March 22, 2016 • Page 12 shop online at www.missourivalleyshopper.com Importance of Depreciation BROOKINGS, S.D. - Depreciation is an important part of keeping records in agriculture. “Careful consideration of how to report tax depreciation helps producers comply with IRS regulations and can result in a reduction of income taxes paid,” said Shannon Sand, SDSU Extension Livestock Business Management Field Specialist. Sand explained that most farmers and ranchers are familiar with the concept of depreciation, which is a reduction in the value of an asset over time, due to wear and tear. Depreciation is also a way to make an income tax deduction to recover the cost of qualifying assets. “However, depreciating an asset for tax purposes is different than calculating depreciation for financial statements and management decisions,” she said. Economic Depreciation Economic depreciation is the reduction in the economic value of the asset for a given period because of use, wear, tear or age. “Depending on the asset, depreciation results from a combination of some or all of these issues,” Sand said. In order for an asset to be depreciable, it must: 1. Be owned; 2. Have a useful life greater than one year; 3. Have a limited and determinable life; and 4. Have an industrious use in the business. Economic depreciation is based on the matching principle of accounting which means that the cost of the property expensed in a period should match the reduction in the property’s value occurring in the same period. Depreciation calculations utilize the asset’s original cost (i.e., basis), and require business managers to estimate salvage value and useful life. The cost of an asset is generally its purchase price. For assets without a purchase price (e.g. raised breeding livestock), fair market value is used as the asset’s beginning basis. There exist several common methods for calculating economic depreciation. The method used for depreciating an asset will depend on the asset to be depreciated. Economic depreciation appears on an accrual income statement as an expense and is used to calculate an asset’s depreciated value or book value for the cost-basis balance sheet. Tax Depreciation Tax depreciation is the depreciation which can be listed as an expense on a tax return for a given period under valid IRS rules. Tax depreciation sanctions reclamation of the cost of an asset while it is being used to create revenue. The IRS often permits businesses, including farms and ranches, to hasten tax depreciation expense by taking more depreciation in the first few years of a property’s life, and less depreciation later on. “Accelerated depreciation can result in significant tax savings in the early years of an asset’s life compared with nonaccelerated depreciation,” Sand said. “It is important to be aware, however that the value will be much lower later on in the taxable useful life of the asset.” MACRS Depreciation The Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) is used to depreciate or recover the basis of most property placed in service after 1986, for tax purposes. The MACRS consists of two depreciation systems, the General Depreciation System (GDS) and the Alternative Depreciation System (ADS). The systems use different methods and recovery periods for calculating depreciation in general. Farmer’s and rancher’s use GDS unless required by law to use ADS, or they elect to use ADS. Normally, ADS results in slower depreciation than GDS which is one reason why it is not frequently used. However, producers desiring to delay some depreciation to later years should consider ADS. “To compute depreciation under MACRS, producers must determine the depreciation system, property class, placed in service date, basis value, recovery period, convention that applies, and depreciation method that applies,” Sand said. Producers can calculate depreciation themselves, or they can use a depreciation table provided by the IRS in Appendix A of the How to Depreciate Property publication. Property Classes under GDS GDS clusters assets into nine property classes: 3-year property, 5-year property, 7-year property, 10-year property, 15-year property, 20-year property, 25-year property, residential rental property, and nonresidential real property. These property classes govern recovery periods. The recovery period is the number of years over which the asset’s cost or other basis is recovered. The recovery periods of property are generally longer under ADS then under GDS. Depreciation Methods for Farm and Ranch Property MARCS provides three depreciation methods under GDS and one method under ADS. * The 200% declining balance method over a GDS recovery period. * The 150% declining balance method over a GDS recovery period. * The straight line method over a GDS recovery period. * The straight line method over an ADS recovery