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1231 Property is a category of property defined in section 1231 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. [1] 1231 property includes depreciable property and real property (e.g. buildings and equipment) used in a trade or business and held for more than one year. Some types of livestock, coal, timber and domestic iron ore are also included. It does not include: inventory; property held for sale in the ordinary course of business; artistic creations held by their creator; or, government publications. [2]
The 1954 version of the Internal Revenue Code included section 1231 covering certain property held by a business. [3] The original section covering this matter - namely, section 117(j) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939 - was enacted in 1942. [4] The law was originally conceived as a way to help the shipping industry during World War II.[ citation needed ]
The present version of the Internal Revenue Code has retained section 1231, with the provision now applying to both property lost in an involuntary conversion, and to the sale or exchange of certain kinds of business-use property.
A taxpayer can calculate net 1231 gains and losses, often referred to as the hotchpot, as capital gains, with the caveat that if the gain is less than any “non-recaptured losses” from the preceding five years, it is re-characterized as ordinary income [2] and is reported with Form 4797.
“Non-recaptured loss” is covered by 1231(c). This provision refers to a situation when a taxpayer claims a 1231 loss in year one, but seeks a 1231 gain in any of subsequent years two through six. Any gain which is less than or equal to the loss in year one will be characterized as ordinary income rather than long-term capital gain (which has preferred tax rates).
Gains and losses under 1231 due to casualty or theft are set aside in what is often referred to as the fire-pot (tax). These gains and losses do not enter the hotchpot unless the gains exceed the losses. If the result is a gain, both the gain and loss enter the hotchpot and are calculated with any other 1231 gains and losses. If there are more casualty loss(es) than gains, the excess is treated as an ordinary loss.
Section 1231 treatment allows taxpayers to enjoy tax-favored treatment for 1231 property gains that are greater than 1231 property losses. This means that if the asset can be sold for a value greater than its basis, it can be taxed at a capital gains rate, which is lower than an ordinary income rate. However, if the 1231 property results in a loss then the taxpayer can treat it as an ordinary loss and such a loss may reduce the taxpayer's taxable income.
This provision is said to give a taxpayer the "best of both worlds" as it allows the favorable capital gains tax rate on section 1231 property while avoiding the negative implications of capital loss treatment. Ordinary losses are 100% deductible, while capital losses are subject to an annual deduction limitation of $3,000 against ordinary income. Within this framework, if capital losses exceed capital gains by more than $3,000 in any given tax year, the portion of the deduction that may be used to offset ordinary income is limited to $3,000; the excess loss over $3,000 must be carried over to the following year.
C Corporations are not allowed to deduct capital losses against ordinary income, and must instead deduct capital losses only against capital gains. If capital losses exceed capital gains in any given tax year, the excess loss may be carried back three years and carried forward five years where it is offset against capital gains of those years. When carrying a C corporation's capital loss back or forward, the loss does not retain its character as short-term or long-term. In other words, the loss is treated as a short-term capital loss even if it was originally a long-term capital loss.
Section 1231 does not reclassify property as a capital asset. Instead, it allows the taxpayer to treat net gains on 1231 property as capital gains, but to treat net losses on such property as ordinary losses.
Congress has decided not to let this "best of both worlds" treatment give taxpayers undesired benefits beyond its purpose. This treatment would compel a taxpayer to sell a Section 1231 loss asset at the end of a year to get an ordinary loss and hold a Section 1231 gain until the next taxable year to receive capital gains treatment. To limit the impact of this undesired result, Congress included 1231(c). This is a controversial topic in U.S. taxation. [ citation needed ]
Under 1231(c), the 1231 gain that was deferred until the second year in the example above will be recharacterized as ordinary income. This is done because the taxpayer has already received the benefit of having the loss in year one treated as an ordinary loss. Thus, if the 1231 gain is disposed of after year one, but before what becomes the seventh year under 1231(c)(2)(A), it will receive ordinary income treatment. If held onto and disposed of after the seventh year, it may be treated as a capital gain.
The Tax Reform Act of 1986 (TRA) was passed by the 99th United States Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on October 22, 1986.
An expense is an item requiring an outflow of money, or any form of fortune in general, to another person or group as payment for an item, service, or other category of costs. For a tenant, rent is an expense. For students or parents, tuition is an expense. Buying food, clothing, furniture, or an automobile is often referred to as an expense. An expense is a cost that is "paid" or "remitted", usually in exchange for something of value. Something that seems to cost a great deal is "expensive". Something that seems to cost little is "inexpensive". "Expenses of the table" are expenses for dining, refreshments, a feast, etc.
A tax deduction or benefit is an amount deducted from taxable income, usually based on expenses such as those incurred to produce additional income. Tax deductions are a form of tax incentives, along with exemptions and tax credits. The difference between deductions, exemptions, and credits is that deductions and exemptions both reduce taxable income, while credits reduce tax.
Under United States tax law, itemized deductions are eligible expenses that individual taxpayers can claim on federal income tax returns and which decrease their taxable income, and are claimable in place of a standard deduction, if available.
A capital gains tax (CGT) is the tax on profits realized on the sale of a non-inventory asset. The most common capital gains are realized from the sale of stocks, bonds, precious metals, real estate, and property.
