Imagine your clients, a couple, tell you they are going to start a business. They will breed horses, start a band, get into car racing, or write a book about beekeeping. Of course, there will be losses starting out, but they have plenty of income to shelter and in the long run, they figure they can make money.
If you are as I used to be, you may discourage them from deducting the losses, particularly if there are other complications on their return. You figure the Schedule C or Schedule F will be a red flag, and they will likely lose on audit. I’d like to suggest that you rethink that attitude.
It is fine if you want to talk your physician client out of going into horse breeding or raising cattle, but if they are going to do it anyway, you should not try to talk them out of claiming the losses. Rather, you should talk to them about what they need to do to beef up their chances of winning an audit of their cattle ranch. And the great thing is that you are the one who can help them more than anybody. Read on to find out how.