period. The straight line method has a constant depreciation value for each year; with the exception of the first and last year, but this is dependent upon the convention applied. The straight line method generally results in slower depreciation than does declining balance. Slower depreciation may be preferred by a producer who anticipates higher taxable income and a higher marginal tax rate in future years, compared to the near term. Convention Property is generally qualified for depreciation when first placed in to service. Depreciation ends when the cost or basis of the asset is fully recovered, or the property is removed from use, whichever comes first. However, under MARCS, convention governs when an asset’s recovery period commences and ends. The convention used regulates the number of months for which depreciation is claimed during the year the property is first placed into use and the year the property is removed from use. Most property will include a half year of depreciation for the year of purchase, regardless of the purchase date (called the half-year convention). It applies unless more than 40 percent of the depreciable assets purchased in a year were purchased in the last 3 months of the tax year. In that case, the midquarter convention rule applies. The mid-quarter convention provides for 1.5 months of depreciation for the quarter the property was placed into service or removed from use. MARCS also includes a convention called mid-month but it seldom applies to farm or ranch property. Electing 179 Depreciation Section 179 of the IRS tax code exists as an alternative to depreciating capital purchases over time. “This allows businesses to deduct from taxable income all or part of the purchase price of new and used capital equipment and software in the year the items were acquired,” Sand explained. The value of items eligible for the deduction is subject to dollar limits and items must have been placed into service in the tax year the deduction is being taken. The total amount a person can elect to deduct under section 179 is subject to a dollar limit and business income limit. These limits apply to each tax payer, and not to each business. Exceeding this purchase limit reduces the Section 179 deduction allowed on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Section 179 has a reduced dollar limit for costs exceeding $200,000. This means that if the cost of the asset placed into service in 2015 exceeds $200,000, the producer must reduce the dollar limit (but not below zero) by the amount of cost over $200,000. To show how this method of depreciation affects tax deduction amounts, Table 1 shows the annual reduction in taxable income using four depreciation methods applied to a tractor with a purchase price of $100,000. Table 1 shows deduction amounts using GDS declining balance 150%, GDS straight line, ADS straight line, and Section 179. The examples in Table 1 were calculated using the half-year convention. “Note that depreciation with 150 percent declining balance switches to straight line when straight line results in a higher percentage amount,” Sand said. “Also note that ADS straight line uses a longer recovery period than GDS straight line.” Table 1 shows 150 percent declining balance method results in more depreciation in early years than straight line over a GDS recovery period. Also, straight line over the longer recovery period of ADS results in less depreciation each year than straight line over a GDS recovery period. Section 179 allows the full purchase price of the tractor to be deducted from taxable income in the first year of service. Table 1. Annual Depreciation Amounts by Depreciation Method, $100,000 Tractor Year GDS Declining Balance 150% GDS Straight Line ADS Straight Line Section 179 1 $10,714.29 $7,143 $5,000 $100,000 2 $19,132.65 $14,286 $10,000 $14,286 $10,000 4 $12,248.95 $14,286 $10,000 5 $12,248.95 $14,286 $10,000 6 $12,248.95 $14,286 $10,000 7 $12,248.95 $14,286 $10,000 8 $6,124.47 $7,143 $10,000 9 $10,000 10 $10,000 11 $5,000 “Farmers and ranchers should consider the effects of depreciation on taxable income over time when choosing a depreciation method for tax purposes,” Sand said. Depreciation and Section 179 expense is elected by completing Form 4562. Instructions for completing Form 4562 are on the IRS website. To read more information on this topic, including detailed examples, visit the iGrow Profit Tips Community. For questions concerning tax depreciation unique to your situation, consult your personal tax preparer or attorney. - See more at: http:// igrow.org/news/importanceof-depreciation/#sthash. aGZdUzAW.dpuf niGrow 3 $15,032.80 Does Calving Season Equal Culling Season? BROOKINGS, S.D. - Calving season is one of the most exciting, frustrating and tiring seasons of the year for many cattlemen, explained Heather Gessner, SDSU