Selling rental property or business real estate can trigger several different federal tax rules. Learn how Section 1231 gains and losses are calculated, how depreciation recapture and the five year lookback rule affect the result, and how installment sales, cost segregation, suspended passive losses, and Section 1031 exchanges fit into the analysis.

Real estate professional status can allow rental real estate losses to become nonpassive, but the rules require more than simply working 750 hours in real estate. Learn how the 750 hour and more than 50 percent tests work, how spouse hours and material participation are treated, when rental properties can be combined, and what the Tax Court decision in Mirch v. Commissioner teaches about documenting participation.

Rental income does not automatically threaten an S corporation election. The risk generally arises when the corporation has accumulated earnings and profits and more than 25 percent of gross receipts are passive investment income. Learn how the active rental exception, Section 1375 tax, three year termination rule, and E&P planning options work.