Under IRS Notice 2016-60, farmers and ranchers who sell more livestock than they normally would due to drought may defer tax on the extra gains from those sales. To qualify, the livestock generally must be replaced within a four-year period. The IRS is authorized to extend this period if the drought continues.
The one-year extension of the replacement period announced on September 30 generally applies to capital gains realized by eligible farmers and ranchers on sales of livestock held for draft, dairy or breeding purposes due to drought.
Sales of other livestock, such as those raised for slaughter or held for sporting purposes, and poultry aren't eligible.
The IRS is providing this relief to any farm located in a county, parish, city, borough, census area or district, listed as suffering exceptional, extreme or severe drought conditions by the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC), during any weekly period between September 1, 2015 and August 31, 2016. All or part of 37 states and Puerto Rico listed below qualify for this relief. Any county contiguous to a county listed by the NDMC also qualifies.
As a result, farmers and ranchers in these areas whose drought sale replacement period was scheduled to expire at the end of this tax year — in most cases, December 31, 2016 — now have until the end of their next tax year. However, the normal drought sale replacement period is four years, so this extension immediately affects drought sales that occurred during 2012. But because the IRS has announced previous drought-related extensions affecting some of these localities, the replacement periods for some drought sales before 2012 are also affected.
If drought conditions persist, additional extensions will be granted. Consult with your Certified Public Accountant (CPA) if you have questions about your situation.
Areas Suffering Drought Conditions Where Taxpayers Qualify for Relief
Alabama
Counties of Baldwin, Bibb, Blount, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, Colbert, Coosa, Cullman, DeKalb, Elmore, Etowah, Fayette, Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lee, Limestone, Macon, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Morgan, Pickens, Randolph, Russell, Saint Clair, Shelby, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa and Walker.
Arizona Counties of Apache, Cochise, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, La Paz, Maricopa, Navajo, Pima, Pinal, Santa Cruz and Yuma.
Arkansas
Counties of Arkansas, Ashley, Bradley, Calhoun, Chicot, Clark, Cleveland, Columbia, Dallas, Desha, Drew, Faulkner, Garland, Grant, Hempstead, Hot Spring, Howard, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lee, Lincoln, Little River, Lonoke, Miller, Monroe, Montgomery, Nevada, Ouachita, Perry, Phillips, Pike, Polk, Prairie, Pulaski, Saline, Scott, Sevier, Union and Yell.
California
Counties of Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Plumas, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo and Yuba.
Colorado
County of Baca.
Connecticut
Counties of Hartford, Litchfield, Tolland and Windham.
Florida
Counties of Broward, Collier, Escambia, Miami-Dade, Monroe and Palm Beachn.
Georgia
Counties of Baldwin, Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Bibb, Bleckley, Bulloch, Burke, Butts, Candler, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Clarke, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Crawford, Dade, Dawson, DeKalb, Douglas, Effingham, Elbert, Emanuel, Fannin, Fayette, Floyd, Forsyth, Franklin, Fulton, Gilmer, Gordon, Greene, Gwinnett, Habersham, Hall, Haralson, Harris, Hart, Heard, Henry, Houston, Jackson, Jasper, Jenkins, Lamar, Laurens, Lincoln, Lumpkin, Madison, Meriwether, Monroe, Morgan, Murray, Muscogee, Newton, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Paulding, Peach, Pickens, Pike, Polk, Pulaski, Putnam, Rabun, Rockdale, Screven, Spalding, Stephens, Talbot, Taliaferro, Towns, Troup, Turner, Twiggs, Union, Upson, Walker, Walton, Washington, White, Whitfield, Wilkes and Wilkinson.
Hawaii
Counties of Hawaii, Kauai and Maui.
Idaho
Counties of Adams, Benewah, Blaine, Boise, Bonner, Boundary, Butte, Camas, Canyon, Clark, Clearwater, Custer, Elmore, Fremont, Gem, Gooding, Idaho, Jefferson, Jerome, Kootenai, Latah, Lemhi, Lewis, Lincoln, Minidoka, Nez Perce, Owyhee, Payette, Shoshone, Twin Falls, Valley and Washington.
Kansas
Counties of Barber, Comanche and Morton.
