If you want to sell your business, that piece of real estate you have been holding for investment, or maybe it’s real estate you have been using in your business, your goal is always the same: minimize the taxes resulting from the sale and maximize your cash flow.
By minimizing your taxes, you keep as much of your cash proceeds as possible. These proceeds can be used to help fund your retirement or maximize cash flow for your business needs.
When selling your property or business at a gain, one strategy to consider is use of an installment sale. An installment sale is the sale of property or a business in which at least one payment is not made until after the tax year of the sale. Rather than recognizing the entire gain in the year of sale, when you enter into an installment sale, you receive payments from the buyer over time, and that is when you report the gain. Each time you receive a debt principal payment, a pro-rata portion of the gain will be taxed. Government rules require that you must use the installment method, unless you elect out of it.
Along with helping to minimize your taxes, an installment sale allows you to defer the tax on some of the gain into later tax years. The potential benefits of deferring the gain include the possibility of generating tax-free capital gains, as well as taking advantage of lower tax brackets. Also, by deferring the taxes, you are able to keep your cash in your pocket, for as long as possible, before paying the Government.
However, as you consider the possibility for tax savings with an installment sale, it’s important to be aware of a few potential pitfalls:
1. The installment method is not available on the portion of the gain of the sold property that is subject to depreciation recapture. The recapture portion of the gain is recognized in the year of sale, even if you do not receive any cash.
2. In order for the gain to be deferred, the buyer’s debt cannot be either payable on demand or readily tradeable on a securities market. In addition, the debt cannot be secured directly (or indirectly) by any cash or cash equivalents, such as a certificate of deposit or a treasury note. However, it is permissible to have the debt secured by a third-party guarantee or letter of credit.
3. The installment method cannot be used for sales of certain types of properties, for example:
a) When most sales of the property are done by a dealer (e.g., inventory). The installment method is not available to the extent the gain includes income from the sale of your inventory.
b) Sales of publicly traded securities, traded on an established market. The installment sale is not available if you have a gain from the sale of publicly traded securities. In this case, the entire gain must be reported in the year in which the trade date falls.
4. Once an installment sale is made, a transfer of the buyer’s debt will result in the recognition of the remaining deferred gain. The advantage of an installment sale is limited, so be careful if you intend to transfer the note in the future. The exceptions to the transfer limitations include a transfer to a spouse or a transfer at death.
Helping you get there…
Selling your business or property on installment sale can be very complicated, but with the right circumstances, may help you minimize your taxes. Boulay’s tax team is here to assist you in the tax planning for your upcoming sale. If you have questions on installment sale tax treatment, or wish to discuss these matters further, please connect with a member of Boulay’s tax team today.