Deep guides for the situations sellers actually face: inheritances, partnerships, deadlines already running, low basis, big mortgages, retirement, and the choice between paying the tax and exchanging.
A 1031 exchange rarely fails on the definition of like-kind. It fails on a partner who wants cash, a deadline that started at the wrong closing, a mortgage larger than the equity, or a basis so low that recapture dominates the math. These guides start from those situations.
Each guide is written for one reader with one problem, gives the answer first, and shows the numbers, forms and citations that decide it.
A leasehold with 30 or more years to run is like-kind to a fee, but ground-lease land earns no depreciation, so all of the rent is taxed now.
ReadA sale-leaseback turns your business building into cash while you stay as tenant; a 1031 defers the gain. The lease terms and the buyer decide whether both hold up.
ReadA 1031 exchange swaps real estate for real estate and can be repeated; a 721 exchange trades it for REIT partnership units and ends future exchanges. How to choose.
ReadSection 1031 gives 45 and 180 days and needs an intermediary; section 1033 gives two to three years and lets you hold the cash. Which rule applies, and when.
ReadBoth give you 100% title and the exit decision. The difference is who sources, finances and manages the property, and how much work lands inside your 180 days.
ReadAn all-cash DST works only if new debt or added cash covers the mortgage you paid off. Compare a financed purchase, leveraged DSTs and a zero cash flow split.
ReadA net lease DST pays one tenant's fixed rent; a multifamily DST pays through a master lease over hundreds of one-year leases. How income, risk and exits differ.
ReadOne building gives you control and a single bet; several DSTs give spread and no say. How identification rules, debt, management and heirs differ.
ReadA traditional DST pays distributions from stabilized property; a cash out DST pays none, uses heavy leverage and aims at later liquidity. Who each one fits.
ReadPartnership interests are not real property, so one member cannot 1031 alone: a PIN, a pre-sale TIC drop or a post-exchange refinance lets one partner cash out.
ReadSpousal buyouts are section 1041 transfers (no gain, carryover basis); a sale to an outside buyer lets each spouse run a separate 1031 on a tenancy-in-common share.
ReadDeed TIC interests out of the partnership before the sale (drop-and-swap) or after the exchange (swap-and-drop); Form 1065 Questions 11 and 12 report both.
ReadAn LLC interest in a developer's project is not like-kind real property. Take title yourself: a fee or TIC share, land you ground-lease, or a build-to-suit exchange.
ReadSame taxpayer means same tax owner: single-member LLCs, revocable trusts and DSTs count as you; partnerships, corporations and a spouse added at closing do not.
ReadA PIN turns the departing partner’s share of the price into a buyer’s note the partnership distributes to him, so only he pays tax as the note is paid.
ReadTreasury has proposed listing monetized installment sales as reportable tax shelters. A 1031 rests on a statute, safe harbours and Rev. Rul. 2004-86 instead.
ReadA 1031 reinvests the whole sale price and defers everything; an opportunity fund takes only the gain but hands the tax back five years later.
ReadTwo hypothetical sellers: $57,104 of tax on a $258,000 gain, $539,000 on a $1,750,000 gain. Judge the exchange against equity returned, not against the gain.
ReadA cashout refinance gives you loan proceeds the IRS does not tax and keeps the asset; a 1031 moves you into more property. On a $1M building it nets $390K.
ReadAn SBA loan does not block a 1031 exchange, but the payoff is debt relief to replace, early payoff can carry a fee, and SBA will not finance a passive replacement.
ReadRefinance the replacement after the exchange closes: the loan proceeds are not taxable and the deferred gain stays deferred. Season it; trace the interest.
ReadAfter day 45 the list is locked. Run the primary closing, a backup and financing in parallel, and close before day 180 or the return due date.
ReadA lawsuit does not bar an exchange, but a lis pendens can stall closing and the 180 days never stop. Clear title first and treat any holdback as boot.
ReadThe buyer's path into a DST: who may sell you one and their licenses, the accreditation file, the proposal process, what subscribing commits you to, and a timeline.
ReadWeek 1 locks the money and the math, weeks 2 to 4 test properties, weeks 5 and 6 put a signed list in your intermediary's hands with a DST backup.
ReadA QI signs an exchange agreement, takes assignment of both contracts with written notice, holds the proceeds under strict limits and wires them to your purchase.
ReadA hypothetical $1.4 million replacement depreciated two ways: old basis on the old schedule plus new money on a fresh one, or the election to treat it all as new.
ReadA DST load is spent once; the tax is only postponed. Where the breakeven sits depends on how you exit, worked here with a hypothetical $1 million sale.
ReadAt 94 the step-up is about four years off and a taxable sale wastes it; at 63 it is 24 years away. How life expectancy and income shape a parent's 1031 options.
ReadA GST or irrevocable trust outside the grantor's estate gets no section 1014 step-up, so the trustee can 1031 the property rather than pay tax on decades of gain.
ReadHeirs holding inherited rentals as tenants in common can each sell or 1031 their own share; an LLC interest cannot be exchanged, so split title before any sale.
ReadSwap till you drop works because section 1014 resets basis at death. How direct property, DST interests and 721 OP units carry that step-up, and where the plan breaks.
ReadA lease-option tenant can buy your rental inside a 1031 exchange, but the tenant picks the closing date and option money you already hold sits outside the exchange.
ReadSelling the leased fee before expiry trades the reversion for a sure price; waiting gives you a building tax-free, but with zero basis and the lease-up risk.
ReadExchange money can fund construction only on land an EAT holds for you, and only work completed and affixed by day 180 counts toward value. The rest is boot.
ReadAn EAT parks one property for up to 180 days under Rev. Proc. 2000-37, with the QEAA signed within 5 business days. Worth it when deferred tax dwarfs the fees.
ReadA 1031 that closes one year and fails the next is taxed in the payout year under Reg. Section 1.1031(k)-1(j)(2), given bona fide intent; debt relief stays in year one.
ReadTell us what you are selling and when it closes. An advisor will send a free proposal with replacement options that fit your deadlines and your state's rules.
DST marketplace · Preview
Three of twelve sample structures: asset class, leverage, minimum and hold. The sponsor, the distributions paid and the offering size are what marketplace access adds, after a short suitability call. Request access and the current list follows.
Interstate logistics corridor · Southeast
A single-tenant logistics building on a long net lease to an investment-grade shipper, held without debt.
Shown with marketplace access
Sample offering: a hypothetical illustration of this structure type, not an actual or current offering.
Suburban Pennsylvania · Northeast
A purpose-built community run by a national operator under a management agreement, not a lease.
Shown with marketplace access
Sample offering: a hypothetical illustration of this structure type, not an actual or current offering.
Flagship state university · Southeast
Purpose-built student housing within walking distance of a large public university, leased by the bed.
Shown with marketplace access
Sample offering: a hypothetical illustration of this structure type, not an actual or current offering.
Sample offerings: hypothetical illustrations of structure types, not actual or current offerings. Photos are representative of each asset class. Current offerings are private placements for accredited investors, described by private placement memorandum.
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