Treasury Regulations · 26 CFR
§ 1.1245-1. General rule for treatment of gain from dispositions of certain depreciable property.
Regulation text, no changes From the eCFR, current as of October 15, 2026. The eCFR is an authoritative but unofficial editorial compilation of the Code of Federal Regulations; the official text is the annual CFR on govinfo. Compare it with this section on ecfr.gov (external site) or the official annual CFR on govinfo (external site).
Regulation under 26 U.S.C. § 1245
Cite as 26 CFR § 1.1245-1
At a glance
Read from the text and its source citation. Not part of the regulation.
- Status
- In the current eCFR
- Issued
- July 7, 1965 by T.D. 6832
- Last amended
- August 20, 1997 by T.D. 8730
- Issued under
- 26 U.S.C. § 1245
- Length
- 5,702 words · about 25 min to read
- Defines
- 4 terms
- Cross-references
- cites 7 Code sections and 6 regulations; cited by 14
On January 1, 1964, Brown purchases section 1245 property for use in his manufacturing business. The property has a basis for depreciation of $3,300. After taking depreciation deductions of $1,300 (the amount allowable), Brown realizes after selling expenses the amount of $2,900 upon sale of the property on January 1, 1969. Brown's gain is $900 ($2,900 amount realized minus $2,000 adjusted basis). Since the amount realized upon disposition of the property ($2,900) is lower than its recomputed basis ($3,300, i.e., $2,000 adjusted basis plus $1,300 in depreciation deductions), the entire gain is treated as ordinary income under section 1245(a)(1) and not as gain from the sale or exchange of property described in section 1231.
Assume the same facts as in example (1) except that Brown exchanges the section 1245 property for land which has a fair market value of $3,700, thereby realizing a gain of $1,700 ($3,700 amount realized minus $2,000 adjusted basis). Since the recomputed basis of the property ($3,300) is lower than the amount realized upon its disposition ($3,700), the excess of recomputed basis over adjusted basis, or $1,300, is treated as ordinary income under section 1245(a)(1). The remaining $400 of the gain may be treated as gain from the sale or exchange of property described in section 1231.
X Corporation distributes section 1245 property to its shareholders as a dividend. The property has an adjusted basis of $2,000 to the corporation, a recomputed basis of $3,300, and a fair market value of $3,100. Since the fair market value of the property ($3,100) is lower than its recomputed basis ($3,300), the excess of fair market value over adjusted basis, or $1,100, is treated under section 1245(a)(1) as ordinary income to the corporation even though, in the absence of section 1245, section 311(a) would preclude recognition of gain to the corporation.
Assume the same facts as in example (1) except that X Corporation distributes the section 1245 property to its shareholders in complete liquidation of the corporation. Assume further that section 1245(b)(3) does not apply and that the fair market value of the property is $3,800 at the time of the distribution. Since the recomputed basis of the property ($3,300) is lower than its fair market value ($3,800), the excess of recomputed basis over adjusted basis, or $1,300, is treated under section 1245(a)(1) as ordinary income to the corporation even though, in the absence of section 1245, section 336 would preclude recognition of gain to the corporation.
A partnership sells for $63 section 1245 property which has an adjusted basis to the partnership of $30 and a recomputed basis to the partnership of $60. The partnership recognizes under section 1245(a)(1) gain of $30, i.e., the lower of the amount realized ($63) or recomputed basis ($60), minus adjusted basis ($30). This result would not be changed if one or more partners had, in respect of the property, a special basis adjustment described in section 743(b) or had taken depreciation deductions in respect of such special basis adjustment.
(i) Facts. A and B each contribute $5,000 cash to form AB, a general partnership. The partnership agreement provides that depreciation deductions will be allocated 90 percent to A and 10 percent to B, and, on the sale of depreciable property, A will first be allocated gain to the extent necessary to equalize A's and B's capital accounts. Any remaining gain will be allocated 50 percent to A and 50 percent to B. In its first year of operations, AB purchases depreciable equipment for $5,000. AB depreciates the equipment over its 5-year recovery period and elects to use the straight-line method. In its first year of operations, AB's operating income equals its expenses (other than depreciation). (To simplify this example, AB's depreciation deductions are determined without regard to any first-year depreciation conventions.)
(ii) Year 1. In its first year of operations, AB has $1,000 of depreciation from the partnership equipment. In accordance with the partnership agreement, AB allocates 90 percent ($900) of the depreciation to A and 10 percent ($100) of the depreciation to B. At the end of the year, AB sells the equipment for $5,200, recognizing $1,200 of gain ($5,200 amount realized less $4,000 adjusted tax basis). In accordance with the partnership agreement, the first $800 of gain is allocated to A to equalize the partners' capital accounts, and the remaining $400 of gain is allocated $200 to A and $200 to B.