Louisiana
Parishes of Acadia, Allen, Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Calcasieu, Caldwell, Catahoula, Claiborne, Concordia, De Soto, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Iberia, Iberville, Jackson, Jefferson Davis, Jefferson, La Salle, Lafayette, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Ouachita, Pointe Coupee, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, Saint Charles, Saint Helena, Saint James, Saint John the Baptist, Saint Landry, Saint Martin, Saint Tammany, Tangipahoa, Tensas, Union, Vermilion, Vernon, Washington, Webster, West Baton Rouge, West Carroll, West Feliciana and Winn.
Maine
Counties of Androscoggin, Cumberland, Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc and York.
Massachusetts
Counties of Barnstable, Bristol, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk and Worcester.
Michigan Counties of Genesee, Shiawassee and Wayne.
Minnesota
Counties of Big Stone, Douglas, Grant, Otter Tail, Traverse and Wilkin.
Mississippi
Counties of Adams, Amite, Attala, Bolivar, Calhoun, Carroll, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Claiborne, Clay, Coahoma, Copiah, Covington, Forrest, Franklin, Grenada, Hinds, Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Itawamba, Jasper, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Kemper, Lafayette, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Leake, Lee, Leflore, Lincoln, Lowndes, Madison, Marion, Monroe, Montgomery, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Panola, Pearl River, Pike, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Quitman, Rankin, Scott, Sharkey, Simpson, Smith, Stone, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tishomingo, Tunica, Union, Walthall, Warren, Washington, Webster, Wilkinson, Winston, Yalobusha and Yazoo.
Montana
Counties of Beaverhead, Big Horn, Broadwater, Carbon, Carter, Cascade, Deer Lodge, Fallon, Flathead, Gallatin, Glacier, Granite, Jefferson, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Lincoln, Madison, Mineral, Missoula, Park, Pondera, Powder River, Powell, Ravalli, Sanders, Silver Bow, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Teton, Toole and Yellowstone.
Nebraska
Counties of Carson City, Churchill, Clark, Douglas, Elko, Esmeralda, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, Lincoln, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Pershing, Storey, Washoe and White Pine.
Nevada
Carson City. Counties of Churchill, Clark, Douglas, Elko, Esmeralda, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, Lincoln, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Pershing, Storey, Washoe, White Pine.
New Hampshire
Counties of Belknap, Cheshire, Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham and Strafford.
New Mexico
Counties of Lea, Roosevelt and Union.
New York
Counties of Allegany, Broome, Clinton, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Chemung, Cortland, Erie, Genesee, Jefferson, Lewis, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Onondaga, Ontario, Orleans, Oswego, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Suffolk, Tioga, Tomkins, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates.
North Carolina
Counties of Alexander, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Iredell, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Union and Yancey.
North Dakota
Counties of Bowman, Richland and Slope.
Ohio
Counties of Allen, Ashland, Auglaize, Champaign, Clark, Crawford, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Hancock, Hardin, Holmes, Huron, Lake, Logan, Lorain, Madison, Marion, Mercer, Miami, Morrow, Richland, Seneca, Shelby, Union, Van Wert, Wayne, Wood, and Wyandot.
Oklahoma
Counties of Atoka, Beckham, Bryan, Carter, Cherokee, Choctaw, Cimarron, Comanche, Cotton, Ellis, Garvin, Greer, Harmon, Harper, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnston, Kiowa, Le Flore, Love, Marshall, McCurtain, Murray, Muskogee, Pontotoc, Pushmataha, Roger Mills, Stephens, Texas, Tillman, Wagoner, Woods and Woodward.
Oregon
Counties of Baker, Benton, Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Coos, Crook, Curry, Deschutes, Douglas, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Hood River, Jackson, Jefferson, Josephine, Klamath, Lake, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Malheur, Marion, Morrow, Multnomah, Polk, Sherman, Tillamook, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Wasco, Washington, Wheeler and Yamhill.
Pennsylvania
Counties of Bradford, Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Erie, Lycoming, McKean, Potter, Susquehanna and Tioga.
Puerto Rico
Municipalities (Municipios) of Aguas Buenas, Aibonito, Arroyo, Barranquitas, Bayamon, Caguas, Canovanas, Carolina, Catano, Cayey, Ceiba, Cidra, Coamo, Comerio, Corozal, Culebra, Dorado, Fajardo, Guayama, Guaynabo, Gurabo, Humacao, Juncos, Las Piedras, Loiza, Luquillo, Manati, Maunabo, Morovis, Naguabo, Naranjito, Orocovis, Patillas, Rio Grande, Salinas, San Juan, San Lorenzo, Santa Isabel, Toa Alta, Toa Baja, Trujillo Alto, Vega Alta, Vega Baja, Vieques and Yabucoa.
