You cannot use the installment method to report gain from the sale of stock or securities traded on an established securities market. You must report the entire gain on the sale in the year in which the trade date falls.

If your sale results in a loss, you cannot use the installment method. If the loss is on an installment sale of business assets, you can deduct it only in the tax year of sale.

If your sale calls for payments in a later year and the sales contract provides for little or no interest, you may have to figure unstated interest, even if you have a loss. See Unstated Interest and Original Issue Discount (OID), later.

You can use Worksheet A to figure your adjusted basis in the property for installment sale purposes. When you have completed the worksheet, you will also have determined the gross profit percentage necessary to figure your installment sale income (gain) for this year.

The selling price is the total cost of the property to the buyer. It includes:

The selling price does not include interest, whether stated or unstated.

Your adjusted basis is the total of the following three items.

Basis is the amount of your investment in the property for tax purposes. The way you figure basis depends on how you acquire the property. The basis of property you buy is generally its cost. The basis of property you inherit, receive as a gift, build yourself, or receive in a tax-free exchange is figured differently.

While you own personal-use property, various events may change your original basis. Some events, such as adding rooms or making permanent improvements, increase basis. Others, such as deductible casualty losses or depreciation previously allowed or allowable, decrease basis. The result is adjusted basis.

For more information on how to figure basis and adjusted basis, see Publication 551.

Selling expenses are any expenses that relate to the sale of the property. They include commissions, attorney fees, and any other expenses paid on the sale. Selling expenses are added to the basis of the sold property.

If the property you sold was depreciable property, you may need to recapture part of the gain on the sale as ordinary income. See Depreciation Recapture Income, later.

Gross profit is the total gain you report on the installment method.

To figure your gross profit, subtract your adjusted basis for installment sale purposes from the selling price. If the property you sold was your home, subtract from the gross profit any gain you can exclude. See Sale of your home, later, under Reporting Installment Sale Income.

Contract price equals the selling price plus mortgages, debts, and other liabilities assumed or taken by the buyer that are in excess of your adjusted basis for installment sale purposes.

A certain percentage of each payment (after subtracting interest) is reported as installment sale income. This percentage is called the gross profit percentage and is figured by dividing your gross profit from the sale by the contract price.

The gross profit percentage generally remains the same for each payment you receive. However, see the example under Selling Price Reduced, later, for a situation where the gross profit percentage changes.

Multiply the payments you receive each year (less interest) by the gross profit percentage. The result is your installment sale income for the tax year. In certain circumstances, you may be treated as having received a payment, even though you received nothing directly. A receipt of property or the assumption of a mortgage on the property sold may be treated as a payment. For a detailed discussion, see Payments Received or Considered Received, later.

Which part to complete depends on whether you are filing the form for the year of sale or a later year.

Complete lines 1 through 4, Part I, and Part II. If you sold property to a related party during the year, complete Part III.

Complete lines 1 through 4 and Part II for any year in which you receive a payment from an installment sale.

If you sold a marketable security to a related party after May 14, 1980, and before January 1, 1987, complete Form 6252 for each year of the installment agreement, even if you did not receive a payment. Complete lines 1 through 4. Complete Part II for any year in which you receive a payment from the sale. Complete Part III unless you received the final payment during the tax year.

If you sold property other than a marketable security to a related party after May 14, 1980, complete Form 6252 for the year of sale and for 2 years after the year of sale, even if you did not receive a payment. Complete lines 1 through 4. Complete Part II for any year during this 2-year period in which you receive a payment from the sale. Complete Part III for the 2 years after the year of sale unless you received the final payment during the tax year.

If you finance the sale of your home to an individual, both you and the buyer may have to follow special reporting procedures.

When you report interest income received from a buyer who uses the property as a personal residence, write the buyer's name, address, and social security number (SSN) on line 1 of Schedule B (Form 1040) or Schedule 1 (Form 1040A).

When deducting the mortgage interest, the buyer must write your name, address, and SSN on line 11 of Schedule A (Form 1040).

If either person fails to include the other person's SSN, a $50 penalty will be assessed.

To make this election, do not report your sale on Form 6252. Instead, report it on Schedule D (Form 1040) or Form 4797, whichever applies.

Make this election by the due date, including extensions, for filing your tax return for the year the sale takes place.

If you timely file your tax return without making the election, you still can make the election by filing an amended return within 6 months of the due date of your return (excluding extensions). Write “Filed pursuant to section 301.9100–2” at the top of the amended return and file it where the original return was filed.

