Publication 544 - Introductory Material
Important Reminders
Dispositions of U.S. real property interests by foreign persons. If you are a foreign person or firm and you sell or otherwise dispose of a U.S. real property interest, the buyer (or other transferee) may have to withhold income tax on the amount you receive for the property (including cash, the fair market value of other property, and any assumed liability). Corporations, partnerships, trusts, and estates also may have to withhold on certain U.S. real property interests they distribute to you. You must report these dispositions and distributions and any income tax withheld on your U.S. income tax return. For more information on dispositions of U.S. real property interests, see Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens.
Foreign source income. If you are a U.S. citizen with income from dispositions of property outside the United States (foreign income), you must report all such income on your tax return unless it is exempt from U.S. law. This is true whether you reside inside or outside the United States and whether or not you receive a Form 1099 from the foreign payor.
Photographs of missing children. The Internal Revenue Service is a proud partner with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Photographs of missing children selected by the Center may appear in this publication on pages that would otherwise be blank. You can help bring these children home by looking at the photographs and calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) if you recognize a child.
Introduction
You dispose of property when any of the following occurs.
You sell property.
You exchange property for other property.
Your property is condemned or disposed of under threat of condemnation.
Your property is repossessed.
You abandon property.
You give property away.
This publication explains the tax rules that apply when you dispose of property. It discusses the following topics.
How to figure a gain or loss.
Whether your gain or loss is ordinary or capital.
How to treat your gain or loss when you dispose of business property.
How to report a gain or loss.
This publication also explains whether your gain is taxable or your loss is deductible.
This publication does not discuss certain transactions covered in other IRS publications. These include the following.
Most transactions involving stocks, bonds, options, forward and futures contracts, and similar investments. See chapter 4 of Publication 550, Investment Income and Expenses.
Sale of your main home. See Publication 523, Selling Your Home.
Installment sales. See Publication 537, Installment Sales.
Transfers of property at death. See Publication 559, Survivors, Executors, and Administrators.
Forms to file
When you dispose of property, you usually will have to file one or more of the following forms.
Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains and Losses.
Form 4797, Sales of Business Property.
Form 8824, Like-Kind Exchanges.
Comments and suggestions
We welcome your comments about this publication and your suggestions for future editions. You can write to us at the following address.
Internal Revenue Service
Business Forms and Publications Branch
SE:W:CAR:MP:T:B
1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6526
Washington, DC 20224
You can email us at *taxforms@irs.gov. (The asterisk must be included in the address.) Please put “Publications Comment” on the subject line. Although we cannot respond individually to each email, we do appreciate your feedback and will consider your comments as we revise our tax products.