Rhode Island
County of Providence.
South Carolina
Counties of Abbeville, Allendale, Anderson, Bamberg, Barnwell, Berkeley, Calhoun, Cherokee, Chester, Chesterfield, Clarendon, Colleton, Darlington, Dorchester, Edgefield, Fairfield, Florence, Greenville, Hampton, Jasper, Kershaw, Lancaster, Lee, Lexington, McCormick, Oconee, Orangeburg, Pickens, Richland, Saluda, Spartanburg, Sumter, Union, Williamsburg and York.
South Dakota
Counties of Butte, Custer, Fall River, Harding, Lawrence, Meade, Pennington, Perkins and Roberts.
Tennessee
Counties of Bedford, Bledsoe, Blount, Bradley, Coffee, Cumberland, Franklin, Giles, Grundy, Hamilton, Hardin, Lawrence, Lincoln, Loudon, Marion, Marshall, Maury, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe, Moore, Polk, Rhea, Roane, Sequatchie, Van Buren and Warren.
Texas
Counties of Anderson, Angelina, Archer, Atascosa, Bandera, Bastrop, Baylor, Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Bosque, Bowie, Brazos, Brewster, Brown, Burleson, Burnet, Caldwell, Callahan, Camp, Cass, Castro, Cherokee, Childress, Clay, Cochran, Coke, Coleman, Collin, Comal, Comanche, Concho, Cooke, Coryell, Cottle, Crosby, Dallas, Deaf Smith, Delta, Denton, DeWitt, Dickens, Dimmit, Eastland, Ellis, Erath, Falls, Fannin, Fayette, Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Franklin, Freestone, Frio, Garza, Gillespie, Gonzales, Grayson, Gregg, Grimes, Guadalupe, Hale, Hamilton, Hardeman, Harrison, Haskell, Hays, Hemphill, Henderson, Hill, Hockley, Hood, Hopkins, Houston, Hunt, Jack, Jasper, Johnson, Jones, Karnes, Kaufman, Kendall, Kent, Kerr, Kimble, King, Kinney, Kleberg, Knox, La Salle, Lamar, Lampasas, Lavaca, Lee, Leon, Limestone, Lipscomb, Live Oak, Llano, Lubbock, Madison, Marion, Mason, Maverick, McCulloch, McLennan, McMullen, Medina, Menard, Milam, Mills, Mitchell, Montague, Montgomery, Morris, Motley, Nacogdoches, Navarro, Newton, Nolan, Nueces, Palo Pinto, Panola, Parker, Polk, Rains, Red River, Robertson, Rockwall, Runnels, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, San Patricio, San Saba, Schleicher, Scurry, Shackelford, Shelby, Smith, Somervell, Stephens, Sterling, Stonewall, Sutton, Tarrant, Taylor, Terrell, Terry, Throckmorton, Titus, Tom Green, Travis, Trinity, Tyler, Upshur, Uvalde, Val Verde, Van Zandt, Walker, Washington, Webb, Wheeler, Wichita, Wilbarger, Williamson, Wilson, Wise, Wood, Yoakum, Young and Zavala.
Utah
Counties of Beaver, Box Elder, Carbon, Davis, Duchesne, Juab, Millard, Piute, Salt Lake, Sanpete, Sevier, Summit, Tooele, Utah, Wasatch and Weber.
Washington
Counties of Adams, Asotin, Benton, Chelan, Clallam, Clark, Columbia, Cowlitz, Douglas, Ferry, Franklin, Garfield, Grant, Grays Harbor, Island, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lewis, Lincoln, Mason, Okanogan, Pacific, Pend Oreille, Pierce, San Juan, Skagit, Skamania, Snohomish, Spokane, Stevens, Thurston, Wahkiakum, Walla Walla, Whatcom, Whitman and Yakima.
Wyoming
Counties of Big Horn, Campbell, Converse, Crook, Johnson, Natrona, Niobrara, Park, Sheridan, Teton, Washakie and Weston.