Just think it’s important to add some context since reading their responses seem to be missing some important lease contract nuances
Lots of interesting points in that thread, although it leaves me with more questions than answers 
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I heard back from my accountant this morning and his conclusion after consulting one of his colleagues was that lease payments do NOT count towards the cost basis, and so my $6k gain would be subject to long-term capital gains. Although now that I’m writing this out, it’s not clear to me why this would be considered a long-term gain.
Here’s another similar thread, where there’s an argument made that if a third-party buys out the lease directly and so you never actually take ownership of the vehicle, then this isn’t a capital gain at all and the proceeds would count as ordinary income: What is the cost basis in a leased car that was sold for a gain, but which I never had possession of?.
I also found this Reddit thread with a pretty interesting breakdown by someone who argued that this would be a short-term capital gain: Reddit - Dive into anything.
Finally, here’s another long Leasehackr thread with a lot of different opinions: Positive equity from Lease sale considered Income?.
Another point of confusion for me in all this has been whether I ever technically took ownership of the car or not in this process, and whether that matters for the tax implications. My layman’s understanding of this transaction was that Rodo bought my car directly from Honda (maybe via some dealership?), and certainly I never explicitly took an action to exercise my buyout option with Honda directly, but the bill of sale from Rodo lists me as the seller. Not sure if any of this matters, just another wrinkle that’s caused me some confusion.
As much fun as this has all been, I’m not sure I want to push back on my accountant anymore since his long-term cap gain conclusion is relatively favorable, and frankly I’m more convinced so far by the arguments that this is ordinary income or a short-term cap gain than I am by the arguments that lease payments factor into the cost basis and no tax is owed. I’d love to be wrong about that if someone has any suggestions for how I should respond to my accountant, but I think I’ll probably just leave it here.
Anyway, thanks for all the good feedback and resources!
I’d drop that CPA
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Why do you say that? What’s your take on all this? I’m not entirely in love with this CPA for other reasons, so I might drop them anyway, but I’ve read so many conflicting arguments about this that I don’t think I have any idea who’s right, so I’m not sure I’d drop my CPA for this specifically.
How could it be a long term capital gain if the money paid doesnt count as a basis?
Long term cap gain seems like the most unreasonable conclusion.
I would also overemphasize the whole lease with a below market purchase option treated as a sale aspect of this.
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Just imagine you are about to get a brain surgery and your doctor is not sure how exactly open your head and asks his colleague for advice. Would you still let him do it? 
Every situation is different and my CPA gave me the answer as soon as I opened my mouth. Time is money lol
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Mr. Cavallaro, please stop posting your capital gains tax deliberations attached to your name. Are you aware this site is public?
@mattevan I am indeed aware. I’m doing research and posting here in an attempt to understand the tax implications so I can do the right thing, so I didn’t think there was anything wrong with this being associated with my name. But I hear you – I suppose it’s one of those things that can’t really help but could hurt.
In any case, I think I’ve only become more confused and less sure as I’ve done more research, so I better step away from the keyboard and let the professionals handle this :-). I really appreciate all the great input here, I’ll definitely keep an eye on this forum through the year until tax season, I’m sure I won’t be the last person asking about this scenario.
You’ll have to pay taxes on the flipped profit. It will be treated as capital gains if you file it. If rodo doesn’t issue a 1099 or another tax form you might as well not show it on your taxes. But do the right thing and file it. The good news is that rodo is a dealer buying the car from the bank so you don’t have to pay sales tax on the 19k…but you knew that already. 
What about all money that You pay HMF in the monthly payments? By the end of the day You just got some of them back. Not sure where do You see taxable profit?
As another internet rando, I completely agree that lease payments are part of the cost basis. If ir weren’t for those payments, the purchase price wouldn’t be as low as it is. I’d also argue that I had to take good care of the vehicle to maintain its value. Storage, maintenance, and insurance were all costs. I never gain a damned thing from any vehicle sale. The equity merely lowers my effective cost.
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