26 U.S.C. § 453 — Installment method

(A) In general If, in a liquidation to which section 331 applies, the shareholder receives (in exchange for the shareholder’s stock) an installment obligation acquired in respect of a sale or exchange by the corporation during the 12-month period beginning on the date a plan of complete liquidation is adopted and the liquidation is completed during such 12-month period, then, for purposes of this section, the receipt of payments under such obligation (but not the receipt of such obligation) by the shareholder shall be treated as the receipt of payment for the stock. (B) Obligations attributable to sale of inventory must result from bulk sale Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to an installment obligation acquired in respect of a sale or exchange of— (i) stock in trade of the corporation, (ii) other property of a kind which would properly be included in the inventory of the corporation if on hand at the close of the taxable year, and (iii) property held by the corporation primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of its trade or business, unless such sale or exchange is to 1 person in 1 transaction and involves substantially all of such property attributable to a trade or business of the corporation. (C) Special rule where obligor and shareholder are related persons If the obligor of any installment obligation and the shareholder are married to each other or are related persons (within the meaning of section 1239(b)), to the extent such installment obligation is attributable to the disposition by the corporation of depreciable property— (i) subparagraph (A) shall not apply to such obligation, and (ii) for purposes of this title, all payments to be received by the shareholder shall be deemed received in the year the shareholder receives the obligation. (D) Coordination with subsection (e)(1)(A) For purposes of subsection (e)(1)(A), disposition of property by the corporation shall be treated also as disposition of such property by the shareholder. (E) Sales by liquidating subsidiaries For purposes of subparagraph (A), in the case of a controlling corporate shareholder (within the meaning of section 368(c)) of a selling corporation, an obligation acquired in respect of a sale or exchange by the selling corporation shall be treated as so acquired by such controlling corporate shareholder. The preceding sentence shall be applied successively to each controlling corporate shareholder above such controlling corporate shareholder.