Once made, the election can be revoked only with IRS approval. A revocation is retroactive. You will not be allowed to revoke the election if either of the following applies.

If the buyer assumes a mortgage that is not more than your installment sale basis in the property, it is not considered a payment to you. It is actually a recovery of your basis. The selling price minus the mortgage equals the contract price.

If the buyer assumes a mortgage that is more than your installment sale basis in the property, you recover your entire basis. You are also relieved of the obligation to repay the amount borrowed. The part of the mortgage greater than your basis is treated as a payment received in the year of sale.

To figure the contract price, subtract the mortgage from the selling price. This is the total amount you will receive directly from the buyer. Add to this amount the payment you are considered to have received (the difference between the mortgage and your installment sale basis). The contract price is then the same as your gross profit from the sale.

If the mortgage the buyer assumes is equal to or more than your installment sale basis, the gross profit percentage will always be 100%.

If the property the buyer gives you is payable on demand or readily tradable, the amount you should consider as payment in the year received is:

This is the price at which property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither being under any compulsion to buy or sell and who both have a reasonable knowledge of all the necessary facts.

If the property the buyer gives you is a third-party note (or other obligation of a third party), you are considered to have received a payment equal to the note's FMV. Because the note is itself a payment on your installment sale, any payments you later receive from the third party are not considered payments on the sale. However, see Exception under Property Used as a Payment, above.

A bond or other evidence of debt you receive from the buyer that is payable on demand is treated as a payment in the year you receive it. If you receive a government or corporate bond that has interest coupons attached or that can be readily traded in an established securities market, you are considered to have received payment equal to the bond's FMV. However, see Exception under Property Used as a Payment, earlier.

The buyer's note (unless payable on demand) is not considered payment on the sale. However, its full face value is included when figuring the selling price and the contract price. Payments you receive on the note are used to figure your gain in the year received.

The net debt proceeds treated as a payment on the pledged installment obligation cannot be more than the excess of item (1) over item (2), below.

The pledge rule accelerates the reporting of the installment obligation payments. Do not report payments received on the obligation after it has been pledged until the payments received exceed the amount reported under the pledge rule.

The pledge rule does not apply to debt incurred after December 17, 1987, to refinance a debt under the following circumstances.

A refinancing as a result of the creditor's calling of the debt is treated as a continuation of the original debt so long as a person other than the creditor or a person related to the creditor provides the refinancing.

This exception applies only to refinancing that does not exceed the principal of the original debt immediately before the refinancing. Any excess is treated as a payment on the installment obligation.

If you make an installment sale and in a later year an irrevocable escrow account is established to pay the remaining installments plus interest, the amount placed in the escrow account represents payment of the balance of the installment obligation.

If an escrow arrangement imposes a substantial restriction on your right to receive the sale proceeds, the sale can be reported on the installment method, provided it otherwise qualifies. For an escrow arrangement to impose a substantial restriction, it must serve a bona fide purpose of the buyer, that is, a real and definite restriction placed on the seller or a specific economic benefit conferred on the buyer.

The definition of related persons depends on whether you sold depreciable property or the related person disposed of the property.

For purposes of the sale of depreciable property rules, related persons include the following.

For information about which entities are controlled entities, see section 1239(c) of the Internal Revenue Code.

For purposes of the sale and disposition rules, related persons include the following.

The prohibition on using the installment method to report a sale of depreciable property to a related person will not apply if no significant tax deferral benefit will be derived from the sale. You must show to the satisfaction of the IRS that avoidance of federal income tax was not one of the principal purposes of the sale.

This rule does not apply to a second disposition, and any later transfer, if you can show to the satisfaction of the IRS that neither the first disposition (to the related person) nor the second disposition had as one of its principal purposes the avoidance of federal income tax. Generally, an involuntary second disposition will qualify under the nontax avoidance exception, such as when a creditor of the related person forecloses on the property or the related person declares bankruptcy.

The nontax avoidance exception also applies to a second disposition that is also an installment sale if the terms of payment under the installment resale are substantially equal to or longer than those for the first installment sale. However, the exception does not apply if the resale terms permit significant deferral of recognition of gain from the first sale.

In addition, any sale or exchange of stock to the issuing corporation is not treated as a first disposition. An involuntary conversion is not treated as a second disposition if the first disposition occurred before the threat of conversion. A transfer after the death of the person making the first disposition or the related person's death, whichever is earlier, is not treated as a second disposition.

