Mike L wrote:

- quote -

Depends. Stock options issued to employees are subject to
their own peculiar rules. On the other hand, options traded
on the exchange (puts, calls, etc.) are capital assets.

Whether a "place in line" rises to the level of being an
"option to purchase" would be a "facts and circumstances"
question.

MTW

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MTW wrote:
- quote -

Sort of like a stock option?

--
Mike

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MTW wrote:
- quote -

That's my thought - the place in line is not an asset in
itself.

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Stuart A. Bronstein wrote:

- quote -

As I understand it, the question would come down to whether
he owned an "equitable interest" in some form of "property,"
or whether he merely owned a "right to receive" something in
the future. The latter seems to more closely fit this
situation (not qualifying as a "capital asset" for tax
purposes).

MTW

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"D. Stussy" <kd6lvw[at]bde-arc.ampr.org> wrote:
- quote -

He "owned" the place in line. What's wrong with that?

Stu

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johnmolinda[at]yahoo.com wrote:

- quote -

Ordinary income. If it were a capital gain, then what did
you "own?" :-)

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johnmolinda[at]yahoo.com wrote:

- quote -

It could make a difference if you had other capital losses
to offset.

But, I doubt this item would rise to the definition of
"capital asset." It sounds more like an "expectancy" to me,
and that implies "ordinary" income.

MTW

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<johnmolinda[at]yahoo.com> wrote

- quote -

Sounds like "Other Income", which is ordinary.

--
Paul A. Thomas, CPA
Athens, Georgia
taxman at negia.net

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I'm a little stumped on the classification for the type of
income this would be (capital or ordinary). I sold a spot in
line for $20,000 at a housing developers sales lot. There
were 400 people in line and 10 houses available. I intented
to buy a house for investment, but I figured it would be
easier to make $ selling the spot in line. My expenses were
$0 my net profit was $20,000. I've never done this before
it's not my ordinary line of work obviously. So would this
be a capital gain or ordinary income? Does it even matter
since short term cap gains are the same tax rate as ordinary
income?

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