Introduction If you are in the business of farming, you can choose to currentlydeduct your expenses for soil or water conservation or for theprevention of erosion of land used in farming. Otherwise, these arecapital expenses that must be added to the basis of the land. (Seechapter 7for information on determining basis.) Conservation expensesfor land in a foreign country do not qualify for this specialtreatment. The deduction cannot be more than 25% of your gross income fromfarming. See Limit on Deduction, later. Ordinary and necessary expenses that are otherwise deductible arenot soil and water conservation expenses. These include interest andtaxes, the cost of periodically clearing brush from productive land,the annual removal of sediment from a drainage ditch, and expensespaid or incurred primarily to produce an agricultural crop that mayalso conserve soil. Files: To get the full deduction to which you are entitled, you shouldmaintain your records in a way that will clearly distinguish betweenyour ordinary and necessary farm business expenses and your soil andwater conservation expenses.