A Business Taxpayer Sold All the Depreciable Assets of the Business

Essay

A business taxpayer sold all the depreciable assets of the business, calculated the gains and losses, and would like to know the final character of those gains and losses. The taxpayer had $353,000 of adjusted gross income before considering the gains and losses from sale of the business assets. The taxpayer had unrecaptured § 1231 lookback loss of $22,000. What is the treatment of the gains and losses summarized in the following table after all possible netting and reclassification have been completed? What is the taxpayer's adjusted gross income? (Ignore the self- employment tax deduction.) $$\begin{array} { l c c c c } \text { Asset } & \text { Purchase Date } & \text { Sale Date } & \text { Depreciation } & \text { Gain (Loss) } \\\text { Machine 1 } & 10 / 10 / 17 & 11 / 11 / 19 & \$ 323,000 & \$ 66,000 \\\text { Machine 2 } & 10 / 02 / 16 & 11 / 11 / 19 & 65,000 & ( 15,000 ) \\\text { Machine 3 } & 09 / 23 / 15 & 11 / 11 / 19 & 183,000 & 23,000 \\\text { Machine 4 } & 09 / 23 / 15 & 11 / 11 / 19 & 28,000 & 34,000\end{array}$$