Dead cow, photo for tax purposes?

[NewCowboy]

We found our first dead cow in the pasture today. Someone mentioned to me that they take a photograph of the dead cow as evidence for tax purposes when using this as a write off. We have not had this happen and wondered just what we should keep on hand in the event of an audit. Any helpful comments appreciated.

NewCowboy's Mom

 

[A6gal]

In a discussion I had with my CPA, he told me losing a calf is not tax deductible. He explained that if you buy an animal for breeding and then sell it for less, then the difference can be considered a loss but if it dies it cannot be claimed. I was surprised because I considered that a loss. I haven't had a reason to check into it any further.

 

[mdmdogs3]

our CPA said that a cow/bull can be claimed if you purchased the animal
however if it was born on your place then it isn't deductible at all

 

[bcox]

If you have never turned them in on your taxes before, I would becareful...you dont want to tip anyone off lol.

bcox

 

[NewCowboy]

Thanks for the information. This is a cow (age?) that we purchased two years ago. We have only had cows for ourselves for about 3 years. This is the first one we have purchased to die on us. Any sick cows that have been doctored on have always made a recovery. We did take a photo just in case and will keep in in our tax file for future reference. I appreciate your information. I did know though that calves born on your place weren't tax deductible. My parent's have had cows "forever" and they did tell me that. They don't keep records like I do so I was just wondering what others did.

Thanks again!

 

[cypressfarms]

our CPA said that a cow/bull can be claimed if you purchased the animal
however if it was born on your place then it isn't deductible at all

Bingo!

Only cattle bought that you are depreciating can be claimed if they die. Any new calves born into your herd are considered yours, and there is no depreciation or "tax value" to them.

New cowboy, if you claimed the cow's cost on your taxes (you would have likely depreciated it over 5 or 7 years), then you can deduct the amount left. If you've depreciated half of the value that you paid and she dies, you can deduct that remaining half.

 

[NewCowboy]

I think I remember our CPA telling us that the IRS will only allow depreciation for 5 years now (I think that is what I remember her saying). Anyway, it won't be much of a deduction but every little bit can help. We would much rather have the cow of course. Since this is our "first" dead cow, I was interested in how others document it for tax purposes. As I said before, my parent's don't document like I like to do and they aren't much help in that area. Any helpful hints or ideas are appreciated.

Thanks!
NewCowboy's Mom

 

[Beefy]

Inquiring minds wanna know...what happened to her?

 

[LonghornRanch]

 

[NewCowboy]

Inquiring minds wanna know...what happened to her?

Well, the best we figure is that she got struck by lightening. She was in a shallow ditch with her legs folded under her and she had a spot on her neck that looked as though she was hit by lightening, kind of a darkened long mark. Skin was not broken and there were no other outward signs. We had a bad storm the night before with lots of lightening and when we went to check the cows and calves the next morning we found her. So.......isn't that what you might think? Anyway, we drug her off and that is that.

NewCowboy's Mom

 

[NewCowboy]

Inquiring minds wanna know...what happened to her?

Well, the best we figure is that she got struck by lightening. She was in a shallow ditch with her legs folded under her and she had a spot on her neck that looked as though she was hit by lightening, kind of a darkened long mark. Skin was not broken and there were no other outward signs. We had a bad storm the night before with lots of lightening and when we went to check the cows and calves the next morning we found her. So.......isn't that what you might think? Anyway, we drug her off and that is that.

NewCowboy's Mom

 

[Beefy]

sounds like a logical diagnosis to me.

 

[mnmtranching]

New Cowboy, Insurance for lightning and other natural deaths is not expensive, we have colected a few times. You know a loss of a cow will show up on you profit and loss as far as taxes are concerned.

mnmt

 

[msscamp]

You guys ever use presell contracts to cover your "born on the farm" death losses?

I can't say that I'm familiar with this, would you explain please? Thanks!

 

[NewCowboy]

New Cowboy, Insurance for lightning and other natural deaths is not expensive, we have colected a few times. You know a loss of a cow will show up on you profit and loss as far as taxes are concerned.

mnmt

That is something to consider. We still have a relatively small herd and have been quite fortunate in the past few years with only one calf loss and now one cow loss. If we grow our herd as we would like, we might want to look into something like that in the future provided it is cost efficient. Where would you go to find out information regarding this type of coverage?

NewCowboy's Mom

 

[got_cows?]

Just had the insurance guy out on Monday.
What you insure and don't insure is pretty much up to you. How much risk are you comfortable with? Our farm insurance is basically liability. We don't insure buildings, machinery or the cows. Although we are considering the included perils (like lightening) in our coverage.
Under our farm policy our house costs more to insure than the regular homeowners policy we used to have. :roll: Figure that one out. Anyway, our big concern is if one of the cows got out on the road and was hit. My birds also like to go over to visit the neighbors vacant place and are always crossing the road. I'm not losing the whole place because someone hits a peacock or guinea and sues me.

 

[NewCowboy]

Just had the insurance guy out on Monday.
What you insure and don't insure is pretty much up to you. How much risk are you comfortable with? Our farm insurance is basically liability. We don't insure buildings, machinery or the cows. Although we are considering the included perils (like lightening) in our coverage.
Under our farm policy our house costs more to insure than the regular homeowners policy we used to have. :roll: Figure that one out. Anyway, our big concern is if one of the cows got out on the road and was hit. My birds also like to go over to visit the neighbors vacant place and are always crossing the road. I'm not losing the whole place because someone hits a peacock or guinea and sues me.

I see lots of livestock on pasture land beside major highways. I think I would have a heart attack and not be able to sleep at night for worrying. Fortunately, if someone is coming down our road, they are coming to see us. Our fence road frontage is not traveled by many.

Thanks for the information from you both. It gives me something else to think about.

NewCowboy's Mom