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Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code allows you to roll the gain from the sale of your Old Property to the purchase of your New Property -- and not pay any capital gains taxes! To do this, you have to jump through certain hoops.

We've talked in Part 1 about how your property has to be held for investment or business use, and that it can not be held for resale (like a developer or fix-&-flips). We talked in Part 2 about your requirement to identify and list potential replacement properties for your exchange within 45 days of the closing of your sale of the Old Property. In Part 3 we talked about the requirement that you purchase your replacement property within 180 days of the sale of your Old Property, and that you must buy at least one of the properties listed on your 45 Day List.

Recently we encountered a great deal of confusion concerning 1031 Exchanges and the so-called "year-and-a-day" rule. You've probably heard that you should hold both your Old and New Properties for at least a year-and-a-day prior to and after completing a 1031 Exchange -- and this remains sound advice.

However (and this is a HUGE "however") THE "YEAR-AND-A-DAY RULE IS NOT THE LAW. Nowhere in Section 1031, the regulations, tax court decisions, or any other authority will you find any mention of a "year-and-a-day" rule. The "year-and-a-day" rule is only a guideline divined from a few Tax Court decisions, a non-binding IRS ruling stating that holding property for at least two years in a particular instance was fine, and common sense considerations - for instance, long-term capital gains kick-in after holding property for a year.

A NonReligious Look at 1031 Exchanges and Apartment-Condo Conversions...

Apartment-condominium conversions have become a very lucrative way to make money in real estate these days. They are very popular in resort areas as people see that individual condominiums are worth more as separate units as compared to a single apartment building for rent. In addition, investors and developers are converting office buildings for rent into office condominiums for similar reasons. However, a question we are frequently asked by our clients is whether such a conversion will qualify for a 1031 exchange. The short answer is "maybe," as long as they are structured properly

Section 1031 allows you to roll the gain from the sale of your Old Property to the purchase of your New Property. To do this, you have to jump through certain hoops. We've talked in previous articles about how your property has to be held for investment and that it can not be held for resale.

We've also talked about the requirement to identify potential replacement properties for your exchange and how you have to complete a list of these potential properties within 45 days. We talked about the requirement that whatever you purchase must be on your 45 day list. And then last month we talked about how your money must be held by an independent third party called a Qualified Intermediary (QI) and how you must make sure that the intermediary holds your money in an account separate from other exchanges.