Investors & landlords

Sorry Ray, your response did not really clear up any of my confusion. I do understand WHAT an installment sale is, and how to enter the info. It's the "Rental Properties and Royalties" section that seems contradictory.

I start entering the rental property info the same way that I have for the past umpteen years that I've used TurboTax...

But I know this time will be different, because I sold the property in mid-2020. So when I get to THIS page:

 The directions seem clear that I should not check that box, because it's an installment sale. But then when I do get to the "Less Common Income" section and begin entering the installment sale info, I eventually get to this screen:

 And when I answer "No", (because I left the "sold" box unchecked in the previous section), I get this message:

So, am I supposed to leave the box UNchecked, enter all my expenses for the first half of 2020 prior to the sale, then move on to the section to enter the installment sale info, and then come back to the previous section and check the box?

It's very frustrating to be confused with what should be the "easy part". I haven't even reached cost basis and depreciation recapture yet!