7 years worklife is about right for a dog.

Una

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Harlan Lunsford wrote:
- quote -

Paultry wrote:
- quote -

Is the taxpayer subject to Uniform Capitalization rules for farmers?
Probably not from what I read...

[...]
- quote -

Believe it! cheers....

-Mark Bole

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Harlan Lunsford wrote:
- quote -

decisive answer and your eloquent comments. Were going with
the 7 years MACRS, though it's hard to reduce this dog to
numbers on paper after seeing him at work in the fields.

Paul T (newly settled in Geneva County, AL from just across
the state line in FL.)

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Paultry wrote:
- quote -

I canna believe how easy it was to get off topic and so quickly, too.
Nobody really answered the question.

A working dog, like a working machine, is 7 years MACRS.

And they are beautiful to watch when they are working. Some years ago
on one of our many trips to Scotland we had traveled up this valley and
when the road ran out, was returning down to the main road when suddenly
we were stymied because the local farmer was bringing his sheep back
home that night. The three collies were a joy to watch as they knew
exactly how to herd the sheep and keep them focused on the way home.
Of course that was what's known as the 5 O'clock highland traffic jamb,
and we patiently followed behind them.

BTW, the second word beginning my response is Scottish for "can not".
And it's happy hour here in Dixie, and I'll drink that that!

Slainte!

Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA

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Paultry wrote:
- quote -

See the discussions at:
http://www.taxalmanac.org/index.php/...g_depreciation
http://www.taxalmanac.org/index.php/...ng_business%3F

HTH

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Paultry wrote:
....
- quote -

In addition to previous, check w/ your local Ag Extension office--if
this is in an area of significant farming/ranching they should have some
experience. Failing that, the State land grant university should also
be of some help.

--

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In article <fc2dnf37jLrGh3zanZ2dnUVZ_qqgnZ2d[at]centurytel.net> ,
Paultry <afn02552at[at]afn.org> wrote:

- quote -


Absent any thing specific I would treat the working dog tax wise the
same way that a ranch might treat a working horse (assuming that the IRS
has a rule for horses) or a dairy farm might treat a cow.

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Paultry wrote:
....
- quote -

Sorry, no direct information on working dogs. Working horses have
guideline of 10 yrs, breeding cattle 7, breeding hogs/sheep 5.

Comparing useful estimated lives, I'd think the 7-year figure reasonable.

I didn't look, but I'd think there might be information available from
the registered working dogs associations.

Not tax pro and not sheepherder, but do farm for primary source of income...

( Of course, Baxter Black quips the difference between farmer and
rancher is that the rancher pretends his dog is a worker, the farmer
knows he's a pet... And if you don't know who Baxter Black is, that
won't mean a thing, granted... <vbg> )

--

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Mark Bole wrote:
- quote -

I'm not concerned with how the seller treats the transaction
- I'm helping the purchaser. My original question was posed
in earnest, not tongue-in-cheek.

According to Wikipedia
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_Collie), border collies
are widely regarded as the most intelligent dog breed and
are frequently used on farms all over the world for
assisting with the handling of livestock. Quoting
Wikipedia, "The use of dogs for herding sheep makes good
economic sense. In a typical pasture environment each
trained sheepdog will do the work that it would take about
three human individuals to do if there were no dogs available."

We believe the costs of acquiring, training, and maintaining
the dog are ordinary and necessary farm expenses.
The dog appears to meet the requirements for depreciable
property outlined in Pub 946 in that:

It is tangible property owned by the taxpayer;
It is used in his income producing sheep farming activity,
and for no other purpose;
It is expected to last more than one year.

We need help with the fourth requirement - determining its
useful life. Again, according to Wikipedia, the dog has an
expected life span of 12 to 15 years. It's probably fair to
assume an adult working life of half that time. We propose
to treat the dog as 7-year property, either as agricultural
machinery or equipment, or as property not in any other
class. I can't find any IRS documentation that addresses
this issue. I'm hoping someone here has dealt with this
before, and is willing to share the wisdom of experience.

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"Mark Bole" <makbo[at]pacbell.net> wrote
- quote -




Usually you're buying from a breeder....it's carried on the books of the
seller just as livestock is. There are some that are bought to breed, and
those that are born and raised, in this case trained, then sold.

Course, the trainer could be buying them from a breeder, training them and
then selling them, in which case they would be inventory of sorts.








--
Paul A. Thomas, CPA
Athens, Georgia

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D. Stussy wrote:
- quote -

It's not inventory to the purchaser -- why would it necessarily be
inventory to the seller? More info is needed.

Living in an urban area, it is rare that I see a Schedule F. Heck, for
all I know raising dogs for sale might not even be considered farming
(assuming that's the source of the border collie, and not another
sheep-herder).

-Mark Bole

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"Mark Bole" <makbo[at]pacbell.net> wrote in message
news:Mk%Dj.1042$p24.601[at]nlpi061.nbdc.sbc.com...
- quote -

I hope not. Working animals are usually inventory by those who breed them.

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AES wrote:
- quote -

Now *that's* what I call tax humor! ;-)

Did the seller of the "herding-trained border collie" report gain on
sale of business asset?

-Mark Bole

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In article <ZPCdnX3ecaFHrn3anZ2dnUVZ_o6knZ2d[at]centurytel.net> ,
Paultry <afn02552at[at]afn.org> wrote:

- quote -

Given the accepted wisdom that dogs age 7 times as fast as humans,
wouldn't they also depreciate 7 times as . . . oh, well, let's drop this
topic.

[And get into whether Kibble and chew toys can be deducted as
business expenses.]

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Taxpayer is a sheep farmer, previously herded sheep (pasture
to barn, between pastures, etc) on his ATV. With the growth
of his herd, he acquired a herding-trained border collie in
2007 (fascinating to watch the dog work!) for $1,700.
Depreciation rules discuss livestock but not working dogs.
I researched some old discussions in this group that mention
guard dogs but not herding dogs. I'm thinking the dog would
be 7-year property either as agricultural machinery or
equipment, or as property not in any other class. Any
experience/suggestions with herding dog depreciation?

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