![]() ![]() It’s why land plots of 100 hectares or more may not be considered for a hobby farm loan. Strictly speaking, hobby farms are not for the purpose of turning a profit. Don’t expect to live like a king with such a small-scale enterprise: running a successful farm is tough.įor example, you could have a cow, a horse for riding, a few chickens and some vegetables for a sustainable lifestyle. In saying that, it is possible to earn a little money by selling things like eggs and vegetables at the market. If the bank determines that you may be using the hobby farm as your sole source of income, you’ll need to apply for a commercial loan instead and go through another credit department with stricter lending requirements. Most hobby farms can be anywhere from 10-100 hectares, with the block itself usually consisting of a property for you and your family to live on and a lot of land acreage to do whatever you want with as long as it meets council building codes and you’re not breaking the law. That being said, there can be plenty of hard work involved. The main reason people buy a hobby farm is less about raising livestock and working the land and more about lifestyle. With recent estimates of 60,000 “small lifestyle blocks” currently operating, it’s a growing national passion worth considering, no matter your stage of life. Hobby farms, or lifestyle blocks, are generally considered by banks to be non-income-earning rural properties, but that vanilla definition doesn’t tell the full story.Įvery hobby farm is different, depending on what crops you’re planning on growing, the animals you’re looking to raise and, ultimately, the work you’re willing to put into it. ![]() So sayeth the Canada Revenue Agency.Calendar_today Last Updated: 4th January, 2023 ![]() The same holds true for the hobby farmer-any attempt to capitalize on your hobby farm strips it of its hobby status. It also includes monies from soil tilling, operating a feedlot, raising poultry, dairy farming, and fruit framing-even if the fruits are used by yourself to make other foods or beverages to sell.įor a sports analogy: the moment you accept money to play a sport, you lose your amateur status and all its benefits. Whether it’s for honey, veggies, fruit, eggs, flowers, sweaters-yes, wool sheared from your sheep-or your slaughtered livestock, if you sell your wares, your farm is not a hobby farm.Īnd there’s more definition of a hobby farm from the Canada Revenue Agency regarding farm income…įarm income is defined as any income received from soil tilling, livestock rearing, maintaining racehorses, raising and/or showing livestock, raising fish or other aquaculture or the aforementioned bees, or even wild game reserves. You could maintain your hobby farm status, however, if you did not sell the honey but gave it away to family, friends or co-workers or just ate it all yourself. A hobby farmer does not gain the benefits of a regular farming business.Ī good tax adviser will tell you that neither farming expenses or property tax deductions may be claimed for a hobby farm because it is, per the Canada Revenue Agency, being run only for personal use.Īs such, should you wish to have beehives on your new agricultural property and make honey to sell in town at a local Farmers Market, your hobby farm has become a regular farm. But, that still doesn’t give the hobby farmer a break.Įven if you think a hobby farm is run as a full-time or part-time profession, the Canada Revenue Agency only cares if you are trying to run the farm for profit. You might wonder why the good ol’ Canada Revenue Agency feels the need to define what a hobby farm is and isn’t, but you know it always comes down to money.įor the uninitiated, real estate designated as farmland is taxed less than what the same amount of property would be taxed in a more urban locale. While that is a hobby farm, defining it is probably best left to the Canada Revenue Agency. Many people assume a hobby farm is merely a farm you have purchased that you can go to on the weekends or your holidays to get away from the usual urban drama-that it’s a way to relax and dabble in some farming or to partake of some horseback riding, hiring someone to look after the day-to-day while you are away. Regardless, people deserve to have a hobby as a means of fun and relaxation, with some having opted to purchase a farm as their hobby of choice. For some people, having hobbies is their hobby. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |