{
 "name": "The Installment Sale Report 2026",
 "edition": "Edition 1",
 "version": "1.0",
 "published": "2026-10-14",
 "updated": "2026-10-14",
 "license": "CC BY 4.0",
 "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
 "url": "https://thewaterfallstrategy.com/installment-sale-statistics/",
 "creator": "Hans Goldstein, Enrolled Agent",
 "citation": "Goldstein, H. (2026). The Installment Sale Report 2026, Edition 1. The Waterfall Strategy (Hans Goldstein: Tax & Exit Planning). Updated October 14, 2026. https://thewaterfallstrategy.com/installment-sale-statistics/ (CC BY 4.0).",
 "coverage": "IRS Form 6252 and Form 8824 counts for tax years 2010 to 2023; Form 6252 dollar lines for tax years 2019 to 2023; section 453A interest for tax years 2021 to 2023; monthly AFRs January 2025 to October 2026.",
 "key_findings": [
  {
   "finding": "Installment sale forms outnumber like-kind exchange forms 8.4 to 1: 461,458 Form 6252 forms against 54,746 Form 8824 forms for tax year 2023, up from 1.9 to 1 in tax year 2017.",
   "source": "IRS SOI Pub. 4801, tax year 2023 and 2017; ratio calculated"
  },
  {
   "finding": "Form 6252 filings fell 32.5% from 683,552 (tax year 2010) to 461,458 (tax year 2023), and have been flat since tax year 2019 (463,472).",
   "source": "IRS SOI line-item estimates, tax years 2010, 2019, 2023; change calculated"
  },
  {
   "finding": "The average selling price on forms that report one rose 29%, from $810,053 (tax year 2019) to $1.04 million (tax year 2023), on 437,698 forms.",
   "source": "IRS SOI Pub. 4801, Form 6252 line 5, tax years 2019 and 2023; average calculated"
  },
  {
   "finding": "The section 453A interest charge totaled $402.2 million on 6,492 individual returns for tax year 2023, up 162% in dollars from tax year 2021 on 26% fewer returns.",
   "source": "IRS SOI Pub. 4801, Schedule 2 line 15, tax years 2021 and 2023; change calculated"
  },
  {
   "finding": "In a worked example, a $7,000,000 note outstanding at year end triggers about $21,000 of 453A interest for 2026; the same sale with a $5,000,000 note triggers $0, so the $5 million line is not a cliff.",
   "source": "26 U.S.C. 453A and IRS Pub. 537 (2025) formula, Rev. Rul. 2026-15 rate; illustration, not IRS data"
  },
  {
   "finding": "The long-term applicable federal rate is 5.22% for October 2026, the highest of the 22 monthly rates from January 2025 to October 2026 (low: 4.53% in January 2025).",
   "source": "IRS Rev. Rul. 2026-19 and the 21 earlier monthly AFR rulings, Table 1, annual compounding"
  }
 ],
 "files": {
  "installment-sale-report-2026-453a-interest.csv": "https://thewaterfallstrategy.com/data/installment-sale-report-2026-453a-interest.csv",
  "installment-sale-report-2026-453a-worked-example.csv": "https://thewaterfallstrategy.com/data/installment-sale-report-2026-453a-worked-example.csv",
  "installment-sale-report-2026-afr-history.csv": "https://thewaterfallstrategy.com/data/installment-sale-report-2026-afr-history.csv",
  "installment-sale-report-2026-form6252-dollars.csv": "https://thewaterfallstrategy.com/data/installment-sale-report-2026-form6252-dollars.csv",
  "installment-sale-report-2026-form6252-vs-form8824.csv": "https://thewaterfallstrategy.com/data/installment-sale-report-2026-form6252-vs-form8824.csv"
 }
}