The short answer
No. Nothing in section 1031 mentions the taxpayer's age; its only clocks are the 45-day identification period and the 180-day closing period. A Delaware Statutory Trust interest is sold under Regulation D, so the gate is the accredited investor test in Rule 501(a), which looks at net worth or income, never age. What changes after 65 is procedure: the broker-dealer must ask for a trusted contact and may pause a transaction it suspects is exploitation. At 75 the real question is usually whether the replacement needs debt, which depends on the mortgage you are paying off.
At a glance
| Age language in section 1031 | None; the section's periods are 45 days, 180 days and the two-year related-party rule |
|---|---|
| DST eligibility test | Accredited investor: net worth over $1,000,000 excluding your home, or income over $200,000 single and $300,000 joint |
| Trusted contact | Broker-dealers must make reasonable efforts to collect a trusted contact person for every retail account |
| Specified adult | Age 65 or older, or 18 and older with an impairment, under FINRA Rule 2165 |
| Temporary hold | Up to 15 business days, extendable by 10 and then 30 more while a review runs |
| Debt-free DST | Fits a paid-off relinquished property; leaves a shortfall if the old property carried a mortgage |
| Basis at death | Fair market value under section 1014, whatever your age when you exchanged |
| Contrast with IRAs | Required minimum distributions start at 73 for retirement accounts only |
Section 1031 counts days from the closing, never years from your birth
Section 1031 has subsections on like-kind property, identification within 45 days, closing within 180 days, boot, basis, partnerships, related parties and foreign real property; none refers to the taxpayer's age, health or life expectancy. A 92-year-old who sells investment real estate and buys like-kind real estate through a qualified intermediary inside those windows has done an exchange.
What the statute does require is that seller and buyer be the same taxpayer and that both properties be held for investment or business use. Those tests catch seniors more often than any age rule: a property moved into a child's name before the sale, or a replacement the family intends to live in, fails them. If a child is handling the paperwork, who can sign under a power of attorney covers the authority question.
The only age-triggered rules retirees run into belong to retirement accounts, where required minimum distributions begin at 73. A DST interest bought with exchange proceeds sits outside those accounts; whether a DST has a required minimum distribution is its own page.
A DST asks whether you are accredited, not how old you are
DST interests are offered privately under Regulation D, and the sponsor can take only accredited investors. Rule 501(a)(5) qualifies a natural person whose net worth, alone or with a spouse, exceeds $1,000,000, and says the primary residence 'shall not be included as an asset'. Rule 501(a)(6) qualifies income over $200,000 in each of the two most recent years, or $300,000 jointly.
For most long-time landlords the net-worth test is met by the property being sold plus what they own outside the house. The verification steps are in accredited investor rules for DSTs, and the replacement options for non-accredited sellers are whole properties and net leases, not trusts.
Age never appears in the test, but two things that come with age do. A DST interest cannot be redeemed and has no public market, so the money is locked up until the sponsor sells, and the real estate can lose value, so the principal is at risk. An owner at 80 should weigh a hold that may run seven years or more against the money kept outside for care and living costs.
After 65 the broker-dealer adds a trusted contact and a possible pause, not a refusal
FINRA Rule 4512(a)(1)(F) requires a member firm to try to obtain 'name of and contact information for a trusted contact person age 18 or older' for each retail account, whom it may call about possible exploitation, your health status or who holds a power of attorney. Name an adult child or a trusted friend at account opening.
FINRA Rule 2165 defines a 'specified adult' as a person 65 or older, or 18 or older with an impairment that leaves them unable to protect their interests. If the firm reasonably believes exploitation is occurring or being attempted, it may hold a disbursement or a securities transaction for up to 15 business days, with one extension of 10 and a further 30 once it has reported the matter to a regulator or court.
A hold is a safe harbor for the firm, not a bar on you, but the 180-day clock does not pause for it, so sign the subscription with time to spare and make sure the people who may be called already know the plan. Helping an aging parent sell a rental walks through the capacity and authority questions a family should settle first.
At 75 the all-cash DST question is about your old mortgage, not your age
Owners past 70 who have paid off the property they are selling can exchange into a DST that carries no debt. If the relinquished property is free and clear nothing has to be replaced, and an all-cash trust leaves no loan maturity, lender consent or refinancing risk over the investment. Debt-free DSTs and when to use them explains the fit.
If the old property still has a mortgage, age does not excuse the debt-replacement arithmetic: under section 1031(b) gain is recognized to the extent of money or other property received, and a loan paid off at closing that is not matched by new debt or added cash is treated as money received. An all-cash trust then leaves a taxable shortfall equal to the loan that disappeared; financed replacement or all-cash DST sets the two side by side.
Hypothetical, in round figures: a 76-year-old sells a paid-off fourplex for $1,200,000 and places the net proceeds in two debt-free trusts; nothing needs replacing and the gain stays deferred. Her neighbour, 74, sells a $1,200,000 building with a $400,000 mortgage; the same trusts leave $400,000 of debt relief taxed as boot unless she adds cash or picks a trust that carries a loan. Have your CPA test the figures before you identify.
What age genuinely changes is the horizon, and the step-up at the end of it
The exchange rules are age-blind, but the decision is not: a hold measured in years and a sponsor-controlled sale date sit differently at 68 than at 88. DSTs for owners over 70 covers the simplicity, the loss of control and the distribution cuts; whether to keep exchanging or hold for the step-up and planning the final exchange cover the strategy.
The reason the final exchange is worth doing at any age is section 1014(a): property acquired from a decedent takes a basis equal to its fair market value at death. A DST interest is an undivided interest in the trust's real estate under Rev. Rul. 2004-86, so it receives that reset, and the gain deferred through every exchange is never collected. An owner who exchanges at 85 and dies at 87 gets the same result as one who exchanges at 60.
Related questions
Can a 90-year-old complete a 1031 exchange?
Yes. The statute has no upper age, and the 45-day and 180-day periods are the same for every taxpayer. The practical questions are capacity to sign, who holds authority if the owner cannot, and whether the family has settled the plan before the clock starts.
Will a DST sponsor turn away an investor over 80?
Accreditation, not age, is the eligibility test under Rule 501(a). The broker-dealer will ask for a trusted contact and may ask more about how the decision was made, but an accredited 82-year-old may subscribe.
Does my age change the 45-day or 180-day deadline?
No. The periods run from the day the relinquished property closes and are extended only by IRS disaster relief, never by the taxpayer's age or health.
Should the DST hold be shorter than my life expectancy?
The hold is set by the sponsor's business plan and the loan, not by you, and it can run longer than projected. Keep money you may need for care or living costs outside the trust, because the interest cannot be redeemed early.
Does the Medicare or Social Security age matter for the exchange?
Not for the exchange itself. A taxable sale can raise Medicare premiums two years later, while a fully deferred exchange keeps the gain out of the income that sets them; how IRMAA treats a rental sale has the thresholds.
Sources
Checked against these publications on October 8, 2026. Rules and figures change; confirm the current version with your CPA or attorney before you act. This page is general information, not tax or legal advice.
- 26 U.S.C. 1031, exchange of real property held for productive use or investment (Cornell LII)
- 17 CFR 230.501, Regulation D definitions, accredited investor (Cornell LII)
- FINRA Rule 4512, customer account information, trusted contact person
- FINRA Rule 2165, financial exploitation of specified adults
- 26 U.S.C. 1014, basis of property acquired from a decedent (Cornell LII)
- Rev. Rul. 2004-86, Delaware statutory trusts and section 1031
- 26 U.S.C. 401(a)(9), required distributions (Cornell LII)