Reg. § 1.1252-1 General rule for treatment of gain from disposition of farm land.
(a) Ordinary income
(1) General rule
(i) Except as otherwise provided in this section and , if farm land is disposed of during a taxable year beginning after December 31, 1969, then under section there shall be treated as gain from the sale or exchange of property which is neither a capital asset nor property described in section (that is, shall be recognized as ordinary income) the lower of:
(a) The applicable percentage of the amount computed in subdivision (ii) of this subparagraph, or
(b) The amount computed in subdivision (iii) of this subparagraph.
(ii) The amount computed in this subdivision is an amount equal to:
(a) The aggregate of the deductions allowed, in any taxable year any day of which falls within the period the taxpayer held (or is considered to have held) the farm land, under sections (relating to soil and water conservation expenditures) and 182 (relating to expenditures by farmers for clearing land) for expenditures paid or incurred after December 31, 1969, with respect to the farm land disposed of, minus
(b) The amount of gain recognized as ordinary income under section (relating to gain from disposition of property used in farming where farm losses offset nonfarm income) upon such disposition of such land.
(iii) The amount computed in this subdivision is an amount equal to:
(a) The gain realized, that is, the excess of the amount realized (in the case of a sale, exchange, or involuntary conversion) or the fair market value of the farm land (in the case of any other disposition), over the adjusted basis of the farm land, minus
(b) The amount of gain recognized as ordinary income under section upon such disposition of such land.
(iv) If a deduction under section is allowed in respect of the farm land disposed of for a taxable year every day of which falls within the period after the taxpayer held (or is considered to have held) the farm land, and if the deduction is attributable to expenditures paid or incurred after December 31, 1969, with respect to such land during the period the taxpayer held (or is considered to have held) the land, then the amount of such deduction shall be applied to increase the amount computed (without regard to this subdivision) under subdivision (ii)(a) of this subparagraph.
(2) Application of section Any gain treated as ordinary income under section shall be recognized as ordinary income notwithstanding any other provision of subtitle A of the Code. For special rules with respect to the application of section , see . For the relation of section to other provisions see of this section.
(3) Meaning of terms For purposes of section :
(i) The term farm land means any land with respect to which deductions have been allowed under section or . See section .
(ii) The period for which farm land shall be considered to be held shall be determined under section .
(iii) The term disposition shall have the same meaning as in .
(iv) The applicable percentage shall be determined as follows:
| If the farm land is disposed of— | The applicablepercentage is— |
| Within 5 years after the date it was acquired | 100 percent. |
| Within the sixth year after it was acquired | 80 percent. |
| Within the seventh year after it was acquired | 60 percent. |
| Within the eighth year after it was acquired. | 40 percent. |
| Within the ninth year after it was acquired. | 20 percent. |
| Within the 10th year after it was acquired and thereafter. | 0 percent. |
(4) Portion of parcel The amount of gain to be recognized as ordinary income under section shall be determined separately for each parcel of farm land in a manner consistent with the principles of subparagraphs (4) and
(5) of (relating to gain from disposition of certain depreciable property). If
(i) only a portion of a parcel of farm land is disposed of in a transaction, or if two or more portions of a single parcel are disposed of in one transaction, and
(ii) the aggregate of the deductions allowed under sections and with respect to any such portion cannot be established to the satisfaction of the Commissioner or his delegate, then the aggregate of the deductions in respect of the entire parcel shall be allocated to each portion in proportion to the fair market value of each at the time of the disposition.
(b) Instances of non-application
(1) In general Section does not apply if a taxpayer disposes of farm land for which the holding period is in excess of 9 years or with respect to which no deductions have been allowed under sections and .
(2) Losses Section does not apply to losses. Thus, section does not apply if a loss is realized upon a sale, exchange, or involuntary conversion of property, all of which is farm land, nor does the section apply to a disposition of such property other than by way of sale, exchange, or involuntary conversion if at the time of the disposition the fair market value of such property is not greater than its adjusted basis.
(c) Treatment of partnerships and partners [Reserved]
(d) Relation of section 1252 to other provisions
(1) General The provisions of section apply notwithstanding any other provisions of subtitle A of the Code. Thus, unless an exception or limitation under applies, gain under section is recognized notwithstanding any contrary nonrecognition provision or income characterizing provision. For example, since section overrides section (relating to property used in the trade or business), the gain recognized under section upon a disposition of farm land will be treated as ordinary income and only the remaining gain, if any, from the disposition may be considered as gain from the sale or exchange of a capital asset if section is applicable. See example (1) of of this section.
