Which Asset Sales Are Reported?
Sales of inventory or other items held as stock-in-trade in
your business are considered business income,
not sales of capital assets. Sales of this type of property are reported
on Schedule C or C-EZ. Similarly, sales of accounts receivable or
notes you received in the ordinary course of business are reported
on Schedule C, as are any sales of copyrighted literary or musical
compositions or artwork you created. There is one exception. You may
elect to treat the sale of musical composition as a capital asset
and take advantage of the capital gains rates. In that case, the sale
is reported on Schedule D.
If you have a gain on property
held for personal use such as a home, car, furnishings, clothing,
etc., it is reported on Schedule D (but see our discussion of the
exemption for gains on personal residences).
However, if you have a loss, you can't deduct it. If you do have
a loss on non-real estate property held for personal use, you don't
have to report the sale at all.
Virtually any property that
you hold as an investment will generate a taxable gain, or a deductible
loss, that should be reported on Schedule D and on one of the more
specialized forms that feed into Schedule D:
- Form 8949, for all sales not reported on another form
- Form 4797, for sales of property used
in a trade or business
- Form 4684, for involuntary conversions of nonbusiness property
due to casualties or theft
- Form 8824, if you made one or more like-kind
exchanges
- Form 6781, if you had gains or losses from Section 1256 contracts
and straddles (these are generally regulated futures contracts, foreign
currency contracts, and certain options contracts, or hedging positions;
for more information, see IRS Publication 550, Investment Income
and Expenses)
- Form 6252, if you received payments for the asset over more than
one year (but installment sale treatment
is not permitted for stocks, bonds, and other securities sold by cash-basis
taxpayers)
© 2024 Wolters Kluwer. All Rights Reserved.