Taxation of crop insurance and disaster payments (2009)

Abstract

Weather variability is one of the largest sources of risk in agricultural production. Congress has recognized the impact of weather variability on crop production and the resulting variability to farm income by implementing a special tax provision. Code Section 451(d) provides that, under certain circumstances, crop producers reporting on the cash method of accounting may elect to include crop insurance and disaster payments in income of the tax year following the taxable year of crop destruction or damage.