorado State Forest Service and the Division of Fire Prevention and Control, see:

Can the cost of pheromones be included in fire mitigation deductions?

If you are referring to Colorado the details are here:

https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sites/default/files/Income65.pdf

as @Opus 17 points out some state details of tax law might not be obvious on this forum.  You are responsible for the accuracy of your return so you will have to come to your own conclusion about what to deduct based on your own research and good judgment. 

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