Believe it or not, the IRS isn't all bad.

It's hard to hate farmers and ranchers – especially ones who live and work in drought-ridden states. And it seems that even the IRS has a bit of a weakness for the agriculture business.

Good news! If you own a ranch or farm and you've taken a blow this year, the government has issued an extended tax relief period just for you.

If you've been forced to sell livestock because of the drought, you now have an extended time period (an extra year) to replace those animals. And most importantly, you'll be able to defer paying taxes on the gains from those forced sales. (You can read all about the details of the extension in Notice 2015-69.)

Generally, the drought sale replacement deadline is four years. Now, thanks to the IRS, it's been bumped up to five. If your drought sale replacement period was scheduled to end at the end of this tax year – December 21, 2015 – you now have until December 31, 2016 to pay up. If the drought continues, the IRS may even extend the deadline further.

That extra year (or more) can make a big difference.

 And there's more good news! The government has issued a whole list of other loopholes and tax breaks that can make things easier for farmers. They include:

Deductible farm expenses. Any expense that's "common" or "necessary" in the farming business can be written off your taxes.

Farm income averaging. If you've had one good year and a series of bad years, you may be able to average out your taxes so your tax payment for the good year isn't as high.

Net operating losses. If your expenses are more than your income for one year, you may be able to carry that loss over and deduct it from other years – reducing your future tax, or getting a partial refund.

Fuel and road use. You may be able to get a refund or tax credit for farm-related gas expenses!

Farm employees' wages. You can deduct the wages of your farm's full- and part-time workers. (You must withhold Medicare, Social Security and income tax from their wages.)

The list goes on! For more details about farming-related tax issues, you can read the VERY long and detailed Publication 225, Farmer's Tax Guide. There's a lot you can get away with.

Frankly, if you're a farmer, we're a little jealous of you.

If you have any questions about tax relief for farmers, give us a call at 844-841-9857, or schedule a free consultation here.