This is archived information that pertains only to the 2006 Tax Year. If you
are looking for information for the current tax year, go to the Tax Prep Help Area.
You may need copies of your original or amended income tax returns for 2003, 2004, and 2005 to figure your tax on Schedule
J.
If you do not have copies of those returns, you can get them by filing Form 4506. There is a $39 fee for each return requested.
If your main home,
principal place of business, or tax records are located in a Presidentially declared disaster area, the fee will be waived
if the assigned disaster
designation (for example, “Hurricane Katrina”) is written in red across the top of Form 4506 when filed. If you want a free transcript of your
tax return, use Form 4506-T. See your Form 1040 instruction booklet to find out how to get these forms.
Keep a copy of your 2006 income tax return to use for income averaging in 2007, 2008, or 2009.
Farming business.
A farming business is the trade or business of cultivating land or raising or harvesting any agricultural or horticultural
commodity. This
includes:
-
Operating a nursery or sod farm;
-
Raising or harvesting of trees bearing fruits, nuts, or other crops;
-
Raising ornamental trees (but not evergreen trees that are more than 6 years old when severed from the roots);
-
Raising, shearing, feeding, caring for, training, and managing animals; and
-
Leasing land to a tenant engaged in a farming business, but only if the lease payments are (a) based on a share of the tenant's
production
(not a fixed amount), and (b) determined under a written agreement entered into before the tenant begins significant activities
on the
land.
A farming business does not include:
-
Contract harvesting of an agricultural or horticultural commodity grown or raised by someone else, or
-
Merely buying or reselling plants or animals grown or raised by someone else.
Fishing business.
A fishing business is the trade or business of fishing in which the fish harvested, either in whole or in part, are
intended to enter commerce or
enter commerce through sale, barter, or trade. This includes:
-
The catching, taking, or harvesting of fish;
-
The attempted catching, taking, or harvesting of fish;
-
Any other activity which can reasonably be expected to result in the catching, taking, or harvesting of fish; or
-
Any operations at sea in support of, or in preparation for, any activity described in (1) through (3) above.
At the time these instructions went to print, there were pending Regulations that could change the definition of a fishing
business.
The word fish means finfish, mollusks, crustaceans, and all other forms of marine animal and plant life other than
marine mammals and birds.
A fishing business does not include any scientific research activity which is conducted by a scientific research vessel.
See Pub. 225 and Regulations section 1.1301-1 for more information.
