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TwitterWe recently received proceeds from a land sale. There were several parties to this transaction. From what I can tell, my wife was deeded her portion of the land at the same time that the sale went through, so she never actually owned any of the land before the sale took place. We set aside some of the proceeds to pay the taxes, but I would like to break the owed taxes into payments and spread it out.
Can you defer or break up tax payments on the proceeds of the sale of land.?
November 5th, 2009 
Pete 
Posted in Uncategorized 
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under the circumstances you describe, no
taxes are due under the estimated tax rules and final payment rules as described in IRS publications. further, you have the funds to make the payments.
you do not have the right to use the government’s tax money to invest with or speculate in the markets with beyond what the law already allows.
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the only chances to do that would have required either a 1031 exchange deal [under which you receive no cash but instead another property] or an installment sale of the property [in which you receive less than 30% of the amount due in the first year and regular payments thereafter].
You’re only allowed to spread out capital losses…not gains. If there was a gain on the sale you need to pay taxes in the year proceeds were received. PEACE!
I’m not convinced that you actually owe taxes. In fact, you may be able to take a loss. If she didn’t own it before the sale date, then her “cost basis” would be the value as of the acquisition date, which is going to be the same as the market value so the gain is zero.
Was this a gift? If so, then different rules apply.
You should seek professional advice from a CPA