Publication 537
Installment Sales

For use in preparing 2002 Returns

Like-Kind Exchange

If you trade business or investment property solely for the same kind of property to be held as business or investment property, you can postpone reporting the gain. These trades are known as like-kind exchanges. The property you receive in a like-kind exchange is treated as if it were a continuation of the property you gave up.

You do not have to report any part of your gain if you receive only like-kind property. However, if you also receive money or other property (boot) in the exchange, you must report your gain to the extent of the money and the FMV of the other property received.

For more information on like-kind exchanges, see Like-Kind Exchanges in chapter 1 of Publication 544.

Installment payments.   If, in addition to like-kind property, you receive an installment obligation in the exchange, the following rules apply.

• The contract price is reduced by the FMV of the like-kind property received in the trade.
• The gross profit is reduced by any gain on the trade that can be postponed.
• Like-kind property received in the trade is not considered payment on the installment obligation.

Example.   In 2002, George Brown trades personal property with an installment sale basis of $400,000 for like-kind property having an FMV of $200,000. He also receives an installment note for $800,000 in the trade. Under the terms of the note, he is to receive $100,000 (plus interest) in 2003 and the balance of $700,000 (plus interest) in 2004.

George's selling price is $1,000,000 ($800,000 installment note + $200,000 FMV of like-kind property received). His gross profit is $600,000 ($1,000,000 - $400,000 installment sale basis). The contract price is $800,000 ($1,000,000 - $200,000). The gross profit percentage is 75% ($600,000 ÷ $800,000). He reports no gain in 2002 because the like-kind property he receives is not treated as a payment for figuring gain. He reports $75,000 gain for 2003 (75% of $100,000 payment received) and $525,000 gain for 2004 (75% of $700,000 payment received).

Deferred exchanges.   A deferred exchange is one in which you transfer property you use in business or hold for investment and receive like-kind property later that you will use in business or hold for investment. Under this type of exchange, the person receiving your property may be required to place funds in an escrow account or trust. If certain rules are met, these funds will not be considered a payment until you have the right to receive the funds or, if earlier, the end of the exchange period. See section 1.1031(k)-1(j)(2) of the regulations for these rules.

Contingent Payment Sale

For installment sales, a contingent payment sale is one whose total selling price cannot be determined by the end of the tax year in which the sale takes place.

If the selling price cannot be determined by the end of the tax year, the contract price and the gross profit percentage cannot be determined (using the same rules that apply to an installment sale with a fixed selling price). This happens, for example, if you sell your business and the selling price includes a percentage of its profits in future years.

For rules on using the installment method for a contingent payment sale or a contingent payment sale with unstated interest, see section 15A.453-1(c) of the regulations.

Single Sale of Several Assets

If you sell different types of assets in a single sale, you must identify each asset to determine whether you can use the installment method to report the sale of that asset. You also have to allocate part of the selling price to each asset. If you sell assets that constitute a trade or business, see Sale of a Business, later.

Unless an allocation of the selling price has been agreed to by both parties in an arm's-length transaction, you must allocate the selling price to an asset based on its FMV. If the buyer assumes a debt, or takes the property subject to a debt, you must reduce the FMV of the property by the debt. This becomes the net FMV.

A sale of separate and unrelated assets of the same type under a single contract is reported as one transaction for the installment method. However, if an asset is sold at a loss, its disposition cannot be reported on the installment method. It must be reported separately. The remaining assets sold at a gain are reported together.

Example.   You sold three separate and unrelated parcels of real property (A, B, and C) under a single contract calling for a total selling price of $130,000. The total selling price consisted of a cash payment of $20,000, the buyer's assumption of a $30,000 mortgage on parcel B, and an installment obligation of $80,000 payable in eight annual installments, plus interest at 8% a year.

You cannot report the sale of parcel C on the installment method because the sale results in a loss. You report this loss of $5,000 ($10,000 selling price - $15,000 installment sale basis) in the year of sale. However, if parcel C was held for personal use, the loss is not deductible.

You allocate the installment obligation of $80,000 to the properties sold based on their proportionate net FMVs (90% to parcels A and B, 10% to parcel C).

Sale of a Business

The installment sale of an entire business for one overall price under a single contract is not the sale of a single asset.

Allocation of selling price.   The selling price must be allocated among each asset class for the following reasons.

• The sale of a business generally includes real and personal property that can be reported on the installment method, and inventory items that cannot.
• Depreciation recapture income from the sale of depreciable property cannot be reported on the installment method. It is reported in full in the year of the sale.
• Assets sold at a loss cannot be reported on the installment method.

Inventory.   The sale of inventory items cannot be reported on the installment method. All gain or loss on their sale must be reported in the year of sale, even if you receive payment in later years.

If inventory items are included in an installment sale, you may have an agreement stating which payments are for inventory and which are for the other assets being sold. If you do not, each payment must be allocated between the inventory and the other assets sold.

Report the amount you receive (or will receive) on the sale of inventory items as ordinary business income. Use your basis in the inventory to figure the cost of goods sold. Deduct the part of the selling expenses allocated to inventory as an ordinary business expense.

Residual method.   Except for assets exchanged under the like-kind exchange rules, both the buyer and seller of a business must use the residual method to allocate the sale price to each business asset sold. This method determines gain or loss from the transfer of each asset and the buyer's basis in the assets.

The residual method must be used for any transfer of a group of assets that constitutes a trade or business and for which the buyer's basis is determined only by the amount paid for the assets. This applies to both direct and indirect transfers, such as the sale of a business or the sale of a partnership interest in which the basis of the buyer's share of the partnership assets is adjusted for the amount paid.

