Yeah that is definitely an issue. I think the boundary of acceptable write-offs is necessarily sort of fuzzy. Some things are obviously unacceptable, some things are obviously fine, and lots of stuff in the middle depends on the situation, on the discretion of IRS agents, and of course on the expertise of the CPA one hires to predict IRS decisions.
This particular situation reminds me of that of racehorse owners. Most owners will lose money in racing in any particular year. They hope to make enough in good years to break even over time. If there's never a good year, the IRS might eventually drop the "hobby" ax.
This is probably the biggest problem with the steady defunding of the IRS. They can still catch shameless cheaters like the morons who don't send in their employees' payroll deductions, in no small part because no CPA will touch that shit. CPAs are usually willing to discuss write-offs, however. The expansion of the set of acceptable write-offs is inherent to any income tax system, and since it has been left unchecked it has undermined the system we have.
This particular situation reminds me of that of racehorse owners. Most owners will lose money in racing in any particular year. They hope to make enough in good years to break even over time. If there's never a good year, the IRS might eventually drop the "hobby" ax.
This is probably the biggest problem with the steady defunding of the IRS. They can still catch shameless cheaters like the morons who don't send in their employees' payroll deductions, in no small part because no CPA will touch that shit. CPAs are usually willing to discuss write-offs, however. The expansion of the set of acceptable write-offs is inherent to any income tax system, and since it has been left unchecked it has undermined the system we have.