1. Individual Income Taxes Copyright ©2009 Cengage Learning
Chapter 17
Property Transactions: §1231 and Recapture Provisions
Individual Income Taxes
Copyright ©2009 Cengage Learning

2. §1231 Assets (slide 1 of 4) §1231 assets defined
Depreciable and real property used in a business or for production of income and held greater than 1 year
Includes timber, coal, iron, livestock, unharvested crops
Certain purchased intangibles

3. §1231 Assets (slide 2 of 4)
§1231 property does not include the following:
Property not held for the long-term holding period
Nonpersonal use property where casualty losses exceed casualty gains for the taxable year
Inventory and property held primarily for sale to customers
Copyrights, literary, musical, or artistic compositions and certain U.S. government publications
Accounts receivable and notes receivable arising in the ordinary course of a trade or business

4. §1231 Assets (slide 3 of 4)
If transactions involving §1231 assets result in:
Net §1231 loss = ordinary loss
Net §1231 gain = long-term capital gain

5. §1231 Assets (slide 4 of 4)
Provides the best of potential results for the taxpayer
Ordinary loss that is fully deductible FOR AGI
Gains subject to the lower capital gains tax rates

6. Special Rules For Certain §1231 Assets (slide 1 of 4)
Timber-Taxpayer can elect to treat the cutting of timber held for sale or for use in business as a sale or exchange
If elected, transaction qualifies under §1231
Recognized §1231 gain or loss is determined at the time the timber is cut
Equal to difference between timber's FMV as of first day of tax year and the adjusted basis for depletion
If sold for more or less than FMV as of first day of tax year in which it is cut,difference is ordinary income or loss

7. Special Rules For Certain §1231 Assets (slide 2 of 4)
Livestock
Cattle and horses must be held 24 months or more and other livestock must be held 12 months or more to qualify under §1231

8. Special Rules For Certain §1231 Assets (slide 3 of 4)
Casualty gains and losses from §1231 assets and from long-term nonpersonal use capital assets are determined and netted together
If a net loss, items are treated separately
§1231 casualty gains and nonpersonal use capital asset casualty gains are treated as ordinary gains
§1231 casualty losses are deductible FOR AGI
Nonpersonal use capital asset casualty losses are deductible FROM AGI subject to the 2% of AGI limitation
If a net gain, treat as §1231 gain

9. Special Rules For Certain §1231 Assets (slide 4 of 4)
The special netting process for casualties & thefts does not include condemnation gains and losses
A § 1231 asset disposed of by condemnation receives § 1231 treatment
Personal use property condemnation gains and losses are not subject to the § 1231 rules
Gains are capital gains
Personal use property is a capital asset
Losses are nondeductible
They arise from the disposition of personal use property

10. General Procedure for § 1231 Computation (slide 1 of 3)
Step 1: Casualty Netting
Net all recognized long-term gains & losses from casualties of § 1231 assets and nonpersonal use capital assets
If casualty gains exceed casualty losses, add the excess to the other § 1231 gains for the taxable year
If casualty losses exceed casualty gains, exclude all casualty losses and gains from further § 1231 computation
All casualty gains are ordinary income
Section 1231 asset casualty losses are deductible for AGI
Other casualty losses are deductible from AGI

11. General Procedure for § 1231 Computation (slide 2 of 3)
Step 2: § 1231 Netting
After adding any net casualty gain from previous step to the other § 1231 gains and losses, net all § 1231 gains and losses
If gains exceed the losses, net gain is offset by the ‘‘lookback’’ nonrecaptured § 1231 losses from the 5 prior tax years
To the extent of this offset, the net § 1231 gain is classified as ordinary gain
Any remaining gain is long-term capital gain
If the losses exceed the gains, all gains are ordinary income
Section 1231 asset losses are deductible for AGI
Other casualty losses are deductible from AGI

