As a result of this new amendment, sellers that are on the accrual method of accounting (i.e., all public corporations, most private corporations, and many partnerships and limited liability companies), will not be entitled to use the installment method.

Can an S Corp report an installment sale?

See § 1.338(h)(10)-1T(d)(5)(iii). The S corporation cannot report the gain from the deemed sale of assets on the installment method. See § 453(a)(2).

How is the installment sale of a business reported on the tax return?

Reporting the Sale on Your Tax Return Use Form 6252, Installment Sale Income to report an installment sale in the year the sale occurs and for each year you receive an installment payment. You must also include in income any interest as ordinary income.

How is installment reporting for sales of S corporation stock?

This result is consistent with the tax treatment of an actual asset sale by an S corporation in which part or all of the consideration is in the form of an installment obligation, followed by a complete liquidation of the corporation in which the sales proceeds are distributed to the corporation’s shareholders. 34

What are the tax rules for an installment sale?

The installment sale rules create an issue, however, by requiring the shareholders to allocate that basis between the cash amounts received on the closing and the future payments that are to be received. The primary factor determining the magnitude of the tax issue created by this problem is how those basis-allocation rules apply.

When to use the installment method in IRC?

However, the installment method was unavailable if a purchaser sought to make an IRC section 338 (h) (10) election to recharacterize the sale of stock by a cash-basis taxpayer into a sale of assets by an accrual-basis corporation.

Can a shareholder elect out of the installment method?

A third method to limit the impact of this issue is to have the shareholder elect out of the installment method. The result of that election is that the shareholder is required to take into his or her income for the year of the sale both the cash amount received and the fair market value of the right to future payments.