Charitable contribution deductions for United States Federal Income Tax purposes are defined in section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code as contributions to or for the use of certain nonprofit enterprises.
The rules governing partnership taxation, for purposes of the U.S. Federal income tax, are codified according to Subchapter K of Chapter 1 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Partnerships are "flow-through" entities. Flow-through taxation means that the entity does not pay taxes on its income. Instead, the owners of the entity pay tax on their "distributive share" of the entity's taxable income, even if no funds are distributed by the partnership to the owners. Federal tax law permits the owners of the entity to agree how the income of the entity will be allocated among them, but requires that this allocation reflect the economic reality of their business arrangement, as tested under complicated rules.
Capital Cost Allowance (CCA) is the means by which Canadian businesses may claim depreciation expense for calculating taxable income under the Income Tax Act (Canada). Similar allowances are in effect for calculating taxable income for provincial purposes.
Section 179 of the United States Internal Revenue Code, allows a taxpayer to elect to deduct the cost of certain types of property on their income taxes as an expense, rather than requiring the cost of the property to be capitalized and depreciated. This property is generally limited to tangible, depreciable, personal property which is acquired by purchase for use in the active conduct of a trade or business. Buildings were not eligible for section 179 deductions prior to the passage of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010; however, qualified real property may be deducted now.
The United States federal government and most state governments impose an income tax. They are determined by applying a tax rate, which may increase as income increases, to taxable income, which is the total income less allowable deductions. Income is broadly defined. Individuals and corporations are directly taxable, and estates and trusts may be taxable on undistributed income. Partnerships are not taxed, but their partners are taxed on their shares of partnership income. Residents and citizens are taxed on worldwide income, while nonresidents are taxed only on income within the jurisdiction. Several types of credits reduce tax, and some types of credits may exceed tax before credits. Most business expenses are deductible. Individuals may deduct certain personal expenses, including home mortgage interest, state taxes, contributions to charity, and some other items. Some deductions are subject to limits, and an Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) applies at the federal and some state levels.
In civil and property law, hotchpot is the blending, combining or offsetting of property to ensure equality of a later division of property.
In the United States, individuals and corporations pay a tax on the net total of all their capital gains. The tax rate depends on both the investor's tax bracket and the amount of time the investment was held. Short-term capital gains are taxed at the investor's ordinary income tax rate and are defined as investments held for a year or less before being sold. Long-term capital gains, on dispositions of assets held for more than one year, are taxed at a lower rate.
Depreciation recapture is the USA Internal Revenue Service (IRS) procedure for collecting income tax on a gain realized by a taxpayer when the taxpayer disposes of an asset that had previously provided an offset to ordinary income for the taxpayer through depreciation. In other words, because the IRS allows a taxpayer to deduct the depreciation of an asset from the taxpayer's ordinary income, the taxpayer has to report any gain from the disposal of the asset as ordinary income, not as a capital gain.
Arkansas Best Corporation v. Commissioner, 485 U.S. 212 (1988), is a United States Supreme Court decision that helps taxpayers classify whether or not the sale of an asset is an ordinary or capital gain or loss for income tax purposes.
A like-kind exchange under United States tax law, also known as a 1031 exchange, is a transaction or series of transactions that allows for the disposal of an asset and the acquisition of another replacement asset without generating a current tax liability from the sale of the first asset. A like-kind exchange can involve the exchange of one business for another business, one real estate investment property for another real estate investment property, livestock for qualifying livestock, and exchanges of other qualifying assets. Like-kind exchanges have been characterized as tax breaks or "tax loopholes".
Arrowsmith v. Commissioner, 344 U.S. 6 (1952), is a United States Supreme Court case regarding taxation. The case involves taxpayers who liquidated a corporation in 1937. The taxpayers (properly) reported the income from the liquidation as long-term capital gains, thus obtaining a preferential tax rate. Subsequent to the liquidation in 1944, the taxpayers were required to pay a judgment arising from the affairs of the liquidated corporation. The taxpayers classified this payment as an ordinary business loss, which would allow them to take a greater deduction for the loss than would be permitted for a capital loss.
Qualified Production Activities Income is a class of income which is entitled to favored tax treatment under Section 199 of the United States Internal Revenue Code.
Under U.S. Federal income tax law, a net operating loss (NOL) occurs when certain tax-deductible expenses exceed taxable revenues for a taxable year. If a taxpayer is taxed during profitable periods without receiving any tax relief during periods of NOLs, an unbalanced tax burden results. Consequently, in some situations, Congress allows taxpayers to use the losses in one year to offset the profits of other years.
For taxation in the United States, the Limits on Depreciation Deduction was enacted to limit certain deductions on depreciable assets. Section 280F is a policy that makes the Internal Revenue Code more accurate by allowing a taxpayer to report their business use on an asset they may also need for some personal reasons.
The alternative minimum tax (AMT) is a tax imposed by the United States federal government in addition to the regular income tax for certain individuals, estates, and trusts. As of tax year 2018, the AMT raises about $5.2 billion, or 0.4% of all federal income tax revenue, affecting 0.1% of taxpayers, mostly in the upper income ranges.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/1231-