99-1148. Capital Gains, Installment Sales, Unrecaptured Section 1250 Gain  

  • [Federal Register Volume 64, Number 14 (Friday, January 22, 1999)]
    [Proposed Rules]
    [Pages 3457-3461]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 99-1148]
    
    
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    DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
    
    Internal Revenue Service
    
    26 CFR Part 1
    
    [REG-110524-98]
    RIN 1545-AW85
    
    
    Capital Gains, Installment Sales, Unrecaptured Section 1250 Gain
    
    AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury.
    
    ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
    
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    SUMMARY: This document contains proposed amendments to the regulations 
    relating to the taxation of capital gains on installment sales of 
    depreciable real property. The proposed regulations interpret changes 
    made by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, as amended by the Internal 
    Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 and the Omnibus 
    Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1999. The 
    proposed regulations affect persons required to report capital gain 
    from an installment sale where a portion of the capital gain is 
    unrecaptured section 1250 gain and a portion is adjusted net capital 
    gain.
    
    DATES: Written comments or requests for a public hearing must be 
    received by April 22, 1999.
    
    ADDRESSES: Send submissions to CC:DOM:CORP:R (REG-110524-98), room 
    5226, Internal Revenue Service, POB 7604, Ben Franklin Station, 
    Washington, DC 20044. In the alternative, submissions may be hand 
    delivered Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. 
    to: CC:DOM:CORP:R (REG-110524-98), Courier's Desk, Internal Revenue 
    Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. Alternatively, 
    taxpayers may submit comments electronically via the Internet by 
    selecting the ``Tax Regs'' option on the IRS Home Page, or by 
    submitting comments directly to the IRS Internet site at http://
    www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/tax__regs/comments.html.
    
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Concerning the regulations, Susan 
    Kassell, (202) 622-4930; concerning submissions, LaNita VanDyke, (202) 
    622-7190 (not toll-free numbers).
    
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    
    Background
    
        This document contains proposed amendments to the Income Tax 
    Regulations (26 CFR Part 1) relating to the taxation of capital gains 
    on installment sales of depreciable real property.
        Prior to 1997, the maximum rate on net capital gain for individuals 
    was 28 percent. In the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, Public Law 105-34 
    (111 Stat. 788, 831) (1997 Act), Congress amended section 1(h) 
    generally to reduce the maximum capital gain tax rates for individuals. 
    Certain substantive changes and technical corrections to section 1(h) 
    were enacted as part of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and 
    Reform Act of 1998, Public Law 105-206 (112 Stat. 685), including the 
    repeal of an 18-month holding period requirement for amounts properly 
    taken into account after December 31, 1997, and by the Omnibus 
    Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999, 
    Public Law 105-277 (112 Stat. 2681).
        As amended, section 1(h) generally divides net capital gain into 
    three rate groups based on the nature of the property, the nature of 
    the gain, and the holding period of the property.
        A maximum marginal rate of 28 percent applies to 28-percent rate 
    gain (28-percent gain), the combination of (1) capital gains and losses 
    from the sale or exchange of collectibles held for more than one year; 
    (2) an amount equal to gain excluded from income on the sale or 
    exchange of certain small business stock under section 1202; (3) 
    capital gains and losses determined under special transition rules in 
    section 1(h)(13) for certain amounts taken into account in 1997; (4) 
    net short-term capital loss for the tax year; and (5) any long-term 
    capital loss carryover to the tax year under section 1212.
        A maximum marginal rate of 25 percent applies to unrecaptured 
    section 1250 gain (25-percent gain), which is defined in section 
    1(h)(7)(A) as the amount of long-term capital gain (not otherwise 
    treated as ordinary income) that would be treated as ordinary income if 
    section 1250(b)(1) included all depreciation and the applicable 
    percentage under section 1250(a) were 100 percent, reduced by any net 
    loss in the 28-percent rate category. Effectively, the amount of gain 
    taxed at 25 percent is the amount of straight-line depreciation allowed 
    for the property. Thus, the 25-percent rate category partially 
    recaptures such depreciation, but the recapture is limited, inter alia, 
    in that the recapture rate may be less than the marginal rates that 
    applied to the depreciation deductions. Section 1(h)(7)(B) limits the 
    unrecaptured section 1250 gain from section 1231 assets for any tax 
    year to the net section 1231 gain for that year.
        A maximum marginal rate of 20 percent generally applies to adjusted 
    net capital gain (20/10-percent gain), defined in section 1(h)(4) as 
    the portion of net capital gain that is not taxed at the 28-percent or 
    25-percent rates. Under section 1(h)(1)(B), a 10-percent rate applies 
    to any portion of adjusted net capital gain that would otherwise be 
    taxed at a 15-percent rate if capital gains were taxed as ordinary 
    income.
        For amounts properly taken into account after July 28, 1997, and 
    before January 1, 1998, an 18-month holding period is required to 
    obtain the maximum 25-percent, 20-percent, or 10-percent rates.
        Section 453 provides that, unless taxpayers elect out, gain from an 
    installment sale is recognized as payments on the installment 
    obligation are received. Before the 1997 Act, reporting capital gain 
    under the installment method was relatively straightforward: the 
    capital gain portion of each payment was taxed at the maximum capital 
    gain rate of 28 percent. Section 1(h) provides for multiple rates, but 
    does not address how to treat an installment sale of depreciable real 
    property when the gain to be reported consists of both 25-percent gain 
    and 20/10-percent gain.
    