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

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.

The sale of inventories of personal property 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.

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 under section 743(b) of the Internal Revenue Code.

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 consideration to be reduced first by cash and general deposit accounts (including checking and savings accounts but excluding certificates of deposit). 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 among the following assets in proportion to (but not more than) their fair market value on the purchase date in the following order.

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).

Your installment income for each asset is the gross profit percentage for that asset times $49,300, the installment income received in 2003.

You figure installment income for years after 2003 by applying the same gross profit percentages to 49.3% of the total payments you receive on the buyer's note during the year.

Generally, the unstated interest rules do not apply to a debt given in consideration for a sale or exchange of personal-use property. Personal-use property is any property in which substantially all of its use by the buyer is not in connection with a trade or business or an investment activity.

If either section 1274 or section 483 applies to the installment sale contract, you must treat part of the installment sale price as interest, even though interest is not called for in the sales agreement. If either section applies, you must reduce the stated selling price of the property and increase your interest income by this interest.

Include the unstated interest in income based on your regular method of accounting. Include OID in income over the term of the contract.

The OID includible in income each year is based on the constant yield method described in section 1272. (In some cases, the OID on an installment sale contract also may include all or part of the stated interest, especially if the stated interest is not paid at least annually.)

If you do not use the installment method to report the sale, report the entire gain under your method of accounting in the year of sale. Reduce the selling price by any stated principal treated as interest to determine the gain.

Report unstated interest or OID on your tax return, in addition to stated interest.

Any part of the stated selling price of an installment sale contract treated by the buyer as interest reduces the buyer's basis in the property and increases the buyer's interest expense. These rules do not apply to personal-use property (for example, property not used in a trade or business).

An installment sale contract generally provides for adequate stated interest if the contract's stated principal amount is at least equal to the sum of the present values of all principal and interest payments called for under the contract. The present value of a payment is determined based on the test rate of interest, defined next. (If section 483 applies to the contract, payments due within six months after the sale are taken into account at face value.) In general, an installment sale contract provides for adequate stated interest if the stated interest rate (based on an appropriate compounding period) is at least equal to the test rate of interest.

The test rate of interest for a contract is the 3-month rate. The 3-month rate is the lower of the following applicable federal rates (AFRs).

The AFR depends on the month the binding contract for the sale or exchange of property is made and the term of the instrument. For an installment obligation, the term of the instrument is its weighted average maturity, as defined in section 1.1273–1(e)(3) of the regulations. The AFR for each term is shown below.

The applicable federal rates are published monthly in the Internal Revenue Bulletin (IRB). You can get this information by contacting an IRS office. IRBs are also available on the IRS web site at www.irs.gov.

For sales or exchanges of property (other than new section 38 property, which includes most tangible personal property) involving seller financing of $4,280,800 or less, the test rate of interest cannot be more than 9%, compounded semiannually. For seller financing over $4,280,800 and for all sales or exchanges of new section 38 property, the test rate of interest is 100% of the AFR.

For information on new section 38 property, see section 48(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, as in effect before the enactment of Public Law 101-508.

In the case of certain land transfers between related persons (described later), the test rate is no more than 6 percent, compounded semiannually.

If an installment sale contract does not provide for adequate stated interest, generally either section 1274 or section 483 will apply to the contract. These sections recharacterize part of the stated principal amount as interest. Whether either of these sections applies to a particular installment sale contract depends on several factors, including the total selling price and the type of property sold.

For purposes of determining whether either section 1274 or section 483 applies to an installment sale contract, all sales or exchanges that are part of the same transaction (or related transactions) are treated as a single sale or exchange and all contracts arising from the same transaction (or a series of related transactions) are treated as a single contract. Also, the total consideration due under an installment sale contract is determined at the time of the sale or exchange. Any payment (other than a debt instrument) is taken into account at its FMV.

This is any debt instrument given as payment for the sale or exchange of property (other than new section 38 property) with a stated principal of $3,057,700 or less if the following items apply.

The section 483 rules (discussed next) apply to debt instruments issued in a land sale between related persons to the extent the sum of the following amounts does not exceed $500,000.

The section 1274 rules, if otherwise applicable, apply to debt instruments issued in a sale of land to the extent the stated principal amount exceeds $500,000, or if any party to the sale is a nonresident alien.

Related persons include an individual and the members of the individual's family and their spouses. Members of an individual's family include the individual's spouse, brother and sister (whole or half), ancestors, and lineal descendants.

