Explainer · tax
Sale-leaseback tax considerations — high-level only
Selling the dirt is a real-estate disposition. The lease is occupancy cost going forward. Those two facts are why operators call a CPA before they call a buyer. This page names the topics. It does not answer them.
Written by Dwaine Clarke , Founder & Principal Broker, American Net Lease, LLC Reviewed
On this page: What changes · 1031 clocks · What this page will not do · FAQ · Disclaimer
High-level only
A sale-leaseback is a disposition plus a lease. Your CPA owns both questions.
A commercial sale-leaseback is two legal events that close together: you dispose of the fee, and you take back a lease. The first event is why basis, depreciation, and gain come up. The second is why rent shows up as occupancy cost instead of debt service. American Net Lease will name those topics. It will not compute them.
What generally changes
You no longer own the dirt. Residual value sits with the buyer. Proceeds arrive at close after existing debt is paid. How much of that is gain, how depreciation is treated, and what the lease does to deductions are filing questions. They depend on your entity, your basis, and current law. None of those facts are on this page, and we will not invent them.
Dental, veterinary, and medical operators often meet the same fork on a practice sale: the building is a separate asset from the practice. Sequence matters. Your CPA and transaction counsel own the sequence. The process page is only the real-estate order of work.
1031 clocks, if you use them
If the sale is part of a larger exchange plan, the 1031 clocks start when the real estate closes, not when you first talk to a broker. Identification and replacement rules sit with your qualified intermediary and CPA. American Net Lease does not act as a qualified intermediary.
What this page will not do
It will not quote a tax rate. It will not estimate recapture. It will not tell you whether to exchange, hold, or take cash. It will not treat a Portfolio Capital Analysis as a tax memo. The analysis is a capital read — rent coverage, the lease, and which roofs belong in a first tranche.
The disclaimer at the bottom of this page is the last word on purpose. For the real-estate order of work, use the process and the commercial sale-leaseback guide. Size a first pass in the calculator. The operator hub is the program door — not a tax desk.
Size a first pass in the sale-leaseback calculator, read the commercial sale-leaseback guide and the operator hub, then the Dental , Veterinary , and Medical . When you want a confidential read on your own roofs, request a Portfolio Capital Analysis.
Questions
Tax-considerations FAQ
Is this tax advice?
No. Talk to your CPA. This page is general education. American Net Lease does not give tax advice.
When do 1031 clocks start?
If you use a 1031 exchange, the clocks start when the real estate closes, not when you first talk to a broker. Confirm identification and replacement rules with your qualified intermediary and CPA.
Does the analysis include a tax computation?
No. The Portfolio Capital Analysis is a confidential capital read — proceeds, coverage, and the lease you would actually sign. Gain, depreciation, and filing positions belong to your CPA.
Not tax advice
Talk to your CPA
Talk to your CPA before you treat any sale-leaseback as a tax plan. This page is general education, not tax advice. American Net Lease does not prepare returns, does not compute gain, and does not give tax advice. The Portfolio Capital Analysis is a capital read, not a tax opinion.
Get the capital read. Take the tax questions to your CPA.
The analysis is confidential and is not a tax opinion. Talk to your CPA before you treat any structure as a tax plan.