# ASC Topic 976: Real Estate—Retail Land Source: FASB Accounting Standards Codification, Basic View [Read online](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/976/) Study and research edition. Verify current requirements with the official source. Summaries, enrichment, and tags are machine-generated study aids. Paragraph html preserves source markup; snippet is abbreviated. Pending content is not necessarily effective. Tables and mathematical or amendment markup are retained as HTML where Markdown would lose structure. Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T02:26:50.000Z to 2026-09-10T02:26:59.868Z Record version: sha256:fb2d59c95af6d854fdda4407ea898d962022db22c8670f904d6e4cd44d99d084 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. ## Machine-generated topic summary ASC 97X covers the real estate industry Topics, and this digest focuses on ASC 976, Real Estate—Retail Land, and specifically its Overall Subtopic (976-10). Retail land sales are high-volume sales of lots subdivided from large tracts, made with very small down payments and a sales contract or buyer's note for the balance that a local bank or S&L would not lend against at market rates or buy without a substantial discount, and where the seller cannot enforce against the buyer's general credit (976-10-05-2; 976-10-15-3). The Topic's Subtopics (Overall, Receivables, Inventory, and Cost of Sales and Services) supply only incremental industry-specific guidance, so entities in scope must also apply all other applicable GAAP (976-10-15-1); the former Revenue Recognition subtopic reference was superseded by ASU 2014-09. The key takeaway is scope discipline: sales of lots to builders, sales of homes/buildings/parcels, in-substance real estate sales of stock, partnership or time-sharing interests, and sales of options to purchase real estate are all excluded (976-10-15-4), and sale-leaseback of real estate is addressed in Subtopic 842-40. Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T02:26:50.000Z to 2026-09-10T02:26:59.868Z Record version: sha256:21879864c3503cf8ffa5c68792f22d37276a36de4289b9f0c5844338f85d3028 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. ## ASC 976-10: Real Estate—Retail Land — Overall ### Machine-generated study aids ```json { "summary": "ASC 976-10 is the Overall subtopic of the Real Estate—Retail Land Topic, which provides incremental industry-specific guidance for retail land sales — high-volume sales of lots subdivided from large tracts of land, characterized by very small down payments and a sales contract or buyer's note for the balance. It defines the scope of the Topic (entities selling such lots on a volume basis where the note could not be sold to a bank without substantial discount and the seller cannot enforce against the buyer's general credit) and lists the transactions excluded from that scope. Entities in scope must also apply all other applicable GAAP not contained in this Topic.", "key_points": [ "The Real Estate—Retail Land Topic addresses accounting and reporting for retail land sales — volume sales of lots that are subdivisions of large tracts of land, with very small down payments and a sales contract or buyer's note for the balance (976-10-05-2).

", "The Topic contains the Overall, Receivables, Inventory, and Cost of Sales and Services Subtopics; the former Revenue Recognition subtopic reference was superseded by ASU 2014-09 (976-10-05-2).", "Guidance in the Topic is only incremental industry-specific guidance; entities in scope must also comply with applicable guidance outside the Topic (976-10-15-1).", "Scope covers all entities selling lots on a volume basis where down payments are so small that local banks or S&Ls would not lend at market rates or buy the buyer's note without a substantial discount, and the seller cannot enforce the contract or note against the buyer's general credit (976-10-15-3).", "Buyers who cancel within the established cancellation period receive a refund; defaults after that period result in the seller recovering the land and the buyer forfeiting at least some principal payments, subject to federal and state law limits (976-10-15-3).", "Excluded from scope: sales of lots to builders; sales of homes, buildings, and parcels of land to builders and others; sales of corporate stock, partnership interests, or time-sharing interests that are in substance sales of real estate; and sales of options to purchase real estate (976-10-15-4).", "Other real estate Topics exist for Real Estate—General, Common Interest Realty Associations, REITs, and Time-Sharing Activities; sale-leaseback of real estate is addressed in Subtopic 842-40 (976-10-05-1)." ], "categories": [ "Industry-specific", "Recognition", "Revenue" ], "audience_level": "intermediate", "student_note": "This Overall subtopic is essentially a scope gate: it tells you when the specialized retail land sales guidance applies, and it is easy to overreach — sales to builders, sales of homes or whole parcels, in-substance real estate sales through stock or partnership interests, and option sales are all outside it. Note also that ASU 2014-09 superseded the revenue recognition portions, so revenue for these sales is now under ASC 606.", "related_topics": [ "970", "972", "974", "978", "606", "842-40" ], "key_concepts": [ "retail land sales", "volume sales of subdivided lots", "buyer's note", "small down payment", "cancellation period and forfeiture", "incremental industry guidance", "scope exclusions", "in-substance sale of real estate" ] } ``` Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T02:26:50.000Z to 2026-09-10T02:26:50.000Z Record version: sha256:185b25be1df82ded97dd1c3886205474d201192c7eb27566c3f2c829b9686748 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. ## ASC 976-10-00: 00 Status [Read section](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/976/10/#00-status) SEC content: no ##### [976-10-00-1](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/976/10/#976-10-00-1) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T02:26:50.000Z to 2026-09-10T02:26:50.000Z Record version: sha256:26a51945a774ee65ca96146591de7cff9729410ff1e1e6c2ab8d0272d71f1615 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. The following table identifies the changes made to this Subtopic.

