When does my 45-day clock start in a bulk condo sale?

Both periods start on the day you transfer the unit, and nothing the association does earlier counts

Section 1031(a)(3) measures 45 and 180 days from "the date on which the taxpayer transfers the property relinquished in the exchange". Reg. section 1.1031(k)-1(b)(2) repeats it and adds, in paragraph (b)(2)(iv), that property "is transferred when the property is disposed of within the meaning of section 1001(a)". There is no bulk-sale variant; the only question is which event in a deconversion disposes of your unit.

The vote does not; it creates an obligation to sell. Neither does the board's contract with the buyer or an appraisal. Until a deed is delivered or title vests by statute you still own the unit, collect its rent and pay its assessments. The general transfer test is on when the 45-day clock starts. The months between vote and closing are free time: use them to set up the exchange.

In Illinois every owner delivers a deed at one bulk closing, so every clock starts that day

Under 765 ILCS 605/15(a) a sale approved by 75% of the owners of a building with four or more units binds everyone, and it becomes "the duty of every unit owner to execute and deliver such instruments and to perform all acts" needed to close. Each owner's deed is delivered at the bulk closing, and that date is the transfer.

An objecting owner's appraisal panel fixes what that owner is paid "from the proceeds of such sale"; the statute does not say the objector's unit closes later. If a closing is structured to hold an objector's deed until the panel reports, that owner's transfer is the day the deed is delivered. If you own two units and they close on different days inside one exchange, paragraph (b)(2)(iii) runs both periods from "the earliest date"; two sales weeks apart explains the choice.

In Florida title vests in the trustee before the trustee sells, and the IRS has not said which is your transfer

Section 718.117(14) provides that title "vests in the termination trustee when the plan is recorded or at a later date specified in the plan", and that "the unit owners thereafter become the beneficiaries of the proceeds". Under subsection (13) the association is the trustee unless the plan names someone else.

On one reading the recording is your transfer, because legal title left you that day. On the other the trustee holds for you, your beneficial interest keeps the economics with you, and the transfer is the trustee's sale. No ruling, regulation or case applying section 1031 to a Florida termination was found, so neither reading can be stated as the rule.

The cautious plan treats recording, or the plan's later vesting date, as day one: exchange agreement signed, assignment served on the trustee, and an identification ready within 45 days. If the trustee's sale closes later, the identification was early rather than late.

Your money passes through the association or trustee, so the assignment must be served before day one

In a deconversion the board or trustee collects one price and divides it. Under Reg. section 1.1031(k)-1(f) money "credited to the taxpayer's account" or otherwise made available to you is constructively received, so a share the association credits to you is as fatal as a cheque in your hand. Paragraph (g)(4)(v) treats the intermediary as a party when your rights are assigned and all parties are notified in writing on or before the transfer: serve the board or trustee, the buyer and the closing agent.

Florida adds a calendar under subsection (17)(b): the trustee mails an estimated distribution at least 30 days before the first payment and allows at least 15 days for objections, and may hold an objector's share or deposit it in the court registry. None of that pauses your periods.

Worked timeline: a March vote, a June 1 closing and a June 20 wire

Hypothetical dates. An Illinois building votes to sell on March 10, the bulk closing delivers every deed on June 1, and the association wires owners on June 20. Day 45 is July 16 and day 180 is November 28. An owner who served the assignment in May has the June 20 wire sent to the intermediary and 26 days left to identify; an owner who first calls an intermediary on June 20, cheque in hand, has no exchange left. Had this been a Florida plan recorded June 1 with the trustee selling in September, the cautious owner still identifies by July 16.

If the calendar is tight, a Delaware statutory trust interest can be closed by subscription; identifying a DST on the 45-day list shows the form. It is illiquid and can lose value, so judge it on its property and debt, not on speed. Map these dates against your own plan and closing statement with your CPA before the vote's outcome is recorded.

• March 10: vote; nothing starts.
• June 1: deeds delivered and price paid; both periods begin.
• July 16: day 45; identification delivered.
• November 28: day 180, or the return due date if earlier.