Where does cash RE purchase go on a P&L?

[Diane Perry]

I am putting together a P&L for an application for finance reasons. I work for myself, and for that reason and also as a landlord in addition to federal tax returns I am required to file a P&L statement. They asked for the last three months. Five months ago I received a one-time windfall of money I used to buy a cheap piece of RE for cash two months ago. Windfall was $60,000. Cash purchase was almost as much. Is the purchase an expenditure that goes on the P&L as an expense?

[Greg Scott]

No. Transforming one asset into another is not an expense, it is a balance sheet change. 

If a company buys stock in another company, they exchange cash for stock.  Both are assets and appear on the balance sheet in different areas.  Theoretically you can sell that stock later and convert it back to cash.  Nothing hits the P&L statement, so not an expense.

If instead the company spent that money on a party, that is an expense.  You can't sell the party that happened last year for cash next year.