The seller's cars are still on the books. Did I buy them?

Check the executed asset schedules, titles and excluded-asset provisions. A seller's historical balance sheet is not proof that every listed vehicle transferred to the buyer.

A business-owner scenario

A buyer imports the seller's accounting file after an asset purchase. It includes two vehicles the seller kept personally. The opening depreciation schedule now includes those cars, while the purchase agreement excludes them. The buyer needs a fresh acquisition record tied to what actually transferred.

Illustrative scenario, not a client result.

Work through the transaction

1. Compare vehicle titles with the purchased-asset schedule.
2. Remove seller-specific historical balances from buyer opening entries.
3. Reconcile the final allocation to included assets only.

The mistake that changes the result

Continuing the seller's depreciation file unchanged can carry assets and historical basis that do not belong to the buyer.

Records that resolve the question

• Asset purchase schedules.
• Titles.
• Closing funds flow.
• Imported fixed-asset ledger.

The decision to document

Ask the preparer to approve opening fixed assets before depreciation is calculated. Preserve the seller's historical data as reference while maintaining a distinct schedule for the buyer's actual acquisition.

Which fact changes the answer?

An equity purchase can preserve the company's historical asset records, while an asset purchase requires analysis of the buyer's acquired basis. Confirm the structure before importing data. The seller's accounting file is a source record, not an automatic buyer opening ledger.

Explore buying a business advisory · Discuss your situation with AE Tax Advisors

Related owner questions

• Who deducts software subscriptions that overlap my business purchase?
• We used the seller's bank account for a month after closing. How do we untangle it?

Sources and scope

• IRS Form 8594 instructions: acquisition allocation
• IRS Publication 544: asset dispositions

General educational information prepared with AI assistance. No individual professional review is represented. Apply the relevant tax-year rules to the actual records. Editorial policy · AI disclosure.