Reducing your taxes in this way is an excellent tax strategy. In fact, many tax professionals encourage people with high incomes to convert their hobbies into “businesses” so they have a loss. Not surprisingly, the Internal Revenue Service has caught on to this strategy, and the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in 2018 eliminated the possibility of claiming hobby expenses as a deduction as well.
Effect of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Hobby expenses were deductible as miscellaneous itemized deductions up until tax year 2017, subject to numerous rules. Then the TCJA eliminated all miscellaneous deductions from the tax code effective 2018 through at least 2025. According to the IRS: Wait, it gets worse. The IRS also says: In other words, you must report and pay taxes on any income your enterprise produces, but you can no longer deduct your expenses…unless your enterprise is considered to be a business. So it can pay significantly at tax time to understand what makes a business a business.
The Hobby Loss Rule of Thumb
There’s no way to tell a legitimate business from a hobby except by using a general rule of thumb: If a business reports a net profit in at least three out of five years, the IRS presumes that it’s a for-profit business. If a business reports a net loss in more than two out of five years, it’s presumed to be a not-for-profit hobby. This rule places a huge burden of proof on young businesses. On the one hand, the IRS expects new businesses to incur a loss. It’s normal for a business to have a year or two of losses before becoming profitable. On the other hand, it can potentially disqualify you from claiming a business expense deduction.
Other Factors Contribute
If you can’t meet the three-out-of-five-year rule, you might still be able to prove your profit motive based on nine other factors:
What Happens If You’re Audited?
An audit to defend your business losses can be time-consuming and expensive. The IRS will disallow your business loss if you lose. Your business expenses will be limited to the extent of your business income, which could mean zero profit.
What to Do If You’re Audited
First and foremost, you must carry on your freelance work in a very businesslike manner. This means keeping good records and keeping a business diary that shows meetings with clients, deadlines, and projects. You should have business cards and a website that promotes your business and keep a log of freelance gigs you apply for even you don’t land them. It will be harder for the IRS to prove that you’re just a hobbyist if you arrive at your audit armed with a daily planner showing all this information. Additionally, the hobby loss rule of thumb applies to sole proprietors who file a Schedule C, so one of the surest ways to prove you’re serious about doing business—you’re not just engaging in a hobby and trying to write off your expenses—is to form a separate business entity for tax purposes. You can choose from several varieties of business entities, each with its own tax structure.
C Corporations
Regular corporations are sometimes called “C corps” to distinguish them from Subchapter S Corporations or “S corps.” C corporations have their own tax identification numbers and they file their own tax returns. If a corporation has a loss, that loss carries forward to offset the next year’s profits.
S Corporations and Partnerships
These are “pass-through entities.” These businesses aren’t taxed at the corporate level. Any profit or loss is passed through to its shareholders and the shareholders report the profit or loss on their personal tax returns. If you have at least one other business partner, you can form a partnership, but an S Corp can be formed if you’re the only shareholder or owner. Both S corps and partnerships report their profits or losses on a business tax return, then they issue Forms K-1 to each shareholder to report the shareholder’s share of the profit or loss. The IRS assumes that the shareholder works for the S-Corp or partnership so it expects that at least part of the shareholder’s income will be taxable wages. You’d have to pay yourself a reasonable salary in order to avoid an audit, and you’d have to pay tax on that salary even if the business isn’t making any money. If you elect to form a partnership, your second shareholder could be your spouse, significant other, or any other person. It doesn’t have to be a 50-50 ownership arrangement. Your partner could own as little as 1% of the partnership while you retain control of the other 99%.
Limited Liability Companies
A limited liability company is designated by the state in which the business incorporates. It’s not a separate federal tax entity. It’s taxed as a partnership at the federal level or, if the LLC chooses, it can be taxed as a C corporation instead. If the LLC has only one shareholder, it might be a “disregarded” entity and taxed instead on Form 1040 Schedule C.
Using a Business Entity as a Loss Strategy
If you’ve already used up your two years of losses and you’ve been filing a Schedule C, consider whether forming a separate business will protect your losses. Take into account the added cost of a potential IRS audit even if you ultimately succeed in defending yourself, plus the added cost of incorporating in your home state. You might want to consider forming a C corporation if your business activity is expected to be profitable over the long-term because current losses will reduce future profits. The IRS has explicitly said that the three-out-of-five-year rule does not apply to C corporations. If you expect that your business activity will continue to generate losses for the foreseeable future, consider forming a partnership or an S corporation. Current losses will reduce current income on your 1040, but future profits, if any, will not be reduced by previous losses. S corporations—or a partnership if you can find an additional shareholder—offer a middle ground between Schedule C sole proprietorships and regular C corporations. Paying yourself a salary in an S Corp might sound like a disadvantage, but it has the effect of increasing losses and minimizing profits.
