Agricultural Producers Income

Tax Filing Deadline is March 2

Agricultural producers have until March 2, 2015, to file their 2014 income tax returns without penalty if they have not made estimates.

“Producers have until April 15 to file without penalty if they have paid their estimated tax by Jan. 15,” says Ron Haugen, North Dakota State University Extension Service farm economist.

Items to note for 2014 income tax preparation:

* The 179 expense election for 2014 is $500,000. Generally, the 179 expense election allows producers to deduct up to $500,000 of machinery or equipment purchases for the year of the purchase. There is a dollar-for-dollar phase-out for purchases of more than $2 million.

* The additional 50 percent first-year bonus depreciation provision is in effect for 2014. It is equal to 50 percent of the adjusted basis after 179 expensing. It only applies to new property that has a recovery period of 20 years or less.

* The standard deduction is $12,400 for those who are married and filing jointly. The deduction is $6,200 for singles.

* The personal exemption amount is $3,950.

* Long-term capital gains and qualified dividend income is taxed at a 0 percent rate for individuals in the 10 or 15 percent tax brackets and at 15 percent for those in the middle brackets and 20 percent for those in the top income bracket.

* The annual individual retirement account contribution is $5,500 for 2014 or $6,500 for individuals 50 or older.

* The annual gift tax exclusion for 2014 is $14,000.

* The 2014 Social Security wage base is $117,000.

* The business mileage rate for 2014 is 56 cents per mile.

* Crop insurance proceeds, if received in 2014, may be deferred to 2015 if you qualify. You must use cash accounting and show that, under normal business practices, the sale of damaged crops would occur in a future tax year.

* A livestock deferral can be made by those who had a forced sale of livestock because of a weather-related disaster.

* Remember that qualifying farmers can elect to compute their current tax liability by averaging, during a three-year period, all or part of the current year’s elected farm income. This is done on Schedule J. North Dakota farmers who elect to use income averaging for federal purposes also may use Form ND-1FA, which is income averaging for North Dakota income tax calculations.

Information on agricultural tax topics can be found in the “Farmers Tax Guide,” publication 225. It is available at any IRS office or can be ordered by calling (800) 829-3676. Any questions about these topics or further updates should be addressed to your tax professional or the IRS at (800) 829-1040 or http://www.irs.gov. Call the North Dakota Tax Department at (877) 328-7088 or go to http://www.nd.gov/tax/ for answers to North Dakota income tax questions.

Garden Project donates

more than 1M pounds of produce

Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring announced at a recent North Dakota Farmers Market and Growers Association (NDFMGA) Local Foods Conference that the volunteers in the Hunger Free ND Garden Project have donated more than one million pounds of fresh produce to food pantries, soup kitchens, and other charitable community programs since the program started in 2010.

“In five short years, North Dakota growers have donated over one million pounds of produce to help meet a real need in our state,” Goehring said. “The Hunger Free ND Garden Project is helping build stronger community ties by bringing people together through agriculture.”

The Hunger Free ND Garden Project was started through the local foods initiative of the North Dakota Department of Agriculture (NDDA) in partnership with the Great Plains Food Bank. The statewide project encourages home gardeners and commercial growers to plant extra produce each year for donation to charitable organizations across the state.

“North Dakota’s generous gardeners and growers contributed over 125,000 pounds of produce in 2014,” Goehring said. “That is over 500,000 servings of fruits and vegetables donated to help the well-being of our residents.”

We appreciate our partners in the statewide project that include the Great Plains Food Bank, Lutheran Social Services, North Dakota Master Gardeners, North Dakota State University Extension Service, North Dakota FFA, Entrepreneurial Center for Horticulture at Dakota College at Bottineau, Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society, North Dakota Farmers Market and Growers Association, Healthy North Dakota and Pride of Dakota.

Goehring awards

community-school orchard grants

Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring has awarded grants totaling $30,703.63 for eight projects to develop orchards and plant trees in local communities.

“The goals of the North Dakota Community Orchard Project are to increase the production of fruit and nut trees that grow in North Dakota, provide educational opportunities and foster community spirit by bringing people together to plant and tend these orchards,” said Goehring, who announced the grants at the North Dakota Farmers Market and Growers Association (NDFMGA) Local Foods Conference on Friday.

The grants were awarded to:

· Sitting Bull College, Fort Yates – $2,000 to serve as a teaching and learning space for local fruit production initiatives.

· Wahpeton Park District, Wahpeton – $2,500 to expand an existing community orchard, and supply the local food pantry and school nutritionprograms with harvested fruit.

· Munich Public Schools, Munich – $1,300 to serve as a living classroom for hands-on learning initiatives.

· Richland 44 FFA, Colfax – $4,021.48 to develop a school orchard andprovide a living education lab.

· City of Sheyenne Tree Board, Sheyenne – $1,160 will expand and maintain the existing community and school orchard.

· City ofMylo, Mylo – $3,137.15 will develop a community orchard to educate all ages about fruit production, fruit preservation and basic tree care.

· CHARISM Neighborhood Center, Fargo – $6,585 will provide neighborhood families and programs with fruit production to combat food insecurity.

· Go Bismarck Mandan Healthy Community Coalition, Bismarck – $10,000 will develop multiple orchard locations in order to provide hunger relief, fruit production education, and enhance community greenspace.

Goehring said grant money can be used for plants, trees, planting supplies, soil amendments, irrigation and fencing supplies, but not for permanent structures, capital expenditures or to buy land. The grants are funded by a U.S. Department of Agriculture specialty crop grant through the NDDA’s Local Foods Initiative. Another round of grants will open later this year.