Definition of "Tax free exchange"

Transfer of real estate from one taxpayer to another that are exempt from federal income taxes. An example is an exchange of property in which ownership of transferred real estate is still kept. In the year of exchange, there is no recognized gain or loss. However, there is an adjustment to basis of the property received in the transfer, in effect deferring the gain upon future disposition.

1031 Tax Free Exchange

Also called a like-kind exchange. An exchange in which tax benefits are available to real estate owners planning to sell their investment, rental, business or vacation real estate, and reinvest the net proceeds in other real estate.

Real Estate held for these purposes are called like-kind/1031 properties. Property owners may sell like-kind properties and defer taxes on the sale's profits by meeting the requirements of Internal Revenue Code (IRC) 1031 exchange. The purpose of the 1031 exchange is to allow sellers of like-kind property to buy replacement property of like-kind within a specific time period and defer taxes. The deferred profit tax benefit applies despite a time lapse between the sale of the taxpayer's former property and his purchase of replacement property. This sell-now, buy-later situation is called a delayed exchange.

The 1031 exchange applies only to property other than the personal residence or dealer property. Specifically included for exchange are properties used or held for rental income, business purposes, investment, or as vacation homes. Taxwise, investment properties include vacant land held for profit, ground leases and management-free triple net lease. An owner of these qualifying like-kind properties can complete a 1031 exchange, but he must follow the to time constraints.

A 1031 exchange differs from the more informal 1034 tax deferred rollover, which applies to a personal residence and has more lenient deadlines. Unlike a 1034 rollover, a 1031 exchange has different deadlines and other criteria. The replacement property must be acquired before 45-day and 180-day deadlines have run. Note that often, brokers are unable to arrange a nearly simultaneous closing for both legs of an exchange.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Real Estate Terms

The meaning of a disclosure statement is a legal document signed by both parties, the lender and the borrower or buyer. This statement outlines the terms and conditions, the potential ...

Effective Age is the counterpart to a property’s Actual Age. While the former refers to the date a property was built, the latter is more of a sensorial depiction of its age; the age ...

Commitment by a lender to a borrower for a given amount of money at specified terms for the financing of a project. The borrower pays a fee for the privilege of either executing the loan or ...

What’s the definition of real estate collateral? Could we say it’s like keeping a hostage? No, that would be relatively insensitive. But the idea is similar. In real estate, ...

A lien is a legal instrument by which one party – usually lenders and creditors - guarantees the obligation of a real estate owner to do something – generally repays the money. ...

Typically, the term rider defines a financial concept, implying a written modification applied to an insurance policy, altering its initial clauses and provisions. The rider can update the ...

Member of a partnership whose liability for partnership debts is limited to the amount invested in the partnership. A limited partner is prohibited from taking active part in the management ...

Mortgage on both the purchased real estate and personal property of a durable type. The entire amount financed is considered one mortgage. In residential real estate, a builder might ...

Short-term leases are leases that run its completion in a faster time than regular ones.In real estate, short term-leases usually refer to temporary housing; that is: rent.The length of a ...

Popular Real Estate Questions