vate, operate, or manage a farm for profit, either as owner or tenant. A farm includes livestock, dairy, poultry, fish, fruit, and truck farms. It also includes plantations, ranches, ranges, and orchards and groves. This publication explains how the federal tax laws apply to farming. Use this publication as a guide to figure your taxes and complete your farm tax return. If you need more information on a subject, get the specific IRS tax publication covering that subject. We refer to many of these free publications throughout this publication. See chapter 16 for information on ordering these publications. The explanations and examples in this publication reflect the Internal Revenue Service's interpretation of tax laws enacted by Congress, Treasury regulations, and court decisions. However, the information given does not cover every situation and is not intended to replace the law or change its meaning. This publication covers subjects on which a court may have rendered a decision more favorable to taxpayers than the interpretation by the IRS. Until these differing interpretations are resolved by higher court decisions, or in some other way, this publication will continue to present the interpretation by the IRS.

The purpose of this statement on Farm Bookkeeping and the Federal Income Tax is to help farmers understand some of the problems involved in making adequate summaries of the farm business for federal income-tax returns. This is not a set of directions for setting up a system of farm accounts, nor is it a complete set of instructions for filling out an income-tax blank.

The purpose of this statement on Farm Bookkeeping and the Federal Income Tax is to help farmers understand some of the problems involved in making adequate summaries of the farm business for federal income-tax returns. This is not a set of directions for setting up a system of farm accounts, nor is it a complete set of instructions for filling out an income-tax blank.