Updated November 7, 2026. Quick answer: This group runs from hired labor (line 22) to veterinary costs (line 31). The instructions add rules for labor (reduced by employment credits), pension contributions (your own go on Schedule 1, not here), rent, repairs versus improvements, taxes (which ones are deductible) and utilities (no base rate for the first home phone line).
Line 22: labor hired
Line 22: “Enter the amounts you paid for farm labor. Don’t include amounts paid to yourself.” Credits reduce it: “Reduce your deduction by the amounts claimed on the following.” The list starts with “Form 5884, Work Opportunity Credit.” Board counts: “Include the cost of boarding farm labor but not the value of any products they used from the farm.”
Line 23: pension and profit-sharing plans
The line is for plans covering employees: “If the plan included you as a self-employed person, enter contributions made as an employer on your behalf on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 16, not on Schedule F (Form 1040).” A one-participant plan files “Form 5500-EZ. File this form if you have a one-participant retirement plan that meets certain requirements.” The pages on this site: Form 5500-EZ and Schedule 1 lines 15 and 16.
Lines 24a and 24b: rent or lease
Line 24a: “If you rented or leased vehicles, machinery, or equipment, enter on line 24a the business portion of your rental cost.” Line 24b: “Enter on line 24b amounts paid to rent or lease other property such as pasture or farmland.”
Line 25: repairs and maintenance
Line 25: “Enter amounts you paid for repairs and maintenance of farm buildings, machinery, and equipment that are not payments for improvements to the property.” Improvements are capitalized instead: “Amounts are paid for improvements if they are for betterments to your property or restorations of your property (such as the replacements of major components or substantial structural parts), or if they adapt your property to a new or different use.” And “Don’t deduct repairs or maintenance on your home.”
Lines 26 to 28: seeds, storage, supplies
The Instructions give no separate rule for lines 26, 27 and 28. They follow the general Part II rules, including the prepaid-supplies test covered on the rules before line 10.
Line 29: taxes
Deductible here: “Real estate and personal property taxes on farm business assets.” “Federal unemployment tax.” “Federal highway use tax.” Not deductible here: “Federal income taxes, including your self-employment tax.” “Estate and gift taxes.” Half of self-employment tax is an adjustment on Schedule 1 instead, covered on Schedule 1 lines 15 and 16.
Line 30: utilities
Line 30: “Enter amounts you paid for gas, electricity, water, and other utilities for business use on the farm.” A phone-line limit: “You can’t deduct the base rate (including taxes) of the first telephone line into your residence, even if you use it for your farming business.”
Line 31: veterinary, breeding and medicine
There is no separate instruction for line 31. The general Part II rules apply, including the rule that a repaid amount reduces the deduction.
Edition
This page reads Schedule F (Form 1040) for 2025 and the Instructions for Schedule F (Form 1040) (2025), the files irs.gov served on 2026-11-07. Line numbers belong to that edition, so check the label printed on the schedule in your own copy before you follow a line reference.
Common mistakes
- Deducting your own pay as farm labor. Household help counts only for what you paid to care for farm laborers.
- Entering your own retirement contribution on line 23 instead of Schedule 1 line 16.
- Treating a replacement of a major component as a repair on line 25. The Instructions treat replacements of major components as improvements.
- Deducting self-employment tax on line 29. Half of it is a Schedule 1 adjustment and the rest is not deductible.
Related: Schedule F overview, Schedule 1 lines 15 and 16, and Schedule C lines 25 and 26.
Find the right next step for your situation
About how much do you have invested? Pick the range that fits; your next step appears immediately below.
Compare vetted advisors for your finances
For U.S. investors with $250,000 or more in investable assets. WiserAdvisor is an independent service matching you with 2 to 3 vetted advisers. Its form asks for your ZIP code and answers to a few questions; a match is not guaranteed.
Free to request, with no obligation to hire. By submitting, you consent to calls, texts and emails from WiserAdvisor and up to three advisers. Advisers pay for introductions.
Clear Money Guide may earn a referral payment for a qualifying completed form. An introduction is not a Clear Money Guide recommendation.
Opens on WiserAdvisor’s site in a new tab.
Explore optional adviser matching today
Considering financial advice? Request an adviser introduction with no obligation to hire.
The form is run by Kapitalwise, our advisor-matching partner. Requesting an introduction is free. Submitting the form shares your contact details with advisers, so expect calls and texts. Advisers pay for introductions. Clear Money Guide may earn a referral payment for a qualifying submitted form, whether or not you hire anyone. A match is not guaranteed.
The Kapitalwise form opens here; you stay on this page.
What happens when you press the button
It asks about nine questions: age, investable assets, location; then your name, email and phone number, and verifies the phone by text. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button.
Prefer flat-fee or hourly pricing instead? Compare ranges here.
Answer againSources
- Schedule F (Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Farming (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040sf.pdf
- Instructions for Schedule F (Form 1040) (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040sf.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on November 7, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.