The short answer
Yes, as long as the LLC is disregarded for federal tax purposes. A domestic LLC with one owner is disregarded by default, and its activities are treated as yours, so you are the taxpayer on both sides whether the deed names the LLC or you. The exchange fails only if the LLC is not actually disregarded, for example because it elected to be taxed as a corporation or has a second member. The real trade-offs are practical: the qualified intermediary must document who the taxpayer is, and owning in your own name gives up the LLC's liability shield.
At a glance
| Default status | Single-owner domestic LLC is disregarded, Reg. section 301.7701-3 |
|---|---|
| Effect | Treated like a sole proprietorship, branch or division of the owner |
| Same taxpayer? | Yes, if you are the LLC's only owner for tax purposes |
| What breaks it | A Form 8832 corporate election, an S election or a second member |
| Lender angle | Some lenders want personal vesting; others want an LLC borrower |
| Liability | Personal title removes the LLC's state-law shield |
A disregarded LLC and its owner are one taxpayer
Section 1031 asks whether the taxpayer exchanged real property held for investment for other real property held for investment. Under Reg. section 301.7701-3(b)(1)(ii), a domestic eligible entity with a single owner is disregarded as an entity separate from its owner unless it elects otherwise.
Reg. section 301.7701-2(a) gives the consequence: a disregarded entity's activities are treated in the same manner as a sole proprietorship, branch or division of the owner. For income tax purposes the LLC's sale is your sale, and your purchase is the same taxpayer completing the exchange.
The same logic runs in the other direction, which is why selling in your own name and buying through an LLC also works. The broader same-taxpayer rule explains why the label on the deed is not the test.
Check the LLC's tax status before you assume it is disregarded
The default can be changed. An LLC can elect to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation by filing Form 8832 under Reg. section 301.7701-3(c), and under paragraph (c)(1)(v)(C) of the same regulation an eligible entity that timely elects S corporation status is treated as having elected to be an association. Either way the LLC becomes a separate taxpayer, and a corporation that sells cannot hand the exchange to its shareholder.
An LLC that quietly gained a second member is a partnership by default under the same regulation. That includes a spouse added for estate planning outside the community property relief of Rev. Proc. 2002-69.
Look at how the LLC has filed. A disregarded LLC owned by an individual has its rental reported on the owner's own return rather than on a separate partnership or corporate return.
Document the chain so the intermediary and title company agree
The exchange agreement should be signed in the name of the selling LLC, or by you with the LLC identified as your disregarded entity. Give the intermediary the operating agreement showing you as sole member, so its file shows that the seller and the buyer are the same taxpayer.
Then make sure the replacement closes in the name the intermediary expects. A deed or loan document prepared in a new name at the last minute is how a sound structure becomes a documentation problem.
- Send the intermediary the LLC's operating agreement and its formation document.
- Confirm the LLC has never made a corporate or S corporation election or filed a partnership return.
- Tell the intermediary early that the replacement will vest in your personal name.
- Match the purchase contract, the assignment to the intermediary and the deed to that name.
A worked example with a lender that wants personal vesting
Hypothetical: Oak Street LLC, wholly owned by you and never the subject of an election, sells a fourplex for $900,000. The lender on your $1,100,000 replacement offers a better rate on a loan to you personally, so the replacement deed names you.
You are the taxpayer on both sides, so the exchange is intact. The cost is that the replacement now sits outside any LLC; you can deed it into a new single-member LLC after closing if the lender's documents allow it, which keeps you as the taxpayer but may trigger a due-on-sale clause. Run your own numbers with your CPA.
Weigh the liability trade-off separately from the tax answer
The tax result is the same either way. What changes is state-law exposure: property in your own name is reachable by claims arising from it without the LLC between you and the claimant. Insurance and an umbrella policy are what most owners lean on in that case.
Lenders on small residential and commercial loans differ on this point. Some prefer to lend to an individual; others require a single-purpose LLC borrower. Ask before you sign the purchase contract, so the name on the contract, the assignment and the deed is settled once.
If what you want is passive ownership with limited liability and no lender underwriting, a DST interest can be held in your own name or in a single-member LLC; see DST interests held through an LLC or trust.
Related questions
Does the intermediary need my LLC's EIN or my Social Security number?
The intermediary decides which number goes on its documents. For a disregarded LLC, income tax reporting runs through the owner, so most files show both the LLC and its owner.
What if my LLC has two members but one is my revocable trust?
If both members are treated as you for tax purposes, the count may still be one. Have your CPA confirm before you assume it, because a two-owner LLC is a partnership by default.
Can I sell in the LLC and buy half in my name and half in the LLC?
Both are you for tax purposes, so the split does not change the taxpayer. It does complicate the lender and title work.
My LLC elected S corporation status years ago. Is there a fix?
The S corporation is then the taxpayer and must buy the replacement itself. Talk to your CPA before closing the sale.
Will the 1099-S name the LLC or me?
The closing agent issues it to the transferor shown on the sale; the 1099-S and the exchange covers how it is reported.
Sources
Checked against these publications on September 30, 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.