    Explanation of Provisions
    
    Front-Loaded Allocation of Unrecaptured Section 1250 Gain
    
        Under the proposed regulations, if a portion of the capital gain 
    from an
    
    [[Page 3458]]
    
    installment sale is 25-percent gain and a portion is 20/10-percent 
    gain, the taxpayer is required to take the 25-percent gain into account 
    before the 20/10-percent gain, as payments are received. (Because sales 
    that result in 28-percent gain cannot also yield 25-percent gain or 20/
    10-percent gain, an allocation rule for 28-percent gain is 
    unnecessary.)
        A front-loaded allocation method for 25-percent gain is generally 
    consistent with the statute, under which 20/10-percent gain (that is, 
    adjusted net capital gain) is defined as the residual category of 
    capital gain not taxed at maximum rates of 28 percent or 25 percent. 
    The front-loaded method precludes taxpayers from recognizing some 20/
    10-percent gain from an installment sale even when the amount 
    ultimately recognized proves to be less than the amount subject to 
    recapture at the 25-percent rate. Absent a front-loaded allocation 
    method this inappropriate result could arise, for example, when a 
    taxpayer later disposes of an installment obligation at a discounted 
    price or when the amount to be received is contingent.
        The IRS and Treasury Department have previously adopted analogous 
    front-loaded allocation methods with respect to installment sales. For 
    example, before 1984--when Congress enacted section 453(i), which 
    requires immediate recognition of recapture gain at ordinary rates 
    under sections 1245 and 1250-- taxpayers were permitted to defer 
    recognition of this ordinary-rate recapture gain under the installment 
    method. Thus, an installment payment could contain both capital gain 
    and gain taxed at ordinary rates. By regulation, a front-loaded 
    allocation of the ordinary-rate recapture gain was required. 
    Secs. 1.1245-6(d); 1.1250-1(c)(6). See Dunn Construction v. United 
    States, 323 F. Supp. 440 (N.D. Ala. 1971) (upholding Sec. 1.1245-6(d) 
    as ``reasonable and consistent with the underlying statute'' and a 
    valid exercise of the regulatory authority under section 453). See also 
    Secs. 1.1251-1(e)(6), 1.1252-1(d)(3), 1.1254-1(d), and 16A.1255-
    1(c)(3).
    
