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Level 2
posted Mar 13, 2022 9:34:24 PM

How to delete "sale of business property"

In "Your income and expenses", it shows that I have a huge amount Sale of Business Property. But I have not sold any Business Property. I clicked into Sale of Business Property(as instructed in another similar question), and there were no buttons to edit or delete. how can i find the source of this error and delete it?
please...

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1 Best answer
Expert Alumni
Mar 15, 2022 5:38:48 AM

"I tried several times to delete the form 4797, every time the page says the deletion was successful, but it's still there."

 

You are able to delete IRS Form 4797 but there are entries in the software that immediately re-generate the form.

 

You need to remove those entries but I am still unsure where you indicated that the vehicle was sold.

 

Was this done at the screen Let's get some info about this vehicle by clicking I stopped using this vehicle in 2021?  This can be reviewed under Self-employment income and expenses.  Click Edit to the right of Vehicles. Click Edit to the right of the vehicle at issue.

 

Or did you enter the sale through Federal / Income & Expenses / Your income and expenses / Other Business Situations / Sale of Business Property?

 

Once you get IRS Form 4797 removed, you can move on to DianeW777's process of:

  • Correctly removing the vehicle from service, and
  • Recording the sale outside of the business/asset entry.

@lililuo

15 Replies
Expert Alumni
Mar 14, 2022 5:24:49 AM

To clarify

did you sell a vehicle or rental home? 

Did you sell your personal home and perhaps report it as a rental sale? 

Level 2
Mar 14, 2022 10:02:31 AM

Thank you for reply.

Maybe that was the problem, I traded in a car for a new one. Maybe I made a typo here and the situation turned into a sale of business property and it showed I had a big income, now I just want to find where this error occurs and correct it.

Expert Alumni
Mar 14, 2022 10:22:17 AM

A trade-in of a business vehicle is a sale. The like-kind exchange rules expired in 2018. If you took accelerated depreciation and disposed of the vehicle before the end of its useful life, you have to recapture the depreciation.

Level 2
Mar 14, 2022 11:21:32 AM

I may not have paid attention to filling in the depreciation amount, resulting in a unusual sale amount 

Can I recalculate and refill in the depreciation amount for this car? Where can I find out?

 

Thank you so much.

Expert Alumni
Mar 14, 2022 12:08:44 PM

If you just want to get rid of the entry relating to the sale/trade-in of your car, then one option is to just delete Form 4797, Sale of Business Property, from your return.  In TurboTax online, here are the steps to delete a form:

  1. Open or continue your return in TurboTax.
  2. In the left menu, select Tax Tools and then Tools.
  3. In the pop-up window Tool Center, choose Delete a form.
  4. Select Delete next to the form/schedule/worksheet in the list and follow the instructions.

If the trade-in of the vehicle was part of your business, then you can jump-to the depreciation section in TurboTax online by entering the term "depreciation" (no need to use quotation marks) in the search bar.  Then click on the jump-to link.  

 

@lililu

Level 2
Mar 14, 2022 1:29:35 PM

Thanks for the advice, unfortunately I tried several times to delete the form 4797, every time the page says the deletion was successful, but it's still there.

Expert Alumni
Mar 14, 2022 1:55:26 PM

First you need to follow the steps to simply remove your vehicle from service.  Add the new vehicle as a separate asset like it has nothing to do with the vehicle you traded.

 

I would suggest you select it was sold/disposed of and then enter the date removed from service.  Take down all of the prior depreciation for the vehicle and the current amount. Indicate that it was not sold, simply removed from service. If you used the standard mileage rate instead of actual expenses see the chart below to figure out the depreciation on the vehicle for all years using the business mileage for each year.

  1. Add the percentage of business use for each year together for the life of the asset (from first year and every year you used it for business before trading it). Or take down all business miles for all years. 
  2. Take the total business miles divided by the total miles (all years both businesses) for the actual business use percentage.
  3. Multiply that percentage by the original full cost of the vehicle. This is the business portion of the original cost basis for the vehicle. 
  4. Write down the total depreciation expense for all years.  This is the total depreciation used on the vehicle. (actual or standard mileage portion)
  5. Now you are ready to enter the sale of the vehicle under Sale of Business Property (not the business activities).

