Difference Between Asset Sale And Stock Sale For Tax Purposes In Riverside
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What is an asset sale? An asset sale happens when you sell or transfer the assets of your company, rather than shares or stock. These assets can be tangible (eg machinery and inventory) or intangible (eg intellectual property).
Unlike an asset sale, stock sales do not require numerous separate conveyances of each individual asset because the title of each asset lies within the corporation. With stock sales, buyers lose the ability to gain a stepped up basis in the assets and thus do not get to re-depreciate certain assets.
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.
The benefit of an asset sale, from the buyer's perspective, is that it can select which assets and liabilities to acquire in the deal, compared to a stock sale or merger, where the buyer acquires all the assets and liabilities of the target.
Stock purchases refer to buying shares of the selling business. Asset deals occur when the buyer acquires the target company's operating assets. The seller retains complete business ownership following an asset transaction, and no business ownership is transferred to the buyer.
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.
The benefit of an asset sale, from the buyer's perspective, is that it can select which assets and liabilities to acquire in the deal, compared to a stock sale or merger, where the buyer acquires all the assets and liabilities of the target.