    Interaction With Section 1231
    
        Section 1(h) also does not address the interaction of the capital 
    gain rates, the installment method, and the rules in section 1231. 
    Section 1231(a) generally provides that, when gains from the sale or 
    exchange of property used in a trade or business exceed losses from 
    such property, the gains and losses are treated as long-term capital 
    gains and losses. Conversely, when section 1231 losses exceed section 
    1231 gains, the gains and losses are treated as ordinary. The capital 
    nature of net section 1231 gain is subject to an exception: under 
    section 1231(c), net section 1231 gain is treated as ordinary income to 
    the extent of the taxpayer's non-recaptured net section 1231 losses for 
    the preceding five years.
        With respect to the interaction of section 1231(c) and the capital 
    gain rates, the IRS and Treasury Department have already provided that 
    section 1231 gain that is recharacterized as ordinary gain under 
    section 1231(c) is deemed to consist first of 28-percent gain, then 25-
    percent gain, and finally 20/10-percent gain. See Notice 97-59 (1997-45 
    IRB 7, 8). An example in the proposed regulations illustrates the 
    application of this principle in the installment sale context. 
    Consistent with this treatment and with the general rule that 25-
    percent gain is front-loaded, another example in the proposed 
    regulations illustrates that--in a year in which installment gain is 
    characterized as ordinary gain under section 1231(a) because there is a 
    net section 1231 loss for the year--the gain is treated as consisting 
    of 25-percent gain first, before 20/10-percent gain, for purposes of 
    determining how much 25-percent gain remains to be taken into account 
    in later payments.
        The examples in the proposed regulations--regarding the interaction 
    of sections 1(h), 453, and 1231--are specific applications of the 
    general rule that, for any given installment payment, gain from all 
    previous payments is treated as consisting first of 25-percent gain, 
    rather than 20/10-percent gain, in determining how much of each 
    category of gain remains to be reported with respect to current and 
    subsequent payments. Under the regulations, in making this 
    determination it is generally irrelevant how such prior gain was 
    actually reported and taxed. For example, an installment payment that 
    is taxed at 15 percent because the taxpayer is in a low tax bracket may 
    be treated as consisting of 25-percent gain (that is, unrecaptured 
    section 1250 gain) for allocation purposes, even though the gain is not 
    actually taxed at 25 percent. The proposed regulations focus on 
    examples involving section 1231 since they are the most common.
    
    Treatment of Installment Payments From Sales Prior to the Effective 
    Date of the 1997 Act
    
        The capital gains provisions of the 1997 Act were effective for 
    taxable years ending after May 6, 1997. However, the maximum rate of 28 
    percent was not reduced for gains properly taken into account before 
    May 7, 1997. Under settled authority, originating in Snell v. 
    Commissioner, 97 F.2d 891 (5th Cir. 1938), the law in effect when an 
    installment payment is received controls the tax treatment of the 
    payment. Unless otherwise provided, installment payments received after 
    a change in the law are taxed under the new law, whether favorable or 
    unfavorable, looking back to the original transaction for the facts 
    necessary to apply the changed law. In Snell, for example, installment 
    payments from what was a capital asset in the sale year were taxed as 
    ordinary income after Congress changed the definition of a capital 
    asset. See also Estate of Kearns v. Commissioner, 73 T.C. 1223 (1980); 
    Klein v. Commissioner, 42 T.C. 1000 (1964); Rev. Rul. 79-22 (1979-1 CB 
    275). Congress also implicitly has recognized the Snell principle by 
    enacting grandfather exceptions when the application of Snell would be 
    unfavorable. For example, when Congress extended the holding period 
    requirement for capital gain in 1976, the legislation specifically 
    excepted from the new, harsher requirements post-1976 installment gain 
    from pre-1976 sales.
        The legislative history of the 1997 Act reflects the Snell 
    principle, providing that section 1(h) ``generally applies to sales and 
    exchanges (and installment payments received) after May 6, 1997.'' 
    Conf. Rep. 105-220, 105th Cong., 1st Sess. 382, 383 (1997). Thus, under 
    these settled principles, gain on installment payments received after 
    May 6, 1997, from sales on or before that date, is taxed at the new, 
    lower maximum rates of 25 percent, 20 percent, or 10 percent if it 
    qualifies as unrecaptured section 1250 gain or adjusted net capital 
    gain. However, as in the case of gain from post-effective-date sales, 
    section 1(h) does not specify how to allocate the two categories of 
    gain.
        The proposed regulations provide that the capital gain rates 
    applicable to installment payments that are received on or after the 
    effective date of the 1997 Act from sales prior to the effective date 
    are determined as if, for all payments received after the date of sale 
    but before the effective date, 25-percent gain had been taken into 
    account before 20/10-percent gain. This approach is consistent with the 
    Snell principle in that it provides for the same method of allocation, 
    whether the sale occurred before or after the effective date of the 
    1997 Act. For taxpayers who sold property and received installment 
    payments before the effective date of the 1997 Act, this provision is 
    favorable, since it generally reduces or eliminates the amount of 25-
    percent gain to be reported on installment payments
    
