IRS Schedule F (farm income) tax estimator
Quick Schedule F (Form 1040) estimate of your farm's gross income, total deductions, and net farm profit / loss. Numbers you type stay in your browser — nothing is sent or saved. For the real return, give the result to your CPA.
Income (Part I)
Expenses (Part II)
What is Schedule F?
Schedule F (Form 1040) is the IRS form used by individuals and sole proprietors to report income and expenses from farming as a business. It applies if you cultivate, operate, or manage a farm for profit, whether the farm is operated by you as the owner or by a tenant. The result on Line 34 flows into your 1040 as Schedule 1 income (or loss).
What's deductible on Schedule F?
Most ordinary and necessary farm expenses, including:
- Seed, plants, fertilizer, lime, soil amendments
- Purchased feed, livestock medicines, vet services
- Hired farm labor (wages, payroll taxes, benefits)
- Repairs and maintenance on equipment, fences, structures
- Fuel, oil, gas (the farm-use portion)
- Insurance, utilities, rent / lease (farm portion)
- Depreciation on machinery, equipment, breeding livestock, farm buildings (NOT the residence)
- Section 179 expensing of qualifying property (up to the current cap, $1,160,000 for 2025-filed returns)
- Conservation expenses, soil/water improvements
- Mileage on business use of vehicles (standard or actual)
Personal expenses (your house, your weekend tractor for the garden) are not deductible. The farm-use percentage applies for mixed-use property.
Hobby farm vs. for-profit business
The IRS uses a 9-factor test to determine whether a farm is a business (deductible losses, Schedule F) or a hobby (income reported, but losses NOT deductible). Showing a profit in 3 of the last 5 years creates a presumption of for-profit; failing the presumption requires you to defend with the qualitative factors (manner of operation, expertise, time/effort, etc.). This is exactly the kind of question a CPA earns their fee on — don't guess.
Self-employment tax (the gotcha)
Net farm profit on Schedule F flows into Schedule SE for self-employment tax (15.3% on the first $168,600 for 2025; 2.9% Medicare-only above). A farm earning $40k net pays ~$5,650 in SE tax on top of regular income tax. Plan quarterly estimated payments — IRS Form 1040-ES — or face an underpayment penalty.
What records do I need?
Income: invoices, sale receipts, 1099-PATR (co-op), 1099-G (program payments). Expenses: receipts, vendor invoices, cancelled checks, mileage log. Keep them for the longer of (a) 3 years from filing or (b) the period of any open depreciation schedule. Farm Planner auto-logs sales and expenses tied to specific animals and plantings — the audit trail is built-in.
Auto-generate this report from your records
Every harvest, livestock sale, vet bill, equipment-maintenance receipt, and labour cost you log in Farm Planner aggregates into a year-rolled Schedule F summary by category. No spreadsheet stitching. Free 30-day trial.
Sources: IRS Publication 225 (Farmer's Tax Guide), IRS Schedule F instructions, IRS Section 183 hobby-loss rules. Disclaimer: This is an estimation tool, not tax advice and not a substitute for a CPA. Numbers entered above stay in your browser — Farm Planner does not collect or store them. File your actual Schedule F via a qualified preparer or tax software that supports Form 1040 + Schedule F.