If I was to open a guide business and say maybe take on 2-3 customers per year could I count all the fishing gear I buy as a tax write-off

Nope Gots to be a lot bigger percentage than that, sorry!

Bob is right!

I guided for over tens years. I had a "complete" IRS audit of my records about 7 years ago. Believe me they went though everything! I came out just fine and the IRS had to pay me back $250.00, plus interest. That was only because I kelp undisputable records of what I had made and spent, and what my true income was. That will not happen to most people who "claim" to be guiding if they are aduited! If you are not doing it as a business, don't try to claim it as so. I know lots of people that have tried but didn't get pass the dreaded "IRS audit.
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Cowlitzfisherman

Is the taste of the bait worth the sting of the hook????

We did it with reloading ammo, and ended up with about $5,000.00 in cool Dillon gear, but we made a concious effort at it, reloading over 2-3 million rounds by hand. We also wrote off a number of guns "as it was necessary to have firearms of different calibers for testing purposes". All in all we worked about 4000 hours in three years, paid for all of our hunting trips, and firearms with the profits, but there was a substantial effort. If you don't meet that criteria, don't even try it. playing with uncle Sam ain't worth the trouble.

If you want to know more, go to www.fedworld.com, and look up the regs around "hobby businesses". In a nutshell, there is a requirement that you show a profit, I think at least 2 years out of five, for the deductions to stick. So you have to get some revenue. More important, the deductions are a high percentage audit flag, so you had better keep great records.

This would be hobby v business - to be considered a business you have to show a profit motive not necessarily a profit. You should be aware one of The Services " Pet Peeves" is people trying to take a deduct v ordinary income for a hobby. For this reason it is a very popular topic in the Tax Court.

The big difference being if it is deemed a hobby, then you can only deduct your expenses up to the income you make from said hobby, ie you cannot generate a loss to offset other sources of income.

There are 9 items enumerated in the income tax regulations that are used to evaluate if you have a profit motive - These are (of course) subjective and that is why it ends up in Tax Court.

You must first make money before you can take deductions.

The hope for a tax write-off is that write-offs are taken from your profits. I've gone through this for thirty years as a journalist. Others are correct that you must maintain detailed records and file a separate form each year. I send in quarterly payments on estimated supplimental earnings (as do others).

A large issue on guiding as a hobby is that it tends to dilute the customer-pool for guides who are full-time professionals at a time in the sport when each guide's customer base is increasingly critical to he or she successfully scrapping out a living.

It appears to me that we are living in a time when fishing guides would be well served to consider forming a Washington State Guide Association with requirements that must be met in order to obtain a guide license (First-Aid, CPR, boating expertise, proof of insurance, etc.). At this time anyone can send in $190 (or so) and become a licensed fishing guide in the state of Washington. Then if they work full or part-time the customer will know that he/she is getting a quality ride.
Finally, becoming a part-time guide is a poor way to pay for your new drift boat -- because you don't get to fish, which is the reason you rifled your kid's college fund to buy the thing in the first place.

Les Johnson