    [[Page 3459]]
    
    received after the effective date. The approach is also simple--because 
    it is generally irrelevant how the prior gain was actually reported and 
    taxed, in most cases taxpayers will simply calculate the total amount 
    of 25-percent gain on the sale and subtract from that all gain 
    previously reported, in order to arrive at the amount of 25-percent 
    gain remaining to be reported.
    
    Treatment of Installment Payments Received Between the Effective Date 
    of the Statute and the Effective Date of the Final Regulations
    
        The proposed regulations also address the treatment of gain in 
    installment payments that are received during the period between the 
    effective date of section 1(h) and the effective date of the final 
    regulations. The proposed regulations provide that, in the event the 
    cumulative amount of 25-percent gain actually reported in installment 
    payments received during this period was less than the amount that 
    would have been reported using the front-loaded allocation method of 
    the regulations, the amount of 25-percent gain actually reported, 
    rather than an amount determined under a front-loaded allocation 
    method, must be used in determining the amount of 25-percent gain that 
    remains to be reported. This provision ensures that taxpayers cannot 
    underreport the total amount of 25-percent gain by taking inconsistent 
    positions with respect to payments received before and after the 
    effective date of the regulations. By providing for this rule, no 
    inference is intended that any allocation method other than the method 
    provided for by the regulations was a reasonable interpretation of 
    section 1(h) in this context. However, the IRS will not challenge the 
    use of a pro rata allocation method--that is, a method under which the 
    amounts of 25-percent gain and 20/10-percent gain in each installment 
    payment bear the same relationship as the total amounts of 25-percent 
    and 20/10-percent gain to be reported on the sale--for installment 
    payments received before the effective date of the final regulations, 
    if the taxpayer used the same pro rata method for all installment 
    payments during such period.
    
    Proposed Effective Date
    
        The regulations are proposed to be effective for payments properly 
    taken into account after the date the regulations are published as 
    final regulations in the Federal Register.
    
    Special Analyses
    
        It has been determined that this notice of proposed rulemaking is 
    not a significant regulatory action as defined in EO 12866. Therefore, 
    a regulatory assessment is not required. It also has been determined 
    that section 553(b) of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 
    chapter 5) does not apply to these regulations, and, because the 
    regulations do not impose a requirement for the collection of 
    information on small entities, the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 
    chapter 6) does not apply. Pursuant to section 7805(f) of the Internal 
    Revenue Code, this notice of proposed rulemaking will be submitted to 
    the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration for 
    comment on its impact on small business.
    
    Comments and Requests for a Public Hearing
    
        Before these proposed regulations are adopted as final regulations, 
    consideration will be given to any written comments (a signed original 
    and eight (8) copies) that are submitted timely to the IRS. The IRS and 
    Treasury Department request comments on the clarity of the proposed 
    rules and how they can be made easier to understand. All comments will 
    be available for public inspection and copying. A public hearing may be 
    scheduled if requested in writing by a person that timely submits 
    written comments. If a public hearing is scheduled, notice of the date, 
    time, and place for the hearing will be published in the Federal 
    Register.
    
    Drafting Information
    
        The principal authors of these regulations are Susan Kassell and 
    Rob Laudeman, Office of the Assistant Chief Counsel (Income Tax & 
    Accounting). However, other personnel from the IRS and Treasury 
    Department participated in their development.
    
