"part time" farm expenses

[luke]

What do you guys tell your client who wants to "write off" his new farm tractor, fence, equipment, etc for his week-end farm - has full time (W2) job and is not nearing retirement - just wants to show a loss on his farm because ALL his friends do it....?

[AJsTax]

All he has to do

is to be able to prove the intent to make a profit. Does he have the ability, knowledge, time invested and sales to prove the intent to make this a profitable enterprise? Some do, many do not.

[Burke]

What do you guys tell your client who wants to "write off" his new farm tractor, fence, equipment, etc for his week-end farm - has full time (W2) job and is not nearing retirement - just wants to show a loss on his farm because ALL his friends do it....?

I tell them to forget it. It's a highly questionable deduction, unless he can show some income from the enterprise. And a highly audited one. Check out the hours he spends actively engaged in trying to operate the farm as a business, and the income he derives from it.