Released: January 12, 2007

Timber, Log Sales Mean Special Tax Provisions
     Feb. 28 Seminar Will Address the Topic

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Income tax questions are emerging as the newest factor in China’s strong and still growing demand for U.S. timber.

That demand has already sparked higher walnut (wood) prices. In the central High Plains, where farmers and other individuals own most of the woodlands, it’s triggered increasingly large harvest levels.

A Timber Tax Seminar Feb. 28 in Emporia, Kan., can help those Plains landowners, their consultants and accountants learn how best to report the resulting profits.

“The money that’s literally been growing on trees can fit under special forestry tax provisions. Unless tax preparers know their timber law, however, most tree owners will continue to pay more than their fair tax share,” said Charles Barden, Kansas State University Research and Extension forester. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service’s tax form for timber is a surprise for many Kansans, he said.

“Special rules can allow annual deductions of up to $10,000 for site preparation and reforestation. But that’s specialized knowledge, too – as is how to amortize costs, to deduct management expenses and even to avoid capital gains when a tornado turns your woodlot into a salvage sale,” he said.

The seminar instructor will be Deborah Gaddis, a nationally recognized taxation expert from Mississippi State University’s Department of Forestry.

“She brings Southern charm and uses plain language. It will not be boring,” Barden said. “We’re also limiting the enrollment, to ensure everyone gets their questions answered.”

The seminar will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in American Legion Post #5 at 2921 West 12th. The registration fee -- $35 per person or $50 for two family members -- will cover lunch and materials.

More information about the event is available from Barden (785-532-1444 or cbarden@ksu.edu) or from the Lyon County K-State Research and Extension office (620-341-3220).

Additional seminar sponsors include the Kansas Forest Service, Kansas Forest Products Association, Kansas Tree Farm Committee, and Kansas Farmers Union.

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by:
Kathleen Ward
kward@oznet.ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News