Form 6252 - Installment Sale Income

Installment sale reporting.

In 2019 and later, if you have an outstanding installment sale balance after the initial year, complete lines 1 through 4, Part I, and Part II for each year of the installment agreement. If you sold property to a related party during the year, also complete Part III.

Purpose of Form

Use Form 6252 to report income from an installment sale on the installment method. Generally, an installment sale is a disposition of property where at least one payment is received after the end of the tax year in which the disposition occurs. Ordinarily, an installment sale doesn’t include a disposition of personal property by a person who regularly sells or otherwise disposes of personal property of the same type, or a disposition of real property which is held by the taxpayer for sale to customers in the ordinary course of the taxpayer’s trade or business. However, gain on some dispositions by dealers in real property or farmers who dispose of any property used or produced in the trade or business of farming may be reported on the installment method. Don’t file Form 6252 for sales that don’t result in a gain, even if you will receive a payment in a tax year after the year of sale. Instead, report the entire sale on Form 4797, Sales of Business Property, Form 8949, Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets, or the Schedule D for your tax return, whichever applies. Don’t file Form 6252 to report sales during the tax year of stock or securities traded on an established securities market. Instead, treat all payments as received during the year of sale. Don’t file Form 6252 if you elect not to report the sale on the installment method. To elect out, report the full amount of the gain on a timely filed return (including extensions) on Form 4797, Form 8949, or the Schedule D for your tax return, whichever applies. If you filed your original return on time without making the election, you can make the election on an amended return filed no later than 6 months after the due date of your tax return, excluding extensions. Write “Filed pursuant to section 301.9100-2” at the top of the amended return.