The short answer
The exchange period is the window in which you must receive your replacement property in a deferred 1031 exchange: it begins on the day you transfer the relinquished property and ends at midnight on the earlier of the 180th day or the due date, including extensions, of your tax return for the year of the transfer. The rule comes from section 1031(a)(3)(B) of the Code and Treasury Regulation section 1.1031(k)-1(b)(2)(ii). The second endpoint is why a sale late in the year can lose weeks unless you extend your return.
At a glance
| Length | 180 calendar days after the transfer, ending at midnight |
|---|---|
| Earlier cutoff | The return due date for the transfer year, including extensions |
| Several sales | The period runs from the earliest transfer in the same exchange |
| Overlap | The 45-day identification period starts the same day, inside the 180 |
The 180 days come from the statute, and the regulation sets the midnight cutoff
Congress wrote the deadline into section 1031(a)(3)(B): property received after the earlier of the 180th day after the transfer, or the due date determined with regard to extension of the return for the transfer year, is treated as not like-kind. Treasury Regulation section 1.1031(k)-1(b)(2)(ii) names that window the exchange period and ends it at midnight.
Day zero is the date you transfer the relinquished property, meaning the date it is disposed of within the meaning of section 1001(a); our answer on when the clock starts covers closing versus recording. If one exchange includes two sales that close on different dates, both the exchange period and the identification period run from the earliest one.
The 180 days are calendar days and include the first 45; they are not added after them. The IRS instructions for Form 8824 restate the rule for line 6, where you enter the date the replacement was received.
A fall sale can lose the last weeks of the 180 days unless the return is extended
Hypothetical: you close the sale of a rental on November 2, 2026. Day 45 is December 17, 2026, and day 180 is May 1, 2027. Your 2026 individual return is due April 15, 2027 under section 6072(a), which comes first, so without an extension the exchange period ends at midnight on April 15.
Filing Form 4868 gives an individual an automatic six-month extension under Reg. section 1.6081-4. The extended due date then falls after May 1, so the full 180 days apply. The regulation's own example makes the same point for a corporation that transferred property on November 16, 1992: the period ended March 15 without its extension and May 15 with it.
Our answer on keeping the full 180 days with a tax extension covers the mechanics. Run your own dates with your CPA before the original due date arrives.
No general extension exists, and missing by one day is the same as missing by a month
The regulation contains no rule that moves a deadline falling on a weekend or holiday, and there is no hardship extension. The one route is postponement after a federally declared disaster under section 7508A, which the IRS applies to exchanges through section 17 of Rev. Proc. 2018-58. Even that relief cannot run past the due date, including extensions, of the return for the transfer year.
Where it bites: property received on day 181 is treated as not like-kind. If nothing else arrived in time, the Form 8824 instructions note that any gain may be taxable in the year you transferred the property you gave up. Read what can and cannot extend the 45-day and 180-day deadlines before you plan around a late closing.
Related questions
Is the 180 days counted in business days?
No. The regulation counts calendar days from the transfer date and ends the period at midnight on the 180th day. The 45-day identification period runs inside it, as our page on how the 45 days fit inside the 180 shows.
If I identify three properties, does each one get its own deadline?
Each identified property must be received before the same exchange period ends. The regulation applies the receipt test separately to each property, so one closing on time and another closing late gives you a partial exchange, not a complete failure.
What happens if the replacement closes after the period ends?
Property received after the exchange period is treated as not like-kind under section 1031(a)(3)(B). If nothing else was received in time, the gain may be taxable for the year of the sale; see options after a failed exchange.
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.
- 26 U.S.C. 1031, exchange of real property held for productive use or investment (Cornell LII)
- 26 CFR 1.1031(k)-1, treatment of deferred exchanges (Cornell LII)
- IRS, Instructions for Form 8824, Like-Kind Exchanges
- 26 U.S.C. 6072, time for filing income tax returns (Cornell LII)
- 26 CFR 1.6081-4, automatic extension for individual income tax returns (Cornell LII)
- IRS, Rev. Proc. 2018-58, postponement of time-sensitive acts