Primary tabs. An installment contract is a single contract that is completed by a series of performances–such as payments, performances of a service, or delivery of goods–rather than being performed all at one time. Installment contracts can provide that installments are to be performed by either one or both parties.
An installment method allows for the partial deferral of any capital gain to future taxation years. Installment sales require the buyer to make regular payments, or installments, on an annual basis, plus interest if installment payments are to be made in subsequent taxation years.
Writing your own contracts is perfectly possible, and legal. But it's also an incredibly bad idea. There's two reasons for this: Property law is complicated. Because it's such a fundamental part of legislation, it's often lots and lots of different laws layered on top of each other.
Required Elements of a Real Estate Contract To establish legality, a real estate contract must include a legal purpose, legally competent parties, agreement by offer and acceptance, consideration, and consent.
Both installment sales and structured installment sales make payments to the seller over a period of time to meet their specific needs. The difference (and arguably the most important distinction) is that installment sales depend on the buyer to make their payments.
Tax Deferral (for the seller): One of the most compelling reasons to consider an installment sale is the ability to defer capital gains tax.