    List of Subjects in Part 1
    
        Income taxes, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
    
    Proposed Amendment to the Regulations
    
        Accordingly, the IRS proposes to amend 26 CFR part 1 as follows:
    
    PART 1--INCOME TAXES
    
        Paragraph 1. The authority citation for part 1 continues to read in 
    part as follows:
    
        Authority: 26 U.S.C. 7805 * * *
    
        Par. 2. Section 1.453-12 is added to read as follows:
    
    
    Sec. 1.453-12  Allocation of unrecaptured section 1250 gain reported on 
    the installment method.
    
        (a) General rule. Unrecaptured section 1250 gain, as defined in 
    section 1(h)(7), is reported on the installment method if that method 
    otherwise applies under section 453 or 453A and the corresponding 
    regulations. If gain from an installment sale includes unrecaptured 
    section 1250 gain and adjusted net capital gain (as defined in section 
    1(h)(4)), the unrecaptured section 1250 gain is taken into account 
    before the adjusted net capital gain.
        (b) Installment payments from sales before May 7, 1997. The amount 
    of unrecaptured section 1250 gain in an installment payment that is 
    properly taken into account after May 6, 1997, from a sale before May 
    7, 1997, is determined as if, for all payments properly taken into 
    account after the date of sale but before May 7, 1997, unrecaptured 
    section 1250 gain had been taken into account before adjusted net 
    capital gain.
        (c) Installment payments received after May 6, 1997, and before the 
    effective date of the final regulations. If the amount of unrecaptured 
    section 1250 gain in an installment payment that is properly taken into 
    account after May 6, 1997, and before the effective date of the final 
    regulations, is less than the amount that would have been taken into 
    account under this section, the lesser amount is used to determine the 
    amount of unrecaptured section 1250 gain that remains to be taken into 
    account.
        (d) Examples. In each example, the taxpayer, an individual whose 
    taxable year is the calendar year, does not elect out of the 
    installment method. The installment obligation bears adequate stated 
    interest, and the property sold is real property held in a trade or 
    business that qualifies as both section 1231 property and section 1250 
    property. In all taxable years, the taxpayer's marginal tax rate on 
    ordinary income is 28 percent. The following examples illustrate the 
    rules of this section:
    
        Example 1. General rule. This example illustrates the rule of 
    paragraph (a) of this section.
        (i) In 1998, A sells property for $10,000, to be paid in ten 
    equal annual installments beginning on December 1, 1998. A 
    originally purchased the property for $5,000, held the property for 
    several years, and took straight-line depreciation deductions in the 
    amount of $3,000. In each of the years 1998-2007, A has no other 
    capital or section 1231 gains or losses.
        (ii) A's adjusted basis at the time of the sale is $2,000. Of 
    A's $8,000 of section 1231 gain on the sale of the property, $3,000 
    is attributable to prior straight-line depreciation
    
    [[Page 3460]]
    
    deductions and is unrecaptured section 1250 gain. The gain on each 
    installment payment is $800.
        (iii) As illustrated in the following table, A takes into 
    account the unrecaptured section 1250 gain first. Therefore, the 
    gain on A's first three payments, received in 1998, 1999, and 2000, 
    is taxed at 25 percent. Of the $800 of gain on the fourth payment, 
    received in 2001, $600 is taxed at 25 percent and the remaining $200 
    is taxed at 20 percent. The gain on A's remaining six installment 
    payments is taxed at 20 percent. The table is as follows:
    