Extension Livestock Business Management Field Specialist. “This is a time when the only thing that compares to watching a newborn calf struggle to its feet is the sound of it nursing its dam for the first time,” Gessner said. However, when best laid plans do not work out as expected, and a dry cow results, Gessner said cattle producers need to have a management plan in place to maintain an efficient and economically viable cow herd. “Management of cows that lose their calf at or during the calving season, must be considered in order to save high quality feedstuffs for lactating cows,” Gessner said. “The cows that lost a calf should be managed to minimize unnecessary weight gain (if the cow is already in a body condition 5 or higher) and reduce competition for feed within the herd.” Gessner added that selling dry cows may provide a revenue source during a time of the year when feeder cattle or open cows are not traditionally sold and allow for utilizing feed resources for the productive animals. Consider feed costs Cull cow prices were not immune to the drop in cattle prices at the end of 2015. Fourth quarter 2014 prices were nearly $100 per hundredweight higher than the same quarter 2015, $173.59 compared to $77.80. The Economic Research Service (ERS) is forecasting average prices of $84-92 per hundredweight and $84-96 per hundredweight for the second and third quarters of 2016, and $87-99 per hundredweight for the fourth quarter 2016. While the price range for March through September are similar, feed costs for those months must be considered when determining when to sell the dry cow, if she will be sold prior to preg-check culling time. How long to feed dry cows? Considerations regarding if and how long to feed the dry cow should include: Body condition score - Dry cows in “good condition” generally bring a higher price per pound than thin cows. Good condition would be a body condition score of 5 or higher. Thinner cows may benefit from time on feed to gain additional weight prior to culling. Develop a feed budget to compare feed expenses with anticipated returns when the dry cow is placed on feed. Medication withdrawal times - Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) practices and good husbandry require that all withdrawal times are adhered to. This is an important responsibility cattlemen must embrace. Read and follow the label instructions on all medications: injectable, pour-on or fed. Genetics - Depending on the age of the dry cow, genetics may be an important factor. Younger heifers and cows should provide genetic improvements to your herd through sire selection and normal herd culling. If the dry cow is old, culling her to invest in a genetically superior female should add productivity to your calf crop without extra feed requirements. Space and time - During calving season, time is often limited. Management of the dry cow will add space requirements as well as additional time required to feed these animals. If additional space and time are not available, it may be more effective to focus on the cow herd that will be providing an income in 2016. Dry cows held over will not provide a “calf check” until late 2017 given a traditional spring calving season. It is critical to budget how much it will cost to run a dry cow for this time period and then determine how many additional calves it will take for her to pay for not raising a calf during one year. Evaluate the reason for the calf loss. If she is a young cow that wouldn’t claim her calf or ended up killing the calf, she may need to be culled when she is in the best body condition because this may be something that she will continue to do as she calves in the future. However, if the death loss was due to environmental factors, such as a storm or mud and the female has the most valuable genetics for your herd, it may be of value to graft a calf from an older, less desirable cow onto her. This will give her the opportunity to raise a calf and stay in the herd, while culling the older cow. Beef cattle budget worksheets “Given the current cattle price situation, carrying a cow until 2017 without producing a weaned calf may not be an effective use of feed or labor resources,” Gessner said. Beef cattle budget worksheets can be found at the SDSU Economics Extension and Outreach page. “These budgets are in an Excel format and allow individual operations to input their own feed costs and other expenses to determine enterprise costs for different classes of beef cattle, including the Beef Cow and Replacement Heifer,” she said. niGrow BULL SALES ARE COMING UP Be sure to get your advertising in! Contact a marketing representative at the MV Shopper MV Shopper M I S S O U R I VA L L E Y 319 Walnut Street • Yankton, SD 57078 605-665-5884 • 800-743-2968 M I S S O U R I VA L L E Y Fax: 605-665-0288 www.missourivalleyshopper.com