Tax Type 1
Capital gains — the tax most sellers think about first
When you sell an RV park for more than you paid for it, the profit is generally treated as a capital gain. How much tax you pay on that gain depends on two things: how long you've owned the park, and your total taxable income in the year of the sale.
Short-term vs. long-term gains
If you've owned the park for one year or less, the gain is short-term and taxed as ordinary income — the same rate as your wages. For most park owners in a sale year, that means 32% to 37% federal tax on the gain.
If you've owned the park for more than one year, the gain qualifies as long-term and is taxed at preferential rates — 0%, 15%, or 20% depending on your total income. The vast majority of park sales qualify for long-term treatment since most owners hold for many years.
| Filing Status | 2025 Taxable Income | Long-Term Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Single | Up to $48,350 | 0% |
| Single | $48,351 – $533,400 | 15% |
| Single | Above $533,400 | 20% |
| Married filing jointly | Up to $96,700 | 0% |
| Married filing jointly | $96,701 – $600,050 | 15% |
| Married filing jointly | Above $600,050 | 20% |
The Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT)
If your modified adjusted gross income exceeds $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married), an additional 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax applies to the lesser of your net investment income or the amount your MAGI exceeds the threshold. For most park sellers, this means the effective federal capital gains rate is 15% plus 3.8%, or 20% plus 3.8% — not just the headline rate.
Tax Type 2 — Often a Surprise
Depreciation recapture — the tax most sellers don't expect
Here's the one that catches nearly every park owner off guard. Over the years you've owned the park, you've been deducting depreciation on the structures — bathhouses, the office, laundry facilities, fencing, site improvements. That depreciation reduced your taxable income each year. When you sell, the IRS wants some of that benefit back.
This is called depreciation recapture, and it's taxed at a maximum rate of 25% — higher than the long-term capital gains rate for many sellers. The amount subject to recapture is the total depreciation you've claimed on structures over your ownership period.
A worked example
Note that this example covers only the structures — the land component of the sale is taxed entirely as capital gain (land is not depreciable). A $2M park sale might have $600,000 to $800,000 allocated to land and $1.2M to $1.4M allocated to depreciable structures, depending on the park's characteristics and how your accountant allocates value.
Cost segregation and its sale-time implications
Some park owners have used cost segregation studies to accelerate depreciation — reclassifying components like electrical systems, paving, and landscaping as 5-year or 15-year property rather than 39-year real property. This is a legitimate tax strategy that reduces taxes during ownership. At sale, however, all that accelerated depreciation comes back as recapture. If you've done cost segregation, your recapture exposure may be significantly higher than the 15-year example above.
Tax Strategy 1
The installment sale — spread the tax bill, earn interest income
An installment sale — also known as seller financing — is one of the most effective tax strategies available to RV park sellers. Instead of receiving the full sale price at closing, you receive payments over time. The tax on each payment is recognized only when you receive it, not all at once in the year of sale.
Why this matters so much
The income stacking problem disappears. Instead of reporting a $1.5M gain in a single year, you report a portion of the gain each year as payments come in. If those annual payments keep your total income in the 15% long-term capital gains bracket, you pay 15% on each year's recognized gain instead of 20% — or avoid the NIIT entirely.
On a $2M sale with a $1.2M gain, the difference between recognizing everything in year one versus spreading over 10 years can be $60,000 to $120,000 in federal tax savings, depending on your income in each year. Add state income tax savings and the number gets larger.
The interest income benefit for the seller
The buyer pays interest on the unpaid balance. At 6 to 7% on a $1.5M note, that's $90,000 to $105,000 in annual interest income. Over 10 years, the seller earns $500,000 to $700,000 in interest that they wouldn't have received in an all-cash sale. Yes, that interest is taxed as ordinary income — but sellers who don't need the lump sum immediately often come out ahead on a total-return basis.
One important limitation
Depreciation recapture cannot be spread over installment payments — it's recognized in full in the year of sale regardless of when you receive the payments. This is the one part of your tax bill that an installment sale won't defer. Plan for the recapture tax as a first-year cash obligation even if the rest of the gain spreads out.