Section 701.40.57. Installment sales by taxpayers using the accrual method of accounting.

For tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2000, and prior to January 1, 2002, taxpayers who use the accrual method of accounting and who have sales or exchanges of property that they reported on the installment method for federal income tax purposes must report the total amount of the gain or loss from the transaction in the tax year of the sale or exchange pursuant to Section 453 of the Internal Revenue Code as amended up to and including January 1, 2000.

Example 1.  Taxpayer Jones uses the accrual method of accounting for reporting income. In 2001, Mr.   Jones sold farmland he had held for eight years for $200,000 which resulted in a capital gain of $50,000. For federal income tax purposes, Mr.       Jones elected to report the transaction on the installment basis, where he reported $12,500 of the gain on his 2001 federal return and will report capital gains of $12,500 on each of his federal returns for the 2002, 2003 and 2004 tax years.

However, for Iowa income tax purposes, Mr.  Jones must report on his 2001 Iowa return the entire capital gain of $50,000 from the land sale. Although Taxpayer Jones must report a capital gain of $12,500 on each of his federal income tax returns for 2002, 2003 and 2004, from the installment sale of the farmland in 2001, he will not have to include the installments of $12,500 on his Iowa income tax returns for those three tax years because Mr.           Jones had reported the entire capital gain of $50,000 from the 2001 transaction on his 2001 Iowa income tax return.

Example 2.  Taxpayer Smith uses the accrual method of accounting for reporting income. In 2002, Mr.  Smith sold farmland he had held for eight years for $500,000 which resulted in a capital gain of $100,000. For federal income tax purposes, Mr.     Smith elected to report the transaction on the installment basis, where he reported $20,000 of the gain on his 2002 federal return and will report the remaining capital gains on federal returns for the four subsequent tax years. Because this installment sale occurred in 2002, Mr.            Smith shall report $20,000 of the capital gain on his Iowa income tax return for 2002 and will report the balance of the capital gains from the installment sale on Iowa returns for the next four tax years, the same as reported on his federal returns for those years.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code section 422.7 as amended by 2002 Iowa Acts, House File 2116.