Publication 537 - Introductory Material
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.
Note. Section references within this publication are to the Internal Revenue Code and regulation references are to the Income Tax
Regulations under the Code.
An installment sale is a sale of property where you receive at least one payment after the tax year of the sale. If you realize
a gain on an installment sale, you may be able to report part of your gain when you receive each payment. This method of reporting
gain is called the installment method. You cannot use the installment method to report a loss. You can choose to report all
of your gain in the year of sale.
This publication discusses the general rules that apply to using the installment method. It also discusses more complex rules
that apply only when certain conditions exist or certain types of property are sold. There are two examples of reporting installment
sale income on Form 6252 near the end of the publication.
If you sell your home or other nonbusiness property under an installment plan, you may need to read only the General Rules. If you sell business or rental property or have a like-kind exchange or other complex situation, also see the appropriate
discussion under Other Rules, later.
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
Individual Forms and Publications Branch
SE:W:CAR:MP:T:I
1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6526
Washington, DC 20224
We respond to many letters by telephone. Therefore, it would be helpful if you would include your daytime phone number,
including the area code, in your correspondence.
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.
Ordering forms and publications.
Visit
www.irs.gov/formspubs to download forms and publications, call 1-800-829-3676, or write to the address below and receive a response within 10 days
after your request is received.
Internal Revenue Service
1201 N. Mitsubishi Motorway
Bloomington, IL 61705-6613
Tax questions.
If you have a tax question, check the information available on
www.irs.gov or call 1-800-829-1040. We cannot answer tax questions sent to either of the above addresses.
Useful Items - You may want to see:
Publication
-
523
Selling Your Home
-
538
Accounting Periods and Methods
-
541
Partnerships
-
544
Sales and Other Dispositions of Assets
-
550
Investment Income and Expenses
-
551
Basis of Assets
-
925
Passive Activity and At-Risk Rules
See How To Get Tax Help near the end of this publication for information about getting publications and forms.
