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Siva Nathaniel owns various plots of land in Fulton County, Georgia. He aquired

ID: 1191155 • Letter: S

Question

Siva Nathaniel owns various plots of land in Fulton County, Georgia. He aquired the land at various times during the last 20 years. About every fourth year, Siva subdivides into lots one of the property he owns. He then has water, sewer, natural gas, and electricity hookups put in each lot and paves new streets. Siva has always treated his sales of such lots as sales of capital assets. His previous tax returns were prepared by an accountant whose practice you recently purchased. Has the proper tax treatment been used on the prior tax returns? Explain.

Explanation / Answer

Gain on sale of land is a capital gain / receipt. Hence if he is selling the land as capital assets he is correctly treating the sale of land as they generate capital gains.