For information on figuring unstated interest and OID and other special rules, see sections 1274 and 483 of the Internal Revenue Code and the related regulations. In the case of an installment sale contract that provides for contingent payments, see sections 1.1275–4(c) and 1.483–4 of the regulations.

Figure your basis in an installment obligation by multiplying the unpaid balance on the obligation by your gross profit percentage. Subtract that amount from the unpaid balance. The result is your basis in the installment obligation.

No gain or loss is recognized on the transfer of an installment obligation between a husband and wife or a former husband and wife if the transfer is incident to a divorce. A transfer is incident to a divorce if it occurs within one year after the date on which the marriage ends or is related to the end of the marriage. The same tax treatment of the transferred obligation applies to the transferee spouse or former spouse as would have applied to the transferor spouse or former spouse. The basis of the obligation to the transferee spouse (or former spouse) is the adjusted basis of the transferor spouse.

The nonrecognition rule does not apply if the spouse or former spouse receiving the obligation is a nonresident alien.

A gift of an installment obligation is a disposition. Your gain or loss is the difference between your basis in the obligation and its FMV at the time you make the gift.

If an installment obligation is canceled or otherwise becomes unenforceable, it is treated as a disposition other than a sale or exchange. Your gain or loss is the difference between your basis in the obligation and its FMV at the time you cancel it. If the parties are related, the FMV of the obligation is considered to be no less than its full face value.

If you accept part payment on the balance of the buyer's installment debt to you and forgive the rest of the debt, you treat the settlement as a disposition of the installment obligation. Your gain or loss is the difference between your basis in the obligation and the amount you realize on the settlement.

If you reduce the selling price but do not cancel the rest of the buyer's debt to you, it is not considered a disposition of the installment obligation. You must refigure the gross profit percentage and apply it to payments you receive after the reduction. See Selling Price Reduced under General Rules, earlier.

If the buyer of your property sells it to someone else and you agree to let the new buyer assume the original buyer's installment obligation, you have not disposed of the installment obligation. It is not a disposition even if the new buyer pays you a higher rate of interest than the original buyer.

The transfer of an installment obligation (other than to a buyer) as a result of the death of the seller is not a disposition. Any unreported gain from the installment obligation is not treated as gross income to the decedent. No income is reported on the decedent's return due to the transfer. Whoever receives the installment obligation as a result of the seller's death is taxed on the installment payments the same as the seller would have been had the seller lived to receive the payments.

However, if an installment obligation is canceled, becomes unenforceable, or is transferred to the buyer because of the death of the holder of the obligation, it is a disposition. The estate must figure its gain or loss on the disposition. If the holder and the buyer were related, the FMV of the installment obligation is considered to be no less than its full face value.

You report gain or loss from a repossession on the same form you used to report the original sale. If you reported the sale on Form 4797, use it to report the gain or loss on the repossession.

The following paragraphs explain how to figure your basis in the installment obligation and the character of any gain or loss if you did not use the installment method to report the gain on the original sale.

Basis in installment obligation. Your basis is figured on the obligation's full face value or its FMV at the time of the original sale, whichever you used to figure your gain or loss in the year of sale. From this amount, subtract all payments of principal you have received on the obligation. The result is your basis in the installment obligation. If only part of the obligation is discharged by the repossession, figure your basis in only that part.

Gain or loss. Add any repossession costs to your basis in the obligation. If the FMV of the property you repossess is more than this total, you have a gain. This is gain on the installment obligation, so it is all ordinary income. If the FMV of the repossessed property is less than the total of your basis plus repossession costs, you have a loss. You included the full gain in income in the year of sale, so the loss is a bad debt. How you deduct the bad debt depends on whether you sold business or nonbusiness property in the original sale. See chapter 4 of Publication 550 for information on nonbusiness bad debts and chapter 11 of Publication 535 for information on business bad debts.

The following paragraphs explain how to figure your basis in the installment obligation and the character of any gain or loss if you used the installment method to report the gain on the original sale.

Basis in installment obligation. Multiply the unpaid balance of your installment obligation by your gross profit percentage. Subtract that amount from the unpaid balance. The result is your basis in the installment obligation.

Gain or loss. If the FMV of the repossessed property is more than the total of your basis in the obligation plus any repossession costs, you have a gain. If the FMV is less, you have a loss. Your gain or loss on the repossession is of the same character (capital or ordinary) as your gain on the original sale.

Use Worksheet C to determine the taxable gain or loss o