With real the real estate market at an all-time high, we are going to go over 1031 exchanges, which can help you defer or even eliminate real estate taxes. Simply put, a 1031 exchange is a swap of one investment property for another that allows capital gains taxes to be deferred. The term gets its name from IRS code Section 1031. But – and this is important – you have to begin this process, and the 1031 must be in place before sell the investment property. Then, from that closing date, the person selling the investment property has 45 days to identify the replacement property to buy and has 180 days to close on the new property. To obtain 100% tax-deferral, the exchanger needs to reinvest all the net proceeds from the sale and replace any debt paid off with either new debt or new cash. Most exchangers buy a property of equal or greater value than the old property. These are often called “like kind” exchanges. Remember, exchanges are very flexible. An exchanger can sell any type of real estate used in a trade or business or for investment and replace it with any type of property used in a trade or business or for investment. You can sell residential property and buy commercial property. You can sell an office building and buy a shopping mall. The rules are very flexible. Let’s say that you bought a property for $400,000 15 years ago, and now