A group of assets constitutes a trade or business if goodwill or going concern value could, under any circumstances, attach to the assets or if the use of the assets would constitute an active trade or business under section 355 of the Internal Revenue code.

The residual method provides for the sale price to first be reduced by cash and general deposit accounts (including checking and savings accounts but excluding certificates of deposit and similar accounts) transferred by the seller. The consideration remaining after this reduction must be allocated among the various business assets in a certain order.

For asset acquisitions occurring after March 15, 2001, make the allocation in the following order among the following assets in proportion to (but not more than) their fair market value on the purchase date.

1. Certificates of deposit, U.S. Government securities, foreign currency, and actively traded personal property, including stock and securities.
2. Accounts receivable, other debt instruments, and assets that you mark to market at least annually for federal income tax purposes. However, see section 1.338-6(b)(2)(iii) of the regulations for exceptions that apply to debt instruments issued by persons related to a target corporation, contingent debt instruments, and debt instruments convertible into stock or other property.
3. Property of a kind that would properly be included in inventory if on hand at the end of the tax year or property held by the taxpayer primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business.
4. All other assets except section 197 intangibles.
5. Section 197 intangibles except goodwill and going concern value.
6. Goodwill and going concern value (whether or not they qualify as section 197 intangibles).

If an asset described in (1) through (6) is includible in more than one category, include it in the lower number category. For example, if an asset is described in both (4) and (6), include it in (4).

How to report the sale of a business.   Both the seller and buyer must prepare and attach Form 8594, Asset Acquisition Statement Under Section 1060, to their respective income tax return for the year the sale occurs. If the amount allocated to any asset is increased or decreased after Form 8594 is filed, a supplemental statement in Part III of a new Form 8594 must be completed.

Sale of partnership interest.   A partner who sells a partnership interest at a gain may be able to report the sale on the installment method. The sale of a partnership interest is treated as the sale of a single capital asset. However, the partner must allocate a portion of the proceeds to ordinary income if the partnership's assets include unrealized receivables and inventory items. (The term unrealized receivables includes depreciation recapture income, discussed earlier.)

The gain allocated to the unrealized receivables and the inventory cannot be reported under the installment method. The gain allocated to the other assets can be reported under the installment method.

For more information on the treatment of unrealized receivables and inventory, see Publication 541.

Example

On June 4, 2002, you sold the machine shop you had operated since 1990. You received a $100,000 down payment and the buyer's note for $120,000. The note payments are $15,000 each, plus 10% interest, due every July 1 and January 1, beginning in 2003. The total selling price is $220,000. Your selling expenses are $11,000. The selling expenses are divided among all the assets sold, including inventory.

Your selling expense for each asset is 5% of the asset's selling price ($11,000 selling expense ÷ $220,000 total selling price).

The FMV, adjusted basis, and depreciation claimed on each asset sold are as follows:

Under the residual method, you allocate the selling price to each of the assets based on their FMV ($201,500). The remaining amount is allocated to your section 197 intangible, goodwill ($18,500).

The assets included in the sale, their selling prices based on their FMVs, the selling expense allocated to each asset, the adjusted basis, and the gain for each asset are shown in the following chart.

The building was acquired in 1990, the year the business began, and it is section 1250 property. There is no depreciation recapture income because the building was depreciated using the straight line method.

All gain on the truck, machine A, and machine B is depreciation recapture income since it is the lesser of the depreciation claimed or the gain on the sale. Figure depreciation recapture in Part III of Form 4797.

The total depreciation recapture income reported in Part II of Form 4797 is $5,209. This consists of $3,650 on machine A, $799 on the truck, and $760 on machine B (the gain on each item because it was less than the depreciation claimed). These gains are reported in full in the year of sale and are not included in the installment sale computation.

Of the $220,000 total selling price, the $10,000 for inventory assets cannot be reported on the installment method. The selling prices of the truck and machines are also removed from the total selling price because gain on these items is reported in full in the year of sale.

The selling price equals the contract price for the installment sale ($108,500). The assets included in the installment sale, their selling price, and their installment sale bases are shown in the following chart.

The gross profit percentage (gross profit ÷ contract price) for the installment sale is 48% ($52,075 ÷ $108,500). The gross profit percentage for each asset is figured as follows:

The sale includes assets sold on the installment method and assets for which the gain is reported in full in the year of sale, so payments must be allocated between the installment part of the sale and the part reported in the year of sale. The selling price for the installment sale is $108,500. This is 49.3% of the total selling price of $220,000 ($108,500 ÷ $220,000). The selling price of assets not reported on the installment method is $111,500. This is 50.7% ($111,500 ÷ $220,000) of the total selling price.

Multiply principal payments by 49.3% to determine the part of the payment for the installment sale. The balance, 50.7%, is for the part reported in the year of the sale.

The gain on the sale of the inventory, machines, and truck is reported in full in the year of sale. When you receive principal payments in later years, no part of the payment for the sale of these assets is included in gross income. Only the part for the installment sale (49.3%) is used in the installment sale computation.

The only payment received in 2002 is the down payment of $100,000. The part of the payment for the installment sale is $49,300 ($100,000 × 49.3%). This amount is used in the installment sale computation.

Installment income for 2002.   Your installment income for each asset is the gross profit percentage for that asset times $49,300, the installment income received in 2002.

Installment income after 2002.   You figure installment income for years after 2002 by applying the same gross profit percentages to 49.3% of the total payments you receive on the buyer's note during the year.

- Continue -