Question

Stewie, a single taxpayer, operates an activity as a hobby. Brian, a different taxpayer, operates a similar activity as a bona fide business. Stewie’s gross income from his activity is $5,000 and his expenses are $6,000. Brian’s gross income and expenses are coincidentally the same as Stewie. Neither Stewie nor Brian itemize, but both have other forms of taxable income. What is the impact on taxable income for Stewie and Brian from these activities?

Answer 1

Answer:

The answer is: Stewie can't report any taxable income and Brian can report a $1,000 loss.

Explanation:

Since Stewie is doing the activity as a hobby, he can't report a loss on it. It's like someone who likes to play basketball on weekends with his friends, he can not report the cost of a pair of sneakers and a ball as a loss.

Brian on the other hand runs a business and actually lost money doing it, so he can deduct his losses form his gross income.