A 1031 exchange agreement is a tax deferral strategy that allows individuals or businesses to sell an investment property and reinvest the proceeds into a like-kind property, without incurring immediate capital gains taxes.
An IRC Section 1031 Exchange (“Exchange”) is a tax benefit that allows investors to defer the capital gains tax normally due on the sale of investment real estate or real estate held for productive use in a trade or business (sometimes as much as a 35% combined rate – state and federal).
A 1031 exchange allows investors to defer capital gains tax on the sale of one investment property by reinvesting the proceeds into another like-kind property. The like-kind exchange must involve real estate properties, not personal property (except in specific cases, such as real estate businesses).
Lack of Liquidity- Exchanging properties continually can tie up funds in real estate, making it hard for an investor to access liquid capital if required. While real estate can be a profitable investment, it's not as liquid as some other assets.
Section 1031(f) provides that if a Taxpayer exchanges with a related party then the party who acquired the property in the exchange must hold it for 2 years or the exchange will be disallowed.
Investors talk about two-year and five-year rules related to 1031 exchanges, but are these actual rules? In fact, there is no minimum holding period for a 1031 exchange property. However, the IRS and many advisors recommend holding it for at least two years to avoid scrutiny.
The 95% rule says that a taxpayer can identify more than three properties with a total value that is more than 200% of the value of the relinquished property, but only if the taxpayer acquires at least 95% of the value of the properties that he identifies.
The property must be a business or investment property, which means that it can't be personal property. Your home won't qualify for a 1031 exchange. However, a single-family rental property that you own could be exchanged for commercial rental property.
To better understand how the rule works, let's consider an example: Suppose you own a commercial property that you plan to sell for $1 million. To qualify for a 1031 exchange and defer capital gains taxes, you must reinvest at least 95% of the proceeds, which amounts to $950,000, into a replacement property.