Lawrie v. Commissioner
United States Tax Court
T, a contractor, owned subdivided property and in 1953 and 1954 sold some of the lots and houses built by him thereon. He sold the remaining lots in 1955 in a single transaction.
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T, a contractor, owned subdivided property and in 1953 and 1954 sold some of the lots and houses built by him thereon. He sold the remaining lots in 1955 in a single transaction. Held, all of the lots in the subdivided property were "held" by him "primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of his trade or business," sec. 1221(1), I.R.C. 1954; and the fact that in 1955 he chose to dispose of the remaining unsold lots in a single transaction without building houses upon them did not convert those lots into capital assets.
1Opinion of the Court
OPINION.
Raum, Judge:
Petitioner is a contractor. His business consists of acquiring land and building houses thereon for sale (i.e., “speculative” houses), or selling lots and building houses pursuant to specifications of the purchasers of the lots. His sales are made through brokers.
We have no doubt on this record that he purchased the 13.7 acres of land here in controversy for the purpose of subdividing it, and building houses thereon in his usual manner, either speculatively or pursuant to specifications of the purchasers of individual lots. He in fact did so subdivide the property into two…
2Cases cited10 opinions
- Grace Bros. v. Commissioner of Internal RevenueCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1949
- Watson v. CommissionerSupreme Court of the United States · 1953
- Williams v. McGowanCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit · 1945
- Renziehausen v. LucasSupreme Court of the United States · 1930
- Watson v. CommissionerUnited States Tax Court · 1950
5 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by8 opinions
- Daugherty v. CommissionerUnited States Tax Court · 1982
- Andrew Crispo Gallery v. CommissionerUnited States Tax Court · 1992
- Tollis v. CommissionerUnited States Tax Court · 1993
- Andrew Crispo Gallery v. CommissionerUnited States Tax Court · 1994
- Daugherty v. CommissionerUnited States Tax Court · 1982
3 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.