Installment Sales Revision Act of 1980
Latest action. Referred to Senate Committee on Finance.
Installment Sales Revision Act of 1980 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the rules for reporting gain on the sale of real and personal property under the installment sales method. Eliminates the requirement that the seller, under an installment sales agreement, receive no more than 30 percent of the selling price in the taxable year of the sale. Eliminates the $1,000 minimum sales price requirement with respect to the casual sale of personalty under an installment sales agreement. Defines "installment sale" as a disposition of property in which at least one payment is made after the taxable year in which the disposition occurs (presently, Internal Revenue Service regulations require two or more subsequent payments). Excludes from installment sales treatment dispositions of personal property by individuals who regularly deal in such property and dispositions of inventories of personal property. Provides that all sales of real and personal property which qualify under the terms of this Act as installment sales shall be automatically treated as such, unless the taxpayer elects out of such treatment. Accelerates the recognition of gain from the installment sale of property (other than marketable securities) by a taxpayer to a related individual (spouse, children, grandchildren, and parents, but not brothers and sisters) if the related individual disposes of the property to a third party before the taxpayer receives all payments with respect to such disposition. Specifies that such acceleration shall occur only if the date of the disposition to the third party is not more than two years after the date of the original disposition. Limits the amount of gain which the taxpayer must recognize from the disposition of the property by a related individual to a third party to the excess of the amount realized by the second sale over the actual payments made under the original installment sale. Exempts from the operation of the related party disposition rule the following transactions: (1) reacquisitions of stock by issuing corporations; (2) involuntary conversions if the original installment sale occurred before the threat of condemnation; (3) dispositions after the death of the taxpayer or the related party; and (4) dispositions which do not evidence tax avoidance as a principal purpose. Excludes the receipt of like-kind property in determining gain recognized for installment sale reporting purposes (reverses the Internal Revenue Service regulation which holds that the receipt of like-kind property results in the recognition of installment gain even though the taxpayer receives no cash in the transaction). Provides for the nonrecognition of gain from the receipt by a shareholder of installment obligations as liquidating obligations from a corporation which adopts a 12 month plan of liquidation as provided for under specified provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. Treats the cancellation of an installment obligation as a disposition of such obligation, thus requiring the immediate recognition of gain realized from the installment sale. Requires the market value of a cancelled obligation to be stated at not less than its face amount if the obligor and obligee are related individuals. Treats as a reacquisition by the seller, with no recognition of gain or loss, the acquisition of real property by a taxpayer holding an installment obligation acquired from a decedent, which is indebtedness to such seller. Increases the basis of real property so acquired by the amount of the estate tax deduction allowed for income received in respect of a decedent which would otherwise have been allowable to the taxpayer with respect to the gain on the exchange of the obligation for the real property.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on March 19, 1980. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on March 19, 1980: Referred to Senate Committee on Finance.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
RUSSELL LONG (D-LA) introduced it on March 19, 1980, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 19, 1980, 16976 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16976 days ago, on March 19, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers