Making infrequent sales of real estate costs a taxpayer an ordinary loss.
The seller, who was a real estate pro, first sought to develop land he owned.
But after the development activities stalled and did not progress beyond the planning stage, he had put the land in a conservation program and sold it a few years later for a large loss.
The loss is taxed as capital loss, according to the Tax Court, and not as an ordinary loss.
The property was not held for sale in the ordinary course of the taxpayer’s business.
He did not advertise the parcel for sale, nor did he make major improvements to it.
This was the only land he sold over an eight-year period.
Conner, TC Memo. 2018-6