To record the sale of a business asset (vehicle) outside of the business/asset entry.

  1. Sign into your TurboTax account:
    1. Select that you disposed of the asset and answer the questions as though it was disposed of
    1. Under Wages & Income >Other Business Situations > Sale of Business Property >Start or Revisit > Enter your sale
    2. See the images below for assistance.

Please update the issue if you need further clarification.

Level 2
Mar 15, 2022 1:31:48 AM

Your instructions are very detailed and I really appreciate it
But a bit awkward, I think there might be some bugs with turbotax online.
I followed the steps of "Wages and Income > Other Business Situations > Selling Commercial Property > Starting or Revisiting> "
Then I didn't see my sales as expected. Instead, the "Are there any other properties for sale?" screen appears.

 
 

Actually, I tried many times before posting this question. Just can't find any sales information.

 

Expert Alumni
Mar 15, 2022 5:38:48 AM

"I tried several times to delete the form 4797, every time the page says the deletion was successful, but it's still there."

 

You are able to delete IRS Form 4797 but there are entries in the software that immediately re-generate the form.

 

You need to remove those entries but I am still unsure where you indicated that the vehicle was sold.

 

Was this done at the screen Let's get some info about this vehicle by clicking I stopped using this vehicle in 2021?  This can be reviewed under Self-employment income and expenses.  Click Edit to the right of Vehicles. Click Edit to the right of the vehicle at issue.

 

Or did you enter the sale through Federal / Income & Expenses / Your income and expenses / Other Business Situations / Sale of Business Property?

 

Once you get IRS Form 4797 removed, you can move on to DianeW777's process of:

  • Correctly removing the vehicle from service, and
  • Recording the sale outside of the business/asset entry.

@lililuo

New Member
Apr 15, 2022 6:40:25 PM

I cannot delete the sale of a rental property for which I entered the wrong amounts of expenses. When I try to change the amount, Turbo Tax wants to enter my information as a totally new and additional sale (resulting in a HUGE tax increase for me.)  I want to totally delete this sale and start over, but I cannot get rid of it.  Please help.

Employee Tax Expert
Apr 17, 2022 12:35:51 PM

@kql

It depends where you entered the sale. You need to return to the same section of TurboTax in order to edit a sale you've already entered.

 

If you are looking under Rental Properties and Royalties >> Assets and there is no sale information reported for the main asset of your Rental Property, try Other Business Situations >> Sale of Business Property.

 

  1. In most cases, you will go to Assets for the Rental Property, then Edit the main residence.
  2. On the page "Tell Us More About This Rental Asset," you should have checked the box that it was sold and entered the date of the sale. If this isn't already entered, then you have not reported a sale for this asset.
  3. TurboTax will present a page for the Sale Information, basically Sales Price and Sales Expenses. You can change either amount.
  4. Continue back to the Rental Summary page to save your changes.

 

Returning Member
May 10, 2023 4:46:44 PM

THIS DOES NOT WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!

Level 1
Feb 2, 2025 12:07:55 AM

This issue still exists. Cannot delete the "Sale of business property" section. Deleting 4797 form says it deleted, but actually it doesn't.

 

I don't get it why such a simple tooling issue still exists in a big software like turbotax!

Employee Tax Expert
Feb 5, 2025 7:51:01 AM

Let's make sure that the sale of business property has been deleted in you return.  Follow the steps listed in the following TurboTax help article:

 

How do I edit or delete the sale of a business property I've already entered (Form 4797)?

If the form has been deleted and you still have problems, you should clear the cache and cookies.  
 

How to clear your cache

 

@gauravhalbe 

New Member
Feb 7, 2025 4:48:39 AM

This answer is the most helpful answer!! I have been tried for the last 1.5 hours to remove that sale! 😭

thank you so much!!