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Your Aunt Gertrude, a noted author of spicy romance fiction, has had a long and illustrious career and has done very well for herself as to earnings. Rather than setting up any kind of formal retirement plan, such as a SEP or a SIMPLE IRA, she has instead each year invested in at least three single-family houses that she has converted to rental properties all over the Midwest. Property managers deal with the day-to-day operations for her. Now, Gertrude has over 120 of these rental homes in her portifolio, with an estimated unrealized gain totaling almost $3 million, and she feels it is time for her to slow down and enjoy life more. Her plan was always to start selling off the rental homes as she needed the cash, figuring she would be paying favorable capital gains tax rates on each as they were sold. However, with all the talk about a big infrastructure bill with tax increases pending in Congress, Gertrude has become increasingly worried about the capital gains tax rate going up next year, and staying high for years to come. An old friend in Gertrudes bridge club, who was a bookkeeper until she retired, told Gertrude that by selling all the homes this year using the installment method, she could lock in the 2021 capital gains rate. Aunt Gertrude calls you to ask if this is true and for your advice. How do you answer?

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