Several years ago I inherited some investment property (raw land) in another state and have been trying to sell it.
Finally got a buyer, documents were FedExed back and forth and the final documents I had to send in to allow the sale to close were received by the closing agent in the other state on December 26, 2012 and the transaction was set to close on December 27, 2012.
Since I would be out of town, I asked the closing agent not to mail the check for the proceeds until January 4, 2013 so the check would arrive after I returned from my trip. The check (and only the check -- no other documents came with it) was received and cashed shortly thereafter.
As of today I have still not received a 1099-S from the closing agent or the seller. I'm trying to find out what's going on with that.
My question: If the agent doesn't issue a 1099-S, what year is the sale reported in? As far as I know the closing actually did happen before December 31 (the buyer wanted to purchase it before the end of the year), but the check wasn't even mailed until January.
Is it constructive receipt and 2012 because the closing (presumably) happened in 2012 and so the funds were "available"? Is it 2013 because the check wasn't even placed in the mail until 2013?
(If a 1099-S does get sent I'm planning to just follow what year it's reported for even if that's not the "right" answer because I don't feel like dealing with it).
Thanks!