You Can Still Add Income After Year-End
Many times we need to increase income not decrease it
Most farm tax writing is about cutting income. Plenty of farmers have the opposite problem. After two soft grain years and a big equipment purchase, you are staring at a return where the standard deduction goes to waste and the cheap brackets go unused.
Here is what gets missed. Most income-raising moves are elections you make on the return, not decisions you had to make by December 31. For a 2026 return, that gives you until October 15, 2027, if you extend.
Why you would want more income
The 2026 standard deduction is $32,200 for a joint return. If both spouses are 65 or older, the stack reaches $47,500 with the $1,650 per spouse age addition and the $6,000 per person senior deduction. Unused, it is gone forever.
The cheap brackets are worth filling. A joint filer runs 10% and 12% all the way to $100,800 of taxable income. Paying 12% now beats paying 22% or 24% later. Income averaging also needs income to work with, and general business credits like 45Z are worthless in a zero-tax year.
The tools, in order of usefulness