(2) Nonrecognition sections overridden The nonrecognition of gain provisions of subtitle A of the Code which section overrides include, but are not limited to, sections , , , , and . See for the extent to which section overrides sections , , , 371(a), , , , , and .
(3) Installment method Gain from a disposition to which section applies may be reported under the installment method if such method is otherwise available under section 453 of the Code. In such case, the income (other than interest) on each installment payment shall
(i) first be deemed to consist of gain to which section applies (if applicable) until all such gain has been reported,
(ii) the next portion (if any) of such income shall be deemed to consist of gain to which section applies until all such gain has been reported, and
(iii) finally the remaining portion (if any) of such income shall be deemed to consist of gain to which neither section nor 1252(a)(1) applies. For treatment of amounts as interest on certain deferred payments, see section .
(4) Exempt income With regard to exempt income, the principles of shall be applicable.
(5) Treatment of gain not recognized under section 1252(a)(1) For treatment of gain not recognized under this section, the principles of shall be applicable.
(e) Examples The provisions of this section may be illustrated by the following examples:
Example 1. Individual A uses the calendar year as his taxable year. On April 10, 1975, he sells for $75,000 a parcel of farm land which he had acquired on January 5, 1970, with an adjusted basis of $52,500 for a realized gain of $22,500. The aggregate of the deductions allowed under sections and with respect to such land is $18,000 and all of such amount was allowed for 1970. Under the stated facts, none of the $22,500 gain realized is recognized as ordinary income under section as there is no potential gain (as defined in section ) with respect to the farm land. Since no gain is recognized as ordinary income under section , and since the applicable percentage, 80 percent, of the aggregate of the deductions allowed under sections and , $18,000, or $14,400, is lower than the gain realized, $22,500, the amount of gain recognized as ordinary income under section is $14,400. The remaining $8,100 of the gain may be treated as gain from the sale or exchange of property described in section .
Example 2.
Assume the same facts as in example (2) of . Assume further that the aggregate of the amount of sections and deductions allowable to the M corporation is equal to the amount allowed. Under paragraph (a)(1) of the section, $5,000 is recognized as ordinary income under section upon the disposition of the land as a dividend, computed as follows:
| (1) Aggregate of deductions allowed under sections 175 and 182 | $18,000 |
| (2) Minus: Gain recognized as ordinary income under section 1251(c)(1) | $13,000 |
| (3) Difference | $5,000 |
| (4) Multiply: Applicable percentage for property disposed of within the fifth year after it was acquired | 100% |
| (5) Amount in paragraph (a)(1)(i)(a) of this section | $5,000 |
| (6) Gain realized (fair market value $67,500, less adjusted basis, $45,000) | $22,500 |
| (7) Minus: Amount in line (2) | $13,000 |
| (8) Amount in paragraph (a)(1)(i)(b) of this section | $9,500 |
| (9) Lower of line (5) or line (8) | $5,000 |
The gain realized, $22,500, minus the sum of the gain recognized as ordinary income under section , $13,000, and under section , $5,000, equals $4,500. Assuming section (relating to certain distributions of appreciated property to redeem stock) does not apply, under section the corporation does not recognize gain on account of the $4,500.
Example 3.
Assume the same facts as in example (2) of this paragraph, except that M contracted to sell the land for $67,500 which would be paid in 10 equal payments of $6,750 each, plus a sufficient amount of interest so that section does not apply. Assume further that the remaining gain of $4,500 is treated as gain from the sale or exchange of property described in section . M properly elects under section to report under the installment method gain of $13,000 to which section applies, gain of $5,000 to which section applies, and gain of $4,500 to which section applies. Since the total gain realized on the sale was $22,500, the gross profit realized on each installment payment is $2,250, i.e., $6,750 × ($67,500). Accordingly, the treatment of the income to be reported on each installment payment is as follows:
| Payment No. | Applicable sections | 1251 | 1252 | 1231 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,250 | |||
| 2 | 2,250 | |||
| 3 | 2,250 | |||
| 4 | 2,250 | |||
| 5 | 2,250 | |||
| 6 | 1,750 | $500 | ||
| 7 | 2,250 | |||
| 8 | 2,250 | |||
| 9 | $2,250 | |||
| 10 | 2,250 | |||
| Totals | 13,000 | 5,000 | 4,500 |
[T.D. 7418, 41 FR 18831, May 7, 1976; 41 FR 23669, June 11, 1976]