Pick the option on the Dispose asset screen that matches what happened, and know what changes as a result.
Where this is in the app
Dashboard → open the return → Assets tab → open the asset → Dispose → Disposition Kind
New to the disposal screen? Start at Record a disposal.
Your choice decides two things in the product: whether an extra entry step opens, and which form the disposal's figures are labelled for.
The nine options, in dropdown order
Kind | Extra step opens | Form the product labels it for |
Sale | No | Form 4797 |
Like-kind exchange (§1031) | Yes | Form 8824 |
Involuntary conversion (§1033) | Yes | Form 4797 |
Casualty / theft (§165) | Yes | Form 4684 |
Installment sale (§453) | Yes | Form 6252 |
Abandonment | No | Form 4797 |
Retirement | No | Form 4797 |
Gift | No | Form 4797 |
Other | No | Form 4797 |
The five that don't open a step
Sale, Abandonment, Retirement, Gift, and Other all run the same disposal arithmetic and are all labelled Form 4797. Switching between these five does not change any computed figure. Pick the one that describes what happened, so the record reads correctly later and so your own reporting can tell them apart.
The kind is stored on the asset either way.
The four that do open a step
Choosing one of these four mounts a dedicated step below the form, headed with the kind and the form it routes to. The step collects the inputs that kind needs, shows its own breakdown, and records the disposal itself. While it is open the Record disposal button is replaced by a line pointing at the step.
Like-kind exchange (§1031) opens only for real property (recovery period 27.5, 30, 39, or 40) on a full-asset disposal that has not already been disposed. Its step is headed "Like-kind exchange — §1031 (Form 8824 Part III)."
Involuntary conversion (§1033) and Casualty / theft (§165) open the same step, in two shapes. Condemnation asks for a single net award and is headed "Involuntary conversion — §1033 condemnation (Form 4797 / §1231)." Casualty and theft ask for reimbursement and salvage proceeds separately, headed "Casualty / theft — §165 (Form 4684, Section B)." There is no property-type restriction on either.
Installment sale (§453) opens only when the preview shows a gain. Its step is headed "Installment sale — §453 (Form 6252, Part I)."
When a step doesn't open
Two of the four refuse, and say so in an amber panel with a Switch to sale button that drops the kind back to Sale and re-runs the normal preview.
Pick Like-kind exchange (§1031) on anything that is not real property and the panel is headed "This isn't a §1031 like-kind exchange," naming the asset's recovery period. The Record disposal button stays available next to it. Use Switch to sale rather than recording, or the disposal is stored as a §1031 exchange and labelled for Form 8824.
Pick Installment sale (§453) on a computed loss and the panel is headed "An installment sale can't report a loss." Here the Record disposal button is suppressed, so Switch to sale is the only way forward.
Where the label appears
The form label shows on the Dispose asset review screen as a Target Form row, reading one of:
Form 4797
Form 8824 (§1031)
Form 4684 (§165/§1033)
Form 6252 (§453)
Note that an involuntary conversion carries the Form 4797 label, not the 4684 one. It also drives which sheet a disposal lands on in the Dispositions worksheet. See Where disposals show up.
DepreciationPro computes and labels these figures. It does not prepare or file the forms.