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kecw2200
New Member

Loss on sale of property to a relative or related party

What if there is a loss on the sale of a rental property to a relative?

We sold a rental property to a family member at a loss. 

We had owned the property two and a half years and they paid us a fair market rent the whole time.


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3 Replies
MartinW
New Member

Loss on sale of property to a relative or related party

Hi kecw2200,

If the transaction is directly or indirectly between you and a relative, you cannot deduct a loss on the sale or trade of property.

Related Party Transactions

Special rules apply to the sale or trade of property between related parties.

Gain on Sale or Trade of Depreciable Property

Your gain from the sale or trade of property to a related party may be ordinary income, rather than capital gain, if the property can be depreciated by the party receiving it. See chapter 3 in Publication 544 for more information.

Like-Kind Exchanges

Generally, if you trade business or investment property for other business or investment property of a like kind, no gain or loss is recognized. See Like-Kind Exchanges , earlier, under Nontaxable Trades.

This rule also applies to trades of property between related parties, defined next under Losses on Sales or Trades of Property. However, if either you or the related party disposes of the like property within 2 years after the trade, you both must report any gain or loss not recognized on the original trade on your return for the year in which the later disposition occurs.

This rule generally does not apply to:

  • Dispositions due to the death of either related party,

  • Involuntary conversions (see chapter 1 of Publication 544), or

  • Trades and later dispositions whose main purpose is not the avoidance of federal income tax.

If a property holder's risk of loss on the property is substantially diminished during any period, that period is not counted in determining whether the property was disposed of within 2 years. The property holder's risk of loss is substantially diminished by:

  • The holding of a put on the property,

  • The holding by another person of a right to acquire the property, or

  • A short sale or any other transaction.

Losses on Sales or Trades of Property

You cannot deduct a loss on the sale or trade of property, other than a distribution in complete liquidation of a corporation, if the transaction is directly or indirectly between you and the following related parties.

  • Members of your family. This includes only your brothers and sisters, half-brothers and half-sisters, spouse, ancestors (parents, grandparents, etc.), and lineal descendants (children, grandchildren, etc.).

  • A partnership in which you directly or indirectly own more than 50% of the capital interest or the profits interest.

  • A corporation in which you directly or indirectly own more than 50% in value of the outstanding stock (see Constructive ownership of stock , later).

  • A tax-exempt charitable or educational organization directly or indirectly controlled, in any manner or by any method, by you or by a member of your family, whether or not this control is legally enforceable.

 
In addition, a loss on the sale or trade of property is not deductible if the transaction is directly or indirectly between the following related parties.

  • A grantor and fiduciary, or the fiduciary and beneficiary, of any trust.

  • Fiduciaries of two different trusts, or the fiduciary and beneficiary of two different trusts, if the same person is the grantor of both trusts.

  • A trust fiduciary and a corporation of which more than 50% in value of the outstanding stock is directly or indirectly owned by or for the trust, or by or for the grantor of the trust.

  • A corporation and a partnership if the same persons own more than 50% in value of the outstanding stock of the corporation and more than 50% of the capital interest, or the profits interest, in the partnership.

  • Two S corporations if the same persons own more than 50% in value of the outstanding stock of each corporation.

  • Two corporations, one of which is an S corporation, if the same persons own more than 50% in value of the outstanding stock of each corporation.

  • An executor and a beneficiary of an estate (except in the case of a sale or trade to satisfy a pecuniary bequest).

  • Two corporations that are members of the same controlled group (under certain conditions, however, these losses are not disallowed but must be deferred).

  • Two partnerships if the same persons own, directly or indirectly, more than 50% of the capital interests or the profit interests in both partnerships.

I’ve included a link to the IRS website for your reference:

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p550/ch04.html#en_US_2013_publink100010462

I hope this resolves your question. If you need further help with this issue, please respond to this post.

Thank you for choosing TurboTax!



    kecw2200
    New Member

    Loss on sale of property to a relative or related party

    No mention of the sale being to a relative....that is the issue...

    La-Quinda
    New Member

    Loss on sale of property to a relative or related party

    Hello keow2200,

    I would be delighted to assist you. To my understanding you want to report a loss of saling of a rental property. The sale would be entered in TurboTax under Investment Income, Stocks Bonds and Other. Real estate sales are listed under Other.

    I hope this information was helpful.  Please continue to be a valued customer here at TurboTax and have a wonderful dayI Please feel free to ask any further questions.

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