Fillable Form 6252 (2021)

What is Form 6252?

Form 6252, Installment Sale Income, is used by taxpayers to report their income that came from the sale of real or personal property which was derived from an installment sale. An installment sale may occur whenever one payment from the disposition of property is received after the end of the tax year.

Taxpayers do not have to fill out Form 6252 for sales that did not result in gain even if they received payment in a tax year after the year of sale.

How to fill out Form 6252?

Taxpayers can download and print a PDF copy of Form 6252 from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website that they can manually complete. They can also fill out Form 6252 electronically on PDFRun.

To fill out Form 6252, you must provide the following information:

Names Shown on Return

Enter all of the full legal names shown on your tax return.

Identifying Number

Enter the identifying number for your tax return.

Line 1. Description of property

Enter the description for your property.

Line 2a. Date acquired

Enter the date when you acquired your property using the format: Month-Day-Year.

Line 2b. Date sold

Enter the date when you sold your property using the format: Month-Day-Year.

Line 3. Was the property sold to a related party after May 14, 1980?

Mark YES if your property was sold to a related party after May 14, 1980; otherwise, mark NO.

If you answered NO, do not answer the question in line 4.

Line 4. Was the property you sold to a related party a marketable security?

Mark YES if the property you sold to a related party was a marketable security; otherwise, mark NO.

If you marked YES, you must complete Part 3 of this form.

If you marked NO, you must complete Part 3 of this form for the year of sale and the 2 years after the year of sale.

Part 1. Gross Profit and Contract Price

Complete this part of the form for all the years of the installment agreement.

Line 5. Selling price including mortgages and other debts

Enter the selling price of your property including its mortgages and other debts. Do not include any interest whether it's stated or unstated.

Line 6. Mortgages, debts, and other liabilities the buyer assumed or took the property subject to

Enter any mortgages, debts, and other liabilities the buyer has assumed or took the property subject to.

Line 7. Subtract line 6 from line 5

Subtract the amount in line 6 from the amount in line 5.

Line 8. Cost or other basis of property sold

Enter the cost or other basis of the property you have sold.

Line 9. Depreciation allowed or allowable

Enter the amount of depreciation that is allowed.

Line 10. Adjusted basis. Subtract line 9 from line 8

Enter the amount of adjusted basis by subtracting the amount in line 9 from the amount in line 8.

Line 11. Commissions and other expenses of sale

Enter the amount of commissions and other expenses of the sale of property.

Line 12. Income recapture from Form 4797, Sales of Business Property

Enter the amount of income recapture from Form 4797, Sales of Business Property.

Line 13. Add lines 10, 11, and 12

Add the amounts in lines 10, 11, and 12 and enter the total amount.

Line 14. Subtract line 13 from line 5

Subtract the amount in line 13 from the amount in line 15. If the amount is zero or less, do not complete the rest of this form.

Line 15. Amount of your excluded gain

Enter the amount of your excluded gain if the property described on line 1 was your main home.

Line 16. Gross profit

Enter the amount of your gross profit by subtracting the amount in line 15 from the amount in line 14.

Line 17. Subtract line 13 from line 6

Subtract the amount in line 13 from the amount in line 6. If the amount is zero or less, enter “0.”

Line 18. Contract price

Enter the contract price by adding the amount in line 7 and the amount in line 17.

Part 2. Installment Sale Income

Complete this part of the form for all the years of the installment agreement.

Line 19. Gross profit percentage

Enter the gross profit percentage expressed as a decimal point by dividing the amount in line 16 by the amount in line 18.

Line 20. Enter the amount from line 17

Enter the amount in line 17 if this year is the current year of sale; otherwise, enter “0.”

Line 21. Payments received during the year

Enter the amount of payments you have received during the year. Do not include any interest whether it is stated or unstated.

Line 22. Add lines 20 and 21

Add the amount in line 20 and the amount in line 21.

Line 23. Payments received in prior years

Enter the amount of payments you have received in the prior years. Do not include any interest whether it is stated or unstated.

Line 24. Installment sale income

Enter the installment sale income by multiplying the amount in line 22 by the amount in line 19.

Line 25. Ordinary income under the recapture rules

Enter the part of line 24 that is ordinary income under the recapture rules.

Line 26. Subtract line 25 from line 24

Subtract the amount in line 25 from the amount in line 24 and enter the amount.

Part 3. Related Party Installment Sale Income

Do not complete this section if you have received the final payment this tax year.

Line 27. Name, address, and taxpayer identifying number of related party

Enter the full legal name, residential address, and taxpayer identification number (TIN) of the related party.

Line 28. Did the related party resell or dispose of the property during this tax year?

Mark YES if the related party resold or disposed of the property during this tax year.

Line 29. Continuation to question 28

If you marked YES to the question in line 28, complete lines 30 through 37 and mark the appropriate box that applies to your disposition. You may select:

• The second disposition was more than 2 years after the first disposition. If you marked this box, enter the date of disposition using the format: Month-Day-Year.
• The first disposition was a sale or exchange of stock to the issuing corporation.
• The second disposition was an involuntary conversion and the threat of conversion occurred after the first disposition.
• The second disposition occurred after the death of the original seller or buyer.
• It can be established to the satisfaction of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that tax avoidance wasn’t a principal purpose for either of the dispositions. If you marked this box, attach an explanation along with this form.

Line 30. Selling price of property sold by related party

Enter the selling price of the property sold by the related party.

Line 31. Contract price from line 18 for the year of first sale

Enter the contract price from line 18 for the year of the first sale.

Line 32. Line 30 or line 31

Enter the smaller amount between line 30 and line 31.

Line 33. Total payments received by the end of your 2021 tax year

Enter the total payments you have received by the end of your 2021 tax year.

Line 34. Subtract line 33 from line 32

Subtract the amount in line 33 from the amount in line 32. If the amount is zero or less, enter “0.”

Line 35. Multiply line 34 by the gross profit percentage

Multiply the amount in line 34 by the gross profit percentage in line 19 for the year of first sale.

Line 36. Ordinary income under the recapture rules

Enter the part of line 35 that is ordinary income under the recapture rules.

Line 37. Subtract line 36 from line 35

Subtract the amount in line 36 from the amount in line 35 and enter the amount.