The Meaning of "Excess Farm Losses"

Abstract

<p>In an effort to curb the offsetting of farm losses against non-farm income, Congress in 2008 passed a provision as part of the 2008 “Farm Bill,” the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008.<strong>1 </strong>Aside from the fact that it is unusual for a tax provision to be included in a farm bill, the legislation is also notable because of the uncertainty over the meaning of “aggregate gross income or gain” in the legislation.<strong>2 </strong>The issue is important (1) because the definition of that term can affect a taxpayer’s handling of losses and (2) the Internal Revenue Code has similar language in different Code sections and the interpretations have not been the same in the resulting regulations.</p>