Paragraph	Action	Accounting Standards Update	Date

Time-Sharing	Amended	Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-06	03/14/2014
Undivided Interest (2nd def.)	Superseded	Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-06	03/14/2014

976-10-05-1	Amended	Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02	02/25/2016
976-10-05-1	Amended	Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09	05/28/2014
976-10-05-2	Amended	Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09	05/28/2014
976-10-15-2	Superseded	Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09	05/28/2014

Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T02:26:53.549Z to 2026-09-10T02:26:53.549Z Record version: sha256:74125fa59adca2a0047a2f88c3b8341d99018b802248b12ae125e41fff826934 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. ## ASC 976-10-05: 05 Overview and Background [Read section](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/976/10/#05-overview-and-background) SEC content: no ##### [976-10-05-1](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/976/10/#976-10-05-1) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T02:26:53.549Z to 2026-09-10T02:26:53.549Z Record version: sha256:abc4f29b392a82ca4ffbace28c54942b726b7408569606a0dadfaed34da8686d Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. The Codification contains several Topics for real estate due to the differing accounting treatment for various real estate subindustries. The Topics include: 1. a Real Estate—General 2. b Real Estate—Common Interest Realty Associations 3. c Real Estate—Real Estate Investment Trusts 4. d Real Estate—Retail Land 5. e Real Estate—Time-Sharing Activities. See also Subtopic 842-40 for accounting guidance for the sale of real estate that is part of a sale and leaseback transaction. ##### [976-10-05-2](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/976/10/#976-10-05-2) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T02:26:53.549Z to 2026-09-10T02:26:53.549Z Record version: sha256:7ee935e315c2d9ae8d6fc8a43d0e5993d13cf6a0714ba089660447749a62cebf Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. The Real Estate—Retail Land Topic addresses the unique accounting and reporting issues for retail land sales that are sales, on a volume basis, of lots that are subdivisions of large tracts of land. The sales are characterized by very small down payments and a sales contract or buyer's note for the balance of the purchase price. This Topic includes the following Subtopics: 1. a Overall 2. b Receivables 3. c Inventory 4. d [Subparagraph superseded by Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/updates/asu-2014-09/). 5. e Cost of Sales and Services. Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T02:26:57.207Z to 2026-09-10T02:26:57.207Z Record version: sha256:ca26f17e71f9621cd0a2426239b13ecca27c4cd10465a411a325145018cb40cb Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. ## ASC 976-10-15: 15 Scope and Scope Exceptions [Read section](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/976/10/#15-scope-and-scope-exceptions) SEC content: no #### Overall Guidance ##### [976-10-15-1](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/976/10/#976-10-15-1) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T02:26:57.207Z to 2026-09-10T02:26:57.207Z Record version: sha256:b0fb56062f4cce25f4861be4f105903dca200a3d7aa3b7ffab3a3b78b7e74310 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. The Subtopics within the Real Estate—Retail Land Topic only provide incremental industry-specific guidance for the entities defined in this Scope Section, or as further defined in the Scope Sections of the individual Subtopics. Entities within the scope of this Topic shall also comply with the applicable guidance not included in this Topic. ##### [976-10-15-2](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/976/10/#976-10-15-2) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T02:26:57.207Z to 2026-09-10T02:26:57.207Z Record version: sha256:bead86326237b59304b213455cf2b72de0b87cdc02c782b6ea44252bca2054df Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. [Paragraph superseded by Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/updates/asu-2014-09/). #### Entities ##### [976-10-15-3](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/976/10/#976-10-15-3) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T02:26:57.207Z to 2026-09-10T02:26:57.207Z Record version: sha256:d0fad9098d9de24eaf97a36dec93690e1966e8c2d6376932ecf3d8ecdfa58d20 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. This Topic provides guidance for all entities that sell, on a volume basis, lots that are subdivisions of large tracts of land. Such sales are characterized by down payments so small that local banks and savings and loan institutions would not loan money on the property at market rates or purchase the buyer's note for the remaining purchase price without a substantial discount. The seller is unable to enforce the sales contract or the buyer's note against the buyer's general credit. If the buyer cancels the contract within an established cancellation period, its money is refunded. Defaults by the buyer after the cancellation period result in recovery of the land by the seller and forfeiture of at least some principal payments made by the buyer. Federal and state laws may affect the amount that can be retained by the seller. #### Transactions ##### [976-10-15-4](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/976/10/#976-10-15-4) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T02:26:57.207Z to 2026-09-10T02:26:57.207Z Record version: sha256:acb6eccc7df31c2627d3caaa41cbbf84cfa89cfc24a7cb8f6c7ed9580c95df6c Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. The guidance in this Topic does not apply to the following transactions and activities: 1. a Sales of lots to builders 2. b Sales of homes, buildings, and parcels of land to builders and others 3. c Sales of corporate stock of entities with substantial real estate, sales of partnership interests, and sales of [time-sharing](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/glossary/t/#time-sharing "An arrangement in which a seller sells or conveys the right to occupy a dwelling unit for specified periods in the future. Forms of time-sharing arrangements include but are not limited to fixed and floating time, interval ownership, undivided interests, points programs, vacation clubs, right-to-use arrangements such as tenancy-for-years arrangements, and arrangements involving special-purpose entities. In this context, an undivided interest is a time-sharing arrangement that involves a tenant-in-common interest in a condominium unit or entire improved property, and in which the interest holder is assigned a specific period (generally, a specific week). The interest holder is also assigned a specific unit if the undivided interest is in the entire improved property.") interests if the sales are in substance sales of real estate. An example of a sale of a partnership interest that is in substance a sale of real estate would be an entity forming a partnership, arranging for the partnership to acquire the property directly from third parties, and selling an interest in the partnership to investors who then become limited partners. 4. d Sales of options to purchase real estate.