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       1998         1999         2000         2001         2002      2003-2007    Total gain
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Installment gain.............................................          800          800          800          800          800         4000         8000
    Taxed at 25%.................................................          800          800          800          600  ...........  ...........         3000
    Taxed at 20%.................................................  ...........  ...........  ...........          200          800         4000         5000
    Remaining to be taxed at 25%.................................         2200         1400          600  ...........  ...........  ...........  ...........
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
        Example 2. Installment payments from sales prior to May 7, 1997. 
    This example illustrates the rule of paragraph (b) of this section.
        (i) The facts are the same as in Example 1 except that A sold 
    the property in 1994, received the first of the ten annual 
    installment payments on December 1, 1994, and had no other capital 
    or section 1231 gains or losses in the years 1994-2003.
        (ii) As in Example 1, of A's $8000 of gain on the sale of the 
    property, $3000 was attributable to prior straight-line depreciation 
    deductions and is unrecaptured section 1250 gain.
        (iii) As illustrated in the following table, A's first three 
    payments, in 1994, 1995, and 1996, were received before May 7, 1997, 
    and taxed at 28 percent. Under the rule described in paragraph (b) 
    of this section, A determines the allocation of unrecaptured section 
    1250 gain for each installment payment after May 6, 1997, by taking 
    unrecaptured section 1250 gain into account first, treating the 
    general rule of paragraph (a) of this section as having applied 
    since the time the property was sold, in 1994. Consequently, of the 
    $800 of gain on the fourth payment, received in 1997, $600 is taxed 
    at 25 percent and the remaining $200 is taxed at 20 percent. The 
    gain on A's remaining six installment payments is taxed at 20 
    percent. The table is as follows:
    
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       1994         1995         1996         1997         1998      1999-2003    Total gain
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Installment gain.............................................          800          800          800          800          800         4000         8000
    Taxed at 28%.................................................          800          800          800  ...........  ...........  ...........         2400
    Taxed at 25%.................................................  ...........  ...........  ...........          600  ...........  ...........          600
    Taxed at 20%.................................................  ...........  ...........  ...........          200          800         4000         5000
    Remaining to be taxed at 25%.................................         2200         1400          600  ...........  ...........  ...........  ...........
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
        Example 3. Effect of section 1231(c) recapture. This example 
    illustrates the rule of paragraph (a) of this section when there are 
    non-recaptured net section 1231 losses, as defined in section 
    1231(c)(2), from prior years.
        (i) The facts are the same as in Example 1, except that in 1998 
    A has non-recaptured net section 1231 losses from the previous four 
    years of $1000.
        (ii) As illustrated in the table at the end of this example, in 
    1998, all of A's $800 installment gain is recaptured as ordinary 
    income under section 1231(c). Under the rule described in paragraph 
    (a) of this section, for purposes of determining the amount of 
    unrecaptured section 1250 gain remaining to be taken into account, 
    the $800 recaptured as ordinary income under section 1231(c) is 
    treated as reducing unrecaptured section 1250 gain, rather than 
    adjusted net capital gain. Therefore, A has $2200 of unrecaptured 
    section 1250 gain remaining to be taken into account.
        (iii) In 1999, A's installment gain is taxed at two rates. 
    First, $200 is recaptured as ordinary income under section 1231(c). 
    Second, the remaining $600 of gain on A's 1999 installment payment 
    is taxed at 25 percent. Because the full $800 of gain reduces 
    unrecaptured section 1250 gain, A has $1400 of unrecaptured section 
    1250 gain remaining to be taken into account.
        (iv) The gain on A's installment payment received in 2000 is 
    taxed at 25 percent. Of the $800 of gain on the fourth payment, 
    received in 2001, $600 is taxed at 25 percent and the remaining $200 
    is taxed at 20 percent. The gain on A's remaining six installment 
    payments is taxed at 20 percent. The table is as follows:
    
