Remember than FSA-510 is on MFS basis not MFJ
When filling out the letter to attach to FSA-510 you will prepare that on a MFS basis
Married farmers typically file a married filing joint tax return (MFJ) and report AGI to the IRS based on this filing.
However, the FSA AGI calculations for all FSA programs including the more than 75% Farm AGI for SDRP are based on Married Filing Separate (MFS) tax returns.
This essentially means for farmers in community property states (such as my old home state of Washington) that all AGI items would be split 50/50.
However, for all other farmers in separate property states you will need to review who owns what businesses and then determine the amount of AGI that is allocated to each spouse.
In many cases you might assume that the farmer does not meet the more than 75% test but when you remove the other spouse’s income from AGI you will now meet the test, and the farmer will qualify for a higher payment.
Here is an example:
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Farm CPA Report to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.