Mr. A, a cash-basis taxpayer, sold his business in the current year for $120,000. The contract allocated $40,000 to inventory and $80,000 to real property. The book value of the inventory was $38,000. The real property had a cost of $40,000 and depreciation claimed on a straight-line basis was $20,000. In the current year, Mr. A received a down payment of $60,000 of which $40,000 was payment for the inventory. Mr. A had no other Sec. 1231 transactions. What is the amount and nature of the gain that Mr. A should report in the current year using the installment method?

$2,000 ordinary gain and $15,000 long term capital gains

Explanation:

Under the installment method, the taxpayer will recognize gains based on the installments that they actually receive, not the whole contract. This method is generally used for real estate transactions that involve installments payments during several years.

In this case, Mr A received $60,000:

$40,000 for inventory, so gain = $40,000 - $38,000 = $2,000 ordinary gain

$20,000 for real property (25% of transaction price) = $20,000 x [($40,000 - $20,000) x 25%] = $20,000 - $5,000 = $15,000 long term capital gains

d, conspicuous consumption is when you try to increase your wealth or social status (and in the case he's trying to create the perception of wealth considering he can't really afford it)