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       1998         1999         2000         2001         2002      2003-2007    Total gain
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Installment gain.............................................          800          800          800          800          800         4000         8000
    Taxed at ordinary rates under section 1231(c)................          800          200  ...........  ...........  ...........  ...........         1000
    Taxed at 25%.................................................  ...........          600          800          600  ...........  ...........         2000
    Taxed at 20%.................................................  ...........  ...........  ...........          200          800         4000         5000
    Remaining non-recaptured net section 1231 losses.............          200  ...........  ...........  ...........  ...........  ...........  ...........
    Remaining to be taxed at 25%.................................         2200         1400          600  ...........  ...........  ...........  ...........
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
        Example 4. Effect of a net section 1231 loss. This example 
    illustrates the application of paragraph (a) of this section when 
    there is a net section 1231 loss.
        (i) The facts are the same as in Example 1 except that A has 
    section 1231 losses of $1000 in 1998.
        (ii) In 1998, A's section 1231 installment gain of $800 does not 
    exceed A's section 1231 losses of $1000. Therefore, A has a net 
    section 1231 loss of $200. As a result, under section 1231(a) all of 
    A's section 1231 gains and losses are treated as ordinary gains and 
    losses. As illustrated in the table at the end of this example, A's 
    entire $800 of installment gain is ordinary gain. Under the rule 
    described in paragraph (a) of this section, for purposes of 
    determining the amount of unrecaptured section 1250 gain remaining 
    to be taken into account, A's $800 of ordinary section 1231 
    installment gain in 1998 is treated as reducing unrecaptured section 
    1250 gain. Therefore, A has $2200 of unrecaptured section 1250 gain 
    remaining to be taken into account.
        (iii) In 1999, A has $800 of section 1231 installment gain, 
    resulting in a net section 1231 gain of $800. A also has $200 of 
    non-recaptured net section 1231 losses. The $800 gain is taxed at 
    two rates. First, $200 is taxed at ordinary rates under section 
    1231(c), recapturing the $200 net section 1231 loss sustained in 
    1998. Second, the remaining $600 of gain on A's 1999 installment 
    payment is taxed at 25 percent. As in
    
    [[Page 3461]]
    
    Example 3, the $200 of section 1231(c) gain is treated as reducing 
    unrecaptured section 1250 gain, rather than adjusted net capital 
    gain. Therefore, A has $1400 of unrecaptured section 1250 gain 
    remaining to be taken into account.
        (iv) The gain on A's installment payment received in 2000 is 
    taxed at 25 percent, reducing the remaining unrecaptured section 
    1250 gain to $600. Of the $800 of gain on the fourth payment, 
    received in 2001, $600 is taxed at 25 percent and the remaining $200 
    is taxed at 20 percent. The gain on A's remaining six installment 
    payments is taxed at 20 percent. The table is as follows:
    
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       1998         1999         2000         2001         2002      2003-2007    Total gain
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Installment gain.............................................          800          800          800          800          800         4000         8000
    Ordinary gain under section 1231(a)..........................          800  ...........  ...........  ...........  ...........  ...........          800
    Taxed at ordinary rates under section 1231(c)................  ...........          200  ...........  ...........  ...........  ...........          200
    Taxed at 25%.................................................  ...........          600          800          600  ...........  ...........         2000
    Taxed at 20%.................................................  ...........  ...........  ...........          200          800         4000         5000
    Net section 1231 loss........................................          200  ...........  ...........  ...........  ...........  ...........  ...........
    Remaining to be taxed at 25%.................................         2200         1400          600  ...........  ...........  ...........  ...........
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
        (e) Effective date. This section applies to installment payments 
    properly taken into account after the date these regulations are 
    published as final regulations in the Federal Register.
    Robert E. Wenzel,
    Deputy Commissioner of Internal Revenue.
    [FR Doc. 99-1148 Filed 1-21-99; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 4830-01-U
    
    
    

Document Information

Published:
01/22/1999
Department:
Internal Revenue Service
Entry Type:
Proposed Rule
Action:
Notice of proposed rulemaking.
Document Number:
99-1148
Dates:
Written comments or requests for a public hearing must be received by April 22, 1999.
Pages:
3457-3461 (5 pages)
Docket Numbers:
REG-110524-98
RINs:
1545-AW85: Allocation of Unrecaptured Section 1250 Gain Reported on the Installment Method
RIN Links:
https://www.federalregister.gov/regulations/1545-AW85/allocation-of-unrecaptured-section-1250-gain-reported-on-the-installment-method
PDF File:
99-1148.pdf
CFR: (1)
26 CFR 1.453-12