Two Exchanges in One Year: Running Overlapping 45-Day Clocks

Decide before the first closing whether the sales are one exchange or two

Nothing in section 1031 limits how many exchanges you complete in a year; how many times you can do a 1031 explains why. What matters is how each exchange is documented, because that fixes the clock.

Reg. section 1.1031(k)-1(b)(2)(iii) says that if "as part of the same deferred exchange" you transfer more than one relinquished property on different dates, the identification and exchange periods are measured from "the earliest date on which any of the properties are transferred." Put two sales into one exchange agreement and the second sale inherits the first sale's deadlines.

So if the sales are months apart, two exchange agreements with the qualified intermediary are usually the safer setup. If they close days apart and you want to buy one larger property, a single exchange may be simpler. Make the choice before the first closing, because the agreement in place at that sale defines the exchange.

Each exchange gets its own list, and the limits apply to each separately

The three-property rule and the 200-percent rule in paragraph (c)(4) apply "regardless of the number of relinquished properties transferred by the taxpayer as part of the same deferred exchange." In a combined exchange, two sales still share three properties or a 200% value cap measured against both. In two exchanges, each gets its own three properties or its own cap.

Keep the lists separate on paper. Each identification must be signed by you and sent to the person involved in that exchange before its own day 45, and should name which exchange it belongs to so the QI applies it to the right account.

Mark each property on your calendar with its exchange name and both deadlines. When two day-45 dates fall within weeks of each other, it is easy to send one list to the wrong account or to treat a property under contract for one exchange as covered by the other.

If both exchanges want the same replacement, ask your CPA how to split it between them before you identify it on both lists.

Worked calendar: a March sale and a November sale in the same year

Hypothetical dates for an individual calendar-year filer. Sale A closes on March 1, 2026; sale B closes on November 1, 2026. Each runs as a separate exchange with its own agreement signed before its own closing.

Weekends and holidays do not move any of these dates, and only a federally declared disaster can postpone them under Rev. Proc. 2018-58.

• Sale A: day 45 is April 15, 2026; day 180 is August 28, 2026. The 2026 return is not due until April 2027, so day 180 controls.
• Sale B: day 45 is December 16, 2026; day 180 is April 30, 2027.
• The cap: paragraph (b)(2)(ii) ends the exchange period at the earlier of day 180 or the return due date with extensions. For sale B, the 2026 return due date of April 15, 2027 comes first, so you must extend the return to keep the last 15 days.
• If A and B had been one exchange, sale B's proceeds would have had to be identified by April 15, 2026 and invested by August 28, 2026, before B even closed in November. Run your own dates with your CPA and QI.

Two Form 8824s, or one summary with a statement for each

The Form 8824 instructions say that if you made more than one like-kind exchange, you can file a summary on one Form 8824 and attach your own statement showing all the information requested for each exchange, entering the total recognized gain on line 23 and total basis of property received on line 25.

Each exchange has its own boot, debt netting and basis. Cash left over in exchange A cannot be offset by extra debt in exchange B, and basis is computed separately. Form 8824 with multiple properties and DSTs covers how several replacements in one exchange are shown.

If one exchange closes in one tax year and the other spans two, the second is reported for the year its relinquished property was transferred. Exchanges that straddle tax years covers the reporting choices when proceeds are received in the following year.

Using DSTs for the second exchange when attention and time run short

Running two property searches at once is where overlapping exchanges usually strain: two sets of inspections, two loans and two closings inside the same few months. A common answer is to buy direct property in the exchange you have the most time for and use DST interests for the other, because the property, financing and documents are already in place.

DST interests come in amounts set by each offering; our traditional DST page cites minimums typically between $100,000 and $250,000 per DST, which lets an odd remainder of equity be placed across one or more trusts. Splitting an exchange between a DST and direct property shows the mechanics. DSTs are illiquid, often leveraged, and you have no control over management or sale timing.

If you are consolidating rather than running parallel exchanges, see consolidating rentals into one.