Almost everything you own and use for personal or investment purposes is a capital asset. Examples of capital assets include a home, personal-use items like household furnishings, and stocks or bonds held as investments.
For the target, a stock sale is usually a nonevent from a tax perspective. The buyer in a stock sale does not get a step-up in tax basis in the assets that comprise the target company, and thus is not able to increase their depreciation and amortization deductions in the same way as in an asset sale.
In an asset sale, the ownership of these acquired assets would change hands, with the buyer negotiating separately for each asset. In a stock sale, ownership of such assets does not change hands in the same way. The target still retains its ownership typically, even if the target has a new owner.
Stocks are financial assets. They're not real assets. A financial asset is a liquid asset that gets its value from a contractual right or ownership claim.
An asset sale occurs when a business sells all or a portion of its assets. The seller, or target company, in this type of deal, is still legally the owner of the company, but no longer owns the assets sold. In a stock sale, the buyer acquires equity from the target company's shareholders.
Disadvantages of Asset Sale The seller is subject to a double layer of taxation. Transferring assets may be more complicated. Agreements tied to certain assets may need to be renegotiated.
Generally, any profit you make on the sale of an asset is taxable at either 0%, 15% or 20% if you held the shares for more than a year, or at your ordinary tax rate if you held the shares for a year or less. Any dividends you receive from a stock are also usually taxable.
The short answer is that a stock sale is better for you, the seller, while the buyer benefits from an asset sale. But, since we're talking about the IRS, there are infinite variations and complications. As such, you will want to get professional tax and legal advice before proceeding.
Disadvantages of an asset sale More complex: Since individual assets need to be transferred, the transaction can be more time-consuming and require more paperwork. Consents and assignments: Some contracts or agreements may require specific consents or approvals for the transfer of assets.
To avoid paying capital gains taxes entirely, one option you may want to discuss with your tax advisor is to give certain appreciated investments away — either to charity or to your beneficiaries as part of your estate plan.