12. General Procedure for § 1231 Computation (slide 3 of 3)
Step 3: § 1231 Lookback Provision
The net § 1231 gain from the previous step is offset by the nonrecaptured net § 1231 losses for the five preceding taxable years
To the extent of the nonrecaptured net § 1231 loss, the current-year net § 1231 gain is ordinary income
The nonrecaptured net § 1231 losses are those that have not already been used to offset net § 1231 gains
Only the net § 1231 gain exceeding this net § 1231 loss carryforward is given long-term capital gain treatment

13. Lookback Provision Example
Taxpayer had the following net §1231 gains and losses:
2006 $ 4,000 loss
,000 loss
,000 gain
In 2008, taxpayer’s net §1231 gain of $16,000 will be treated as $14,000 of ordinary income and $2,000 of long-term capital gain

14. §1231 Netting Procedure (slide 1 of 2)
§1231 asset and long-term nonpersonal use capital asset casualty gains
minus
§1231 asset and long-term nonpersonal use capital asset casualty losses
Net Gain
Net Loss
Items treated separately: Gains are ordinary income, §1231 asset losses are deductible for AGI, Other losses deductible from AGI
Net Gain
(add to §1231 gains)
§1231 gains
minus
§1231 losses
Net Loss
Net Gain

15. §1231 Netting Procedure (slide 2 of 2)
Net Gain
Lookback Provision:
Net gain is offset against nonrecaptured net §1231 losses from 5 prior tax years
Gain offset by lookback losses is ordinary gain
Remaining gain is LTCG

16. Depreciation Recapture (slide 1 of 3)
Assets subject to depreciation or cost recovery may be subject to depreciation recapture when disposed of at a gain
Losses on depreciable assets receive §1231 treatment
No recapture occurs in loss situations

17. Depreciation Recapture (slide 2 of 3)
Depreciation recapture characterizes gains that would appear to be §1231 as ordinary gain
The Code contains two major recapture provisions
§1245
§1250

18. Depreciation Recapture (slide 3 of 3)
Depreciation recapture provisions generally override all other Code Sections
There are exceptions to depreciation recapture rules, for example:
In dispositions where all gain is not recognized
e.g., like-kind exchanges, involuntary conversions
Where gain is not recognized at all
e.g., gifts and inheritances

19. §1245 Recapture (slide 1 of 3)
Depreciation recapture for §1245 property
Applies to tangible and intangible personalty, and nonresidential realty using accelerated methods of ACRS (placed in service )
Recapture potential is entire amount of accumulated depreciation for asset
Method of depreciation does not matter

20. §1245 Recapture (slide 2 of 3)
When gain on the disposition of a §1245 asset is less than the total amount of accumulated depreciation:
The total gain will be treated as depreciation recapture (i.e., ordinary income)

21. §1245 Recapture (slide 3 of 3)
When the gain on the disposition of a §1245 asset is greater than the total amount of accumulated depreciation:
Total accumulated depreciation will be recaptured (as ordinary income), and
The gain in excess of depreciation recapture will be §1231 gain or capital gain

22. Observations on § 1245
Usually total depreciation taken will exceed the recognized gain
Therefore, disposition of § 1245 property usually results in ordinary income rather than § 1231 gain
Thus, generally, no § 1231 gain will occur unless the § 1245 property is disposed of for more than its original cost
Recapture applies to the total amount of depreciation allowed or allowable regardless of the depreciation method used
Recapture applies regardless of the holding period of the property
If held for < the long-term holding period the entire recognized gain is ordinary income because § 1231 does not apply
Section 1245 does not apply to losses, which receive § 1231 treatment
Gains from the disposition of § 1245 assets may also be treated as passive activity gains

23. §1250 Recapture (slide 1 of 2)
Depreciation recapture for §1250 property
Applies to depreciable real property
Exception: Nonresidential realty classified as §1245 property (i.e., placed in service after 1980 and before 1987, and accelerated depreciation used)
Intangible real property, such as leaseholds of § 1250 property, is also included

24. §1250 Recapture (slide 2 of 2)
Section 1250 recapture rarely applies since only the amount of additional depreciation is subject to recapture
To have additional depreciation, accelerated depreciation must have been taken on the asset
Straight-line depreciation is not recaptured (except for property held one year or less)
Depreciable real property placed in service after 1986 can generally only be depreciated using the straight-line method
Therefore, no depreciation recapture potential for such property
§ 1250 does not apply if the real property is sold at a loss

