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In accounting, the revenue recognition principle states that revenues are earned and recognized when they are realized or realizable, no matter when cash is received. It is a cornerstone of accrual accounting together with the matching principle. Together, they determine the accounting period in which revenues and expenses are recognized. [1]
The installment sales method, is used to recognize revenue after the sale has occurred and when sales are stipulated under very extended cash collection terms. [3] In general, when the risk of not being able to collect is reasonably high and when there is no reasonable basis for estimating the proportion of installment accounts, revenue recognition is deferred, and the installment sales method ...
In accrual accounting, the matching principle dictates that an expense should be reported in the same period as the corresponding revenue is earned. The revenue recognition principle states that revenues should be recorded in the period in which they are earned, regardless of when the cash is transferred.
If a taxpayer realizes income (e.g., gain) from an installment sale, the income generally may be reported by the taxpayer under the "installment method." [5] The "installment method" is defined as "a method under which the income recognized for any taxable year [ . . . ] is that proportion of the payments received in that year which the gross profit [ . . . ] bears to the total contract price."
Recognition is mostly a matter of timing; the issue is not whether income or loss is taken into account, but when. The time of recognition may matter for a number of reasons, including the time value of money and the section 1211(b) limitation on capital losses in a single year. [3]
In order to avoid the cumbersome, abrasive, and unpredictable administrative task of valuing assets annually to determine whether their value has appreciated or depreciated, § 1001(a) of the Code defers the tax consequences of a gain or loss in property until it is realized through the "sale or disposition of [the] property."
In financial accounting (CON 8.4 [1]), a gain is when the market value of an asset exceeds the purchase price of that asset. The gain is unrealized until the asset is sold for cash, at which point it becomes a realized gain. This is an important distinction for tax purposes, as only realized gains are subject to tax.
First, nonrecognition is conferred because it is said that the sale or exchange at issue usually involves a mere change in the form of an investment and not a change in the substance of that investment. Second, the realized gain or loss usually never disappears: the unrecognized gain or loss typically carries into the new asset.