Are you materially participating if you hire someone to do some of the physical work for you on a farm?

[scott3456]

for example, hiring someone to bale your hay

[Anonymous_]

Guidelines for material participation are available at the link below.

https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1040sc#idm140094051260288

[ColeenD3]

Yes. 

If you worked the farm, you materially participated. If you state that you don't, you will not be able to take your loss. If you rented the farm/land, then the material participation has a different meaning.

Material participation most often applies to business activities, including farming or ranching. Material participation requires a producer to be involved in the operation of a trade or business activity on a regular, continuous, and substantial basis, thereby avoiding the passive activity loss rules. The level of involvement applies to the owner of the business or an owner of an interest in a partnership or an S Corporation. Activities associated with material participation (especially for landlords) are those things that, considered in their totality, show that the producer was significantly involved in the production of farm commodities. 

Examples include but are not limited to:

• Paying at least half the direct production costs (operating expenses),

• Furnishing at least half the tools, equipment, and/or livestock,

• Advising the tenant, and/or

• Regularly and frequently making or taking part in management decisions.

[Anonymous_]

The following are the criteria for material participation:

For purposes of the passive activity rules, you materially participated in the operation of this trade or business activity during 2020 if you met any of the following seven tests.

1. You participated in the activity for more than 500 hours during the tax year.

2. Your participation in the activity for the tax year was substantially all of the participation in the activity of all individuals (including individuals who did not own any interest in the activity) for the tax year.

3. You participated in the activity for more than 100 hours during the tax year, and you participated at least as much as any other person for the tax year. This includes individuals who did not own any interest in the activity.

4. The activity is a significant participation activity for the tax year, and you participated in all significant participation activities for more than 500 hours during the year. An activity is a "significant participation activity" if it involves the conduct of a trade or business, you participated in the activity for more than 100 hours during the tax year, and you did not materially participate under any of the material participation tests (other than this test 4).

5. You materially participated in the activity for any 5 of the prior 10 tax years.

6. The activity is a personal service activity in which you materially participated for any 3 prior tax years. A personal service activity is an activity that involves performing personal services in the fields of health, law, engineering, architecture, accounting, actuarial science, performing arts, consulting, or any other trade or business in which capital is not a material income-producing factor.

7. Based on all the facts and circumstances, you participated in the activity on a regular, continuous, and substantial basis for more than 100 hours during the tax year. Your participation in managing the activity does not count in determining if you meet this test if any person (except you) (a) received compensation for performing management services in connection with the activity, or (b) spent more hours during the tax year than you spent performing management services in connection with the activity (regardless of whether the person was compensated for the services).