25. Real Estate 25% Gain (slide 1 of 4)
Also called unrecaptured §1250 gain or 25% gain
25% gain is some or all of the §1231 gain treated as long-term capital gain
Used in the alternative tax computation for net capital gain

26. Real Estate 25% Gain (slide 2 of 4)
Maximum amount of 25% gain is depreciation taken on real property sold at a recognized gain reduced by:
Certain §1250 and §1245 depreciation recapture
Losses from other §1231 assets
§1231 lookback losses
Limited to recognized gain when total gain is less than depreciation taken

27. Real Estate 25% Gain (slide 3 of 4)
Special 25% Gain Netting Rules
Where there is a § 1231 gain from real estate and that gain includes both potential 25% gain and potential 0%/15% gain, any § 1231 loss from disposition of other § 1231 assets
First offsets the 0%/15% portion of the § 1231 gain
Then offsets the 25% portion of the § 1231 gain
Also, any § 1231 lookback loss
First recharacterizes the 25% portion of the § 1231 gain
Then recharacterizes the 0%/15% portion of the § 1231 gain as ordinary income

28. Real Estate 25% Gain (slide 4 of 4)
Net § 1231 Gain Limitation
The amount of unrecaptured § 1250 gain may not exceed the net § 1231 gain that is eligible to be treated as long-term capital gain
The unrecaptured § 1250 gain is the lesser of
The unrecaptured § 1250 gain, or
The net § 1231 gain that is treated as capital gain
Thus, if there is a net § 1231 gain, but it is all recaptured by the 5 year § 1231 lookback loss provision, there is no surviving § 1231 gain or unrecaptured § 1250 gain

29. Related Effects of Recapture (slide 1 of 8)
Gifts
The carryover basis of gifts, from donor to donee, also carries over depreciation recapture potential associated with asset
That is, donee steps into shoes of donor with regard to depreciation recapture potential

30. Related Effects of Recapture (slide 2 of 8)
Inheritance
Death is only way to eliminate recapture potential
That is, depreciation recapture potential does not carry over from decedent to heir

31. Related Effects of Recapture (slide 3 of 8)
Charitable contributions
Recapture potential reduces the amount of charitable contribution deductions that are based on FMV

32. Related Effects of Recapture (slide 4 of 8)
Nontaxable transactions
When the transferee carries over the basis of the transferor, the recapture potential also carries over
Included in this category are transfers of property pursuant to the following:
Nontaxable incorporations under § 351
Certain liquidations of subsidiary companies under § 332
Nontaxable contributions to a partnership under § 721
Nontaxable reorganizations
Gain may be recognized in these transactions if boot is received
If gain is recognized, it is treated as ordinary income to the extent of the recapture potential or recognized gain, whichever is lower

33. Related Effects of Recapture (slide 5 of 8)
Like-kind exchanges and involuntary conversions
Property received in these transactions have a substituted basis
Basis of former property and its recapture potential is substituted for basis of new property
Any gain recognized on the transaction will first be treated as depreciation recapture, then as §1231 or capital gain
Any remaining recapture potential carries over

34. Related Effects of Recapture (slide 6 of 8)
Installment sales
Recapture gain is recognized in year of sale regardless of whether gain is otherwise recognized under the installment method

35. Related Effects of Recapture (slide 7 of 8)
Property Dividends
A corporation generally recognizes gain on the distribution of appreciated property to shareholders
Recapture applies to the extent of the lower of the recapture potential or the excess of the property’s FMV over its adjusted basis

36. Related Effects of Recapture (slide 8 of 8)
Sales between related parties
Sales of depreciable assets between related parties can cause the total gain to be recognized as ordinary income
Applies to related party sales or exchanges of property that is depreciable in hands of transferee

37. Dr. Donald R. Trippeer, CPA
If you have any comments or suggestions concerning this PowerPoint Presentation for South-Western Federal Taxation, please contact:
Dr. Donald R. Trippeer, CPA
SUNY Oneonta