Farm start up costs and delayed payments.

[cgregg]

Hi,

I have two questions about filing taxes for my small farm business.

1) 2021 was my first year selling produce from my farm. Where can I input my start up costs (investments in the equipment etc. from before I was actually selling crops) from that and can I include equipment bought in previous years?  

2) I won't receive payment for some of the crops I sold in 2021, until next month. Can I include that income in my 2021 taxes since that's when the products were sold, or do they have to be in 2022 when I receive the payment?

Thanks

Catie

[RobertB4444]

You'll have to upgrade to TurboTax self-employed in order to enter you Farm income and expenses.  Once you've upgraded

• Go to Wages and Income
• Scroll down to Other Business Situations
• Click the button next to Farm Rental and Farm Income.

It'll walk you through entering all of your expenses, including start up costs since this is your first year.

Income and expenses are taken in the year that they are earned and spent.  You're a cash basis taxpayer so the money only counts as income when you get it and counts as an expense in the year that you've spent it.