This section discusses gain on the disposition of farm land for which you were allowed either of the following.

• Deductions for soil and water conservation expenditures (section 1252 property).
• Exclusions from income for certain cost sharing payments (section 1255 property).

Section 1252 property. If you disposed of farm land you held less than 10 years at a gain and you were allowed deductions for soil and water conservation expenses for the land, as discussed in chapter 6, you must treat part of the gain as ordinary income and treat the balance as section 1231 gain.

Amount to report as ordinary income. You report as ordinary income the lesser of the following amounts.

• Your gain (determined by subtracting the adjusted basis from the amount realized from a sale, exchange, or involuntary conversion, or the fair market value for all other dispositions).
• The total deductions allowed for soil and water conservation expenses multiplied by the applicable percentage, discussed next.

Applicable percentage. The applicable percentage is based on the length of time you held the land. If you dispose of your farm land within 5 years after the date you got it, the percentage is 100%. If you dispose of the land within the 6th through 9th year after you got it, the applicable percentage is reduced by 20% a year for each year or part of a year you hold the land after the 5th year. If you dispose of the land 10 or more years after you got it, the percentage is 0%, and the entire gain is a section 1231 gain.

Example. You acquired farm land on January 19, 1993. On October 3, 2000, you sold the land at a $30,000 gain. Between January 1 and October 3, 2000, you make soil and water conservation expenditures of $15,000 for the land that are fully deductible in 2000. The applicable percentage is 40% since you sold the land within the 8th year after you got it. You treat $6,000 (40% of $15,000) of the $30,000 gain as ordinary income and the $24,000 balance as a section 1231 gain.

Section 1255 property. If you receive certain cost-sharing payments on property and you exclude those payments from income (as discussed in chapter 4), you may have to treat part of any gain as ordinary income and treat the balance as a section 1231 gain. If you chose not to exclude these payments, you will not have to recognize ordinary income under this provision.

Amount to report as ordinary income. You report as ordinary income the lesser of the following amounts.

• The applicable percentage of the total excluded cost-sharing payments.
• The gain on the disposition of the property.

You do not report ordinary income under this rule to the extent the gain is recognized as ordinary income under sections 1231 through 1254, 1256, and 1257 of the Internal Revenue Code. However, you do report as ordinary income under this rule a gain or a part of a gain regardless of any contrary provisions (including nonrecognition provisions) under any other section of the Internal Revenue Code.

Applicable percentage. The applicable percentage of the excluded cost-sharing payments to be reported as ordinary income is based on the length of time you hold the property after receiving the payments. If the property is held less than 10 years, the percentage is 100%. After 10 years, the percentage is reduced by 10% a year or part of a year until the rate is 0%.

Form 4797, Part III. Use Form 4797, Part III to figure the ordinary income part of a gain from the sale, exchange, or involuntary conversion of section 1252 property and section 1255 property.

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