March 29, 2024

Gaffner: Free tax advice available

In response to the new federal administration’s developing tax plan, which poses significant impacts on farmers, Illinois Soybean Association checkoff program has partnered with K-Coe Isom, the leading national business advisory and accounting firm for food and ag businesses, to provide free tax expertise to Illinois farmers who will be affected by the tax changes coming this fall.

Farmers can dial the tax hotline at 888-768-0056, which provides the opportunity to have a brief discussion with an expert and to ask questions about the tax legislation.

I recently decided to take advantage of these services. Upon calling K-Coe Isom, Austin Sterling determined the proper representative that could best address my questions and created a three-way call.

My questions were about a revocable trust with our family farm and ways we could alleviate additional tax burdens the trust could impose on certain members.

My K-Coe Isom representative provided creative solutions to consider within the confines of current Internal Revenue Service guidelines. He also provided me with alternative options that could be utilized if provisions of the proposed tax bill were implemented.

My 20-minute conversation provided me valuable insight to strategic options that I will be discussing with my family. The K-Coe team encouraged me to call back if I had more questions and even offered a follow-up Zoom meeting if additional family members wanted to learn more about our options.

I highly recommend this service to my Illinois farming colleagues, which is completely free of charge. Not only are these tax experts there to answer all questions, and to alleviate the stress that our complex farming operations can create, they are helpful, respectful and ready to set Illinois farmers up for success.

Scott Gaffner, of Greenville, is the assistant secretary-treasurer of the Illinois Soybean Association. He raises corn and soybeans and is an at-large director.