Form 6252: Installment Sale Income

A tax form distributed by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that is used to report income from a sale of real or personal property coming from an installment sale. Proceeds from an installment sale can come in later tax years, which are reported unless the taxpayer is not using the installment method.

Income from the sale of a depreciable property that is sold to a related party is not allowed to be reported using the installment method unless the seller can prove that the purpose of the sale was not an avoidance of income tax.

Taxpayers do not have to file Form 6252 if the sale results in no gain, even if payments are received in a subsequent tax year. If this is the case, a business should report the sale using Form 4797.