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Calculators · Reinvestment

Replacement Property Requirements Calculator: Value, Equity and Debt to Replace

Enter the sale and the replacement you are considering. See the equal-or-greater tests in dollars, the equity you must reinvest, the debt gap, and the cash or allocated DST debt that would close it.

Illustrative only. Federal 2026 figures from the sources below; confirm your own numbers with your CPA. Last reviewed .

What this calculator does

To defer all of the gain, the replacement must be worth at least as much as what you sold net of selling costs, all of the net equity must go into it, and the debt you paid off must be replaced by new debt or by cash you add. Fall short on any test and the shortfall is boot.

This worksheet turns those three tests into dollar figures for a replacement you are looking at, and sizes the debt gap. The gap is what a zero cash flow DST or a leveraged DST interest can fill without personal borrowing, because the trust's non-recourse loan is allocated to you under Rev. Rul. 2004-86.

The three tests

Net equity to reinvest$700,000
Value test: price vs amount realizedShort by $100,000
Equity test: exchange cash into the replacement$750,000 needed, $700,000 available
Debt test: new debt plus cash added vs debt relievedShort by $150,000
Boot on these numbers$150,000
Equity to put in a DST to close the debt gap$26,471 at 85% LTV

Worked example (hypothetical): selling for $1.2 million net with a $500,000 payoff and buying at $1.1 million with a $350,000 loan leaves $150,000 of mortgage boot. Adding $150,000 of cash, or placing about $26,500 of equity into a zero cash flow trust at 85% loan-to-value, removes it.

How the numbers are calculated

Net equity = amount realized minus loan paid off. Value test: replacement price must be at least the amount realized. Equity test: cash going into the replacement from the exchange must equal the net equity, so unspent proceeds are cash boot. Debt test: new debt plus cash added must be at least the debt relieved; the shortfall is mortgage boot under Reg. section 1.1031(d)-2.

The DST sizing line shows the allocated debt needed at a given trust leverage: a trust at 50% loan-to-value allocates $1 of debt for every $1 of equity; a zero cash flow trust at 85% allocates about $5.67 per $1.

Questions about this calculator

Do I have to reinvest the whole sale price or just the gain?

Full deferral requires buying replacement property of equal or greater value and reinvesting all net equity; the gain alone is not the test. See reinvest the whole price or just the gain.

Can I replace debt with cash instead of a new loan?

Yes. Cash you add from outside the exchange offsets debt relief dollar for dollar. See replace the mortgage or add cash.

What if the lender will only give me a smaller loan?

The shortfall is mortgage boot unless you add cash or use a replacement whose allocated non-recourse debt fills the gap, which is what a zero cash flow DST is built for. See the new lender wants more down.

Sources

Figures checked on September 30, 2026. Rates and thresholds change each year; this page is general information, not tax or legal advice.

  1. Internal Revenue Code section 1031(b) and (d)
  2. Treasury Regulation section 1.1031(d)-2, treatment of liabilities
  3. Rev. Rul. 2004-86, debt allocated to beneficial owners of a Delaware statutory trust
  4. IRS, Instructions for Form 8824

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