Okay... first off I just wanted to say that when it comes to Taxes.... I'm not too bright. I do my own, heck, I do my boyfriend's too, and have for years, but if it gets any more complicated I'm gonna need help. So I turned to TurboTax.

The use of this product was a subject of discussion between my father and I, sitting at dinner last time he visited. He let me in on a few secrets I didn't know about my hobby.

One being that, if I do claim income on selling hatchlings, I can then claim deductions on ALL my expenses! (I know most of you already know all about this, but as a tax noob it blew my mind) He then went on to talk about everything could be claimed: the expense for getting FedEx certified, buying the animals themselves, the room where I kept my reptiles, the food, the food FOR the food, and even gas to and tables for reptile shows! He also said that, if at first I'm taking a loss on this home 'business', I will get more back on my income from work?

Sounds too good to be true. What's your take on the pros and cons of claiming herp income?

If you have a valid business license/Tax ID,then your Herp Business is like any other business; with any and all tax benefits available to you. Even if an animal dies, you can report it. Just be sure to save ALL of your receipts, like any other business.

How hard is it to get a business license and tax id? If you're only small time right now would it be worth all the hassle?

It's not difficult at all to get a business license/tax ID, and it's relatively inexpensive.

There's really no hassle in doing so either, other than driving to your local City Hall (or equivalent) and filling out a couple of forms and getting a fictitious business name, etc. They'll be able to tell you the entire process step by step when you get there, as well as answer any questions you may have.

It's worth it in case you ever get audited, that's for sure.

If you're legit and and have a license and tax id do you have to charge tax when you sell your animals? Depending on how this year goes I'm thinking about getting a license and all.