(iii) Recapture allocations. $1,000 of the gain from the sale of the equipment is treated as section 1245(a)(1) gain. Under paragraph (e)(2)(i) of this section, each partner's share of the section 1245(a)(1) gain is equal to the lesser of the partner's share of total gain recognized on the sale of the equipment or the partner's share of total depreciation with respect to the equipment. Thus, A's share of the section 1245(a)(1) gain is $900 (the lesser of A's share of the total gain ($1,000) and A's share of depreciation ($900)). B's share of the section 1245(a)(1) gain is $100 (the lesser of B's share of the total gain ($200) and B's share of depreciation ($100)). Accordingly, $900 of the $1,000 of total gain allocated to A is treated as ordinary income and $100 of the $200 of total gain allocated to B is treated as ordinary income.
(i) Facts. A, B, and C form general partnership ABC. The partnership agreement provides that depreciation deductions will be allocated equally among the partners, but that gain from the sale of depreciable property will be allocated 75 percent to A and 25 percent to B. ABC purchases depreciable personal property for $300 and subsequently allocates $100 of depreciation deductions each to A, B, and C, reducing the adjusted tax basis of the property to $0. ABC then sells the property for $440. ABC allocates $330 of the gain to A (75 percent of $440) and allocates $110 of the gain to B (25 percent of $440). No gain is allocated to C.
(ii) Application of gain limitation. Each partner's share of depreciation with respect to the property is $100. C's share of the total gain from the disposition of the property, however, is $0. As a result, under the gain limitation provision in paragraph (e)(2)(i) of this section, C's share of section 1245(a)(1) gain is limited to $0.
(iii) Excess depreciation recapture. Under paragraph (e)(2)(i) of this section, the $100 of section 1245(a)(1) gain that cannot be allocated to C under the gain limitation provision (excess depreciation recapture) is allocated to A and B (the partners not subject to the gain limitation at the time of the allocation) in proportion to their relative shares of total gain from the disposition of the property. A's relative share of the total gain allocated to A and B is 75 percent ($330 of $440 total gain). B's relative share of the total gain allocated to A and B is 25 percent ($110 of $440 total gain). However, under the gain limitation provision of paragraph (e)(2)(i) of this section, B cannot be allocated 25 percent of the excess depreciation recapture ($25) because that would result in a total allocation of $125 of depreciation recapture to B (a $100 allocation equal to B's share of depreciation plus a $25 allocation of excess depreciation recapture), which is in excess of B's share of the total gain from the disposition of the property ($110). Therefore, only $10 of excess depreciation recapture is allocated to B and the remaining $90 of excess depreciation recapture is allocated to A. A is not subject to the gain limitation because A's share of the total gain ($330) still exceeds A's share of section 1245(a)(1) gain ($190). Accordingly, all $110 of the total gain allocated to B is treated as ordinary income ($100 share of depreciation allocated to B plus $10 of excess depreciation recapture) and $190 of the total gain allocated to A is treated as ordinary income ($100 share of depreciation allocated to A plus $90 of excess depreciation recapture).
(i) Facts.C and D form partnership CD as equal partners. C contributes depreciable personal property C1 with an adjusted tax basis of $800 and a fair market value of $2,800. Prior to the contribution, C claimed $200 of depreciation from C1. At the time of the contribution, C1 is depreciable under the straight-line method and has four years remaining on its 5-year recovery period. D contributes $2,800 cash, which CD uses to purchase depreciable personal property D1, which is depreciable over seven years under the straight-line method. (To simplify the example, all depreciation is determined without regard to any first-year depreciation conventions.)
(ii) Traditional method. C1 generates $700 of book depreciation ( 1/4 of $2,800 book value) and $200 of tax depreciation ( 1/4 of $800 adjusted tax basis) each year. C and D will each be allocated $350 of book depreciation from C1 in year 1. Under the traditional method of making section 704(c) allocations, D will be allocated the entire $200 of tax depreciation from C1 in year 1. D1 generates $400 of book and tax depreciation each year ( 1/7 of $2,800 book value and adjusted tax basis). C and D will each be allocated $200 of book and tax depreciation from D1 in year 1. As a result, after the first year of partnership operations, C's share of depreciation with respect to C1 is $200 (the depreciation taken by C prior to contribution) and D's share of depreciation with respect to C1 is $200 (the amount of tax depreciation allocated to D). C and D each have a $200 share of depreciation with respect to D1. At the end of four years, C's share of depreciation with respect to C1 will be $200 (the depreciation taken by C prior to contribution) and D's share of depreciation with respect to C1 will be $800 (four years of $200 depreciation per year). At the end of four years, C and D will each have an $800 share of depreciation with respect to D1 (four years of $200 depreciation per year).
