Do you have a side gig that you think of as a business?

From this side hustle activity, are you claiming tax losses on your Form 1040? Will the IRS consider your side gig a business and allow your loss deductions?

The IRS likes to claim that money-losing sideline activities are hobbies
rather than businesses. The federal income tax rules for hobbies have been anti-taxpayer for years, and now an unfavorable change enacted in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) made things even worse for 2018-2025.

If you have such an activity, we should have your attention.

Here’s the deal: if you can show a profit motive for your now-money-losing sideline activity, you can classify that activity as a business for tax purposes and deduct the losses.

Factors that can prove (or disprove) such intent include:

• Conducting the activity in a business-like manner by keeping good records and searching for profit-making strategies.
• Having expertise in the activity or hiring advisors who do.
• Spending enough time to justify the notion that the activity is a business and not just a hobby.
• Expectation of asset appreciation: this is why the IRS will almost never claim that owning rental real estate is a hobby, even when tax losses are incurred year after year.
• Success in other ventures, which indicates that you have business acumen.
• The history and magnitude of income and losses from the activity: occasional large profits hold more weight than more frequent small profits, and losses caused by unusual events or just plain bad luck are more justifiable than ongoing losses that only a hobbyist would be willing to accept.
• Your financial status: “rich” folks can afford to absorb ongoing losses (which may indicate a hobby), while ordinary folks are usually trying to make a buck (which indicates a business).
• Elements of personal pleasure: breeding race horses is lots more fun than draining septic tanks, so the IRS is far more likely to claim the former as a hobby if losses start showing up on your tax returns.

We have a great blog post about the difference between a hobby and a business. If you would like a little more information on the topic, click here.

Would you like to discuss your side hustle, or some other tax topic? Click here to schedule an appointment with one of Gold Standard's seasoned tax accountants.

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