Filing Your 2008 Timber Tax

Now that you are receiving tax paperwork from various sources, it's also time to think about your timber tax obligations. If you sold timber this year, you need to start organizing the collected and proper documentation necessary to complete your 2008 Federal income tax return. If you had a timber casualty you need to have attempted salvage during 2008 to claim any losses up to your timber basis, minus any insurance or other compensation.

A two-paged report called Tax Tips for Forest Landowners is the perfect place to start learning about what you do and do not owe the federal government. I have it and other great forestry tax sites linked.

Remember, too, that we are discussing federal income tax here. Many states have their own taxing systems which can be dramatically different from federal taxation and is usually an ad valorum, severance or yield tax. Check out these great timber tax sites:

• National Timber Tax Website
• State Tax Laws

Getty Photo/Claudia Uribe