(iii) Effect of curative allocations. (A) Year 1. If the partnership elects to make curative allocations under § 1.704-3(c) using depreciation from D1, the results will be the same as under the traditional method, except that $150 of the $200 of tax depreciation from D1 that would be allocated to C under the traditional method will be allocated to D as additional depreciation with respect to C1. As a result, after the first year of partnership operations, C's share of depreciation with respect to C1 will be reduced to $50 (the total depreciation taken by C prior to contribution ($200) decreased by the amount of the curative allocation to D ($150)). D's share of depreciation with respect to C1 will be $350 (the depreciation allocated to D under the traditional method ($200) increased by the amount of the curative allocation to D ($150)). C and D will each have a $200 share of depreciation with respect to D1.
(B) Year 4. At the end of four years, C's share of depreciation with respect to C1 will be reduced to $0 (the total depreciation taken by C prior to contribution ($200) decreased, but not below zero, by the amount of the curative allocations to D ($600)), and D's share of depreciation with respect to C1 will be $1,400 (the total depreciation allocated to D under the traditional method ($800) increased by the amount of the curative allocations to D ($600)). However, CD's section 1245(a)(1) gain with respect to C1 will not be more than $1,000 (CD's tax depreciation ($800) plus C's tax depreciation prior to contribution ($200)). Under paragraph (e)(2)(ii)(C)(4) of this section, because the partners' shares of depreciation with respect to C1 exceed the adjustments reflected in the property's adjusted basis, CD's section 1245(a)(1) gain will be allocated in proportion to the partners' relative shares of depreciation with respect to C1. Because C's share of depreciation with respect to C1 is $0, and D's share of depreciation with respect to C1 is $1,400, all of CD's $1,000 of section 1245(a)(1) gain will be allocated to D. At the end of four years, C and D will each have an $800 share of depreciation with respect to D1 (four years of $200 depreciation per year).
(iv) Effect of remedial allocations. (A) Year 1. If the partnership elects to make remedial allocations under § 1.704-3(d), there will be $600 of book depreciation from C1 in year 1. (Under the remedial allocation method, the amount by which C1's book basis ($2,800) exceeds its tax basis ($800) is depreciated over a 5-year life, rather than a 4-year life.) C and D will each be allocated one-half ($300) of the total book depreciation. As under the traditional method, D will be allocated all $200 of tax depreciation from C1. Because the ceiling rule would cause a disparity of $100 between D's book and tax allocations of depreciation, D will also receive a $100 remedial allocation of depreciation with respect to C1, and C will receive a $100 remedial allocation of income with respect to C1. As a result, after the first year of partnership operations, D's share of depreciation with respect to C1 is $300 (the depreciation allocated to D under the traditional method ($200) increased by the amount of the remedial allocation ($100)). C's share of depreciation with respect to C1 is $100 (the total depreciation taken by C prior to contribution ($200) decreased by the amount of the remedial allocation of income ($100)). C and D will each have a $200 share of depreciation with respect to D1.
(B) Year 5. At the end of five years, C's share of depreciation with respect to C1 will be $0 (the total depreciation taken by C prior to contribution ($200) decreased, but not below zero, by the total amount of the remedial allocations of income to C ($600)). D's share of depreciation with respect to C1 will be $1,400 (the total depreciation allocated to D under the traditional method ($800) increased by the total amount of the remedial allocations of depreciation to D ($600)). However, CD's section 1245(a)(1) gain with respect to C1 will not be more than $1,000 (CD's tax depreciation ($800) plus C's tax depreciation prior to contribution ($200)). Under paragraph (e)(2)(ii)(C)(4) of this section, because the partners' shares of depreciation with respect to C1 exceed the adjustments reflected in the property's adjusted basis, CD's section 1245(a)(1) gain will be allocated in proportion to the partners' relative shares of depreciation with respect to C1. Because C's share of depreciation with respect to C1 is $0, and D's share of depreciation with respect to C1 is $1,400, all of CD's $1,000 of section 1245(a)(1) gain will be allocated to D. At the end of five years, C and D will each have a $1,000 share of depreciation with respect to D1 (five years of $200 depreciation per year).
A, B, and C each hold a one-third interest in calendar year partnership ABC. On December 31, 1962, the firm holds section 1245 property which has an adjusted basis of $30,000 and a recomputed basis of $33,000. Depreciation deductions in respect of the property for 1962 were $3,000. On January 1, 1963, when D purchases C's partnership interest, the election under section 754 is in effect and a $5,000 special basis adjustment is made in respect of D to his one-third share of the common partnership adjusted basis for the property. For 1963 and 1964 the partnership deducts $6,000 as depreciation in respect of the property, thereby reducing its adjusted basis to $24,000, and D deducts $2,800, i.e., his distributive share of partnership depreciation ($2,000) plus depreciation in respect of his special basis adjustment ($800). On March 15, 1965, the partnership sells the property for $48,000. Since the partnership's recomputed basis for the property ($33,000, i.e., $24,000 adjusted basis plus $9,000 in depreciation deductions) is lower than the amount realized upon the sale ($48,000), the excess of recomputed basis over adjusted basis, or $9,000, is treated as partnership gain under section 1245(a)(1). D's distributive share of such gain is $3,000 ( 1/3 of $9,000). However, the amount of gain recognized by D under section 1245 (a)(1) is only $2,800, determined as follows:
| (1) Adjusted basis: | ||
| D's portion of partnership adjusted basis (1⁄3 of $24,000) | $8,000 | |
| D's special basis adjustment as of December 31, 1964 ($5,000 minus $800) | 4,200 | |
| D's adjusted basis | $12,200 | |
| (2) Recomputed basis: | ||
| D's adjusted basis | 12,200 | |
| D's portion of partnership depreciation for 1963 and 1964, i.e., for periods after he acquired his partnership interest (1⁄3 of $6,000) | 2,000 | |
| Depreciation for 1963 and 1964 in respect of D's special basis adjustment | 800 | |
| D's recomputed basis | ||
| 15,000 | ||
| (3) D's portion of amount realized by partnership (1⁄3 of $48,000) | 16,000 | |
| (4) Gain recognized to D under section 1245(a)(1), i.e., the lower of (2) or (3), minus (1) | 2,800 | |
[T.D. 6832, 30 FR 8576, July 7, 1965, as amended by T.D. 7084, 36 FR 268, Jan. 8, 1971; T.D. 7141, 36 FR 18793, Sept. 22, 1971; T.D. 8730, 62 FR 44216, Aug. 20, 1997]
Terms defined here
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Cross-references
Computed from the citations in the text of 26 CFR.
Code sections it cites
- § 1245 Gain from dispositions of certain depreciable property
- § 1231 Property used in the trade or business and involuntary conversions
- § 311 Taxability of corporation on distribution
- § 336 Gain or loss recognized on property distributed in complete liquidation
- § 743 Special rules where section 754 election or substantial built-in loss
- § 704 Partner’s distributive share
- § 754 Manner of electing optional adjustment to basis of partnership property
Regulations it cites
- § 1.1245-2 Definition of recomputed basis.
- § 1.1245-3 Definition of section 1245 property.
- § 1.1245-4 Exceptions and limitations.
- § 1.167(a)-7 Accounting for depreciable property.
- § 1.704-3 Contributed property.
- § 1.704-1 Partner's distributive share.
Cited by 14 other regulations
- § 1.168(k)-2 Additional first year depreciation deduction for property acquired and placed in service after September 27, 2017.
- § 1.704-1 Partner's distributive share.
- § 1.704-3 Contributed property.
- § 1.751-1 Unrealized receivables and inventory items.
- § 1.871-10 Election to treat real property income as effectively connected with U.S. business.
- § 1.907(c)-1 Definitions relating to FOGEI and FORI (for taxable years beginning after December 31, 1982).
- § 1.1245-2 Definition of recomputed basis.
- § 1.1245-4 Exceptions and limitations.
- § 1.1245-6 Relation of section 1245 to other sections.
- § 1.1250-1 Gain from dispositions of certain depreciable realty.
- § 1.1251-1 General rule for treatment of gain from disposition of property used in farming where farm losses offset nonfarm income.
- § 1.1251-4 Exceptions and limitations.
- § 1.1252-1 General rule for treatment of gain from disposition of farm land.
- § 1.1252-2 Special rules.
Amendment history
From the source citation at the end of the section, newest first. T.D. is a Treasury decision; FR is the Federal Register.
- Amended by T.D. 8730 (62 FR 44216)
- Amended by T.D. 7141 (36 FR 18793)
- Amended by T.D. 7084 (36 FR 268)
- Issued by T.D. 6832 (30 FR 8576)
Where it sits in 26 CFR
- Subchapter A Income tax
- Part 1 Income taxes
- Special Rules for Determining Capital Gains and Losses
Nearby sections
- § 1.1244(d)-2 Increases in basis of section 1244 stock.
- § 1.1244(d)-3 Stock dividend, recapitalizations, changes in name, etc.
- § 1.1244(d)-4 Net operating loss deduction.
- § 1.1244(e)-1 Records to be kept.
- § 1.1245-1 General rule for treatment of gain from dispositions of certain depreciable property.
- § 1.1245-2 Definition of recomputed basis.
- § 1.1245-3 Definition of section 1245 property.
- § 1.1245-4 Exceptions and limitations.
- § 1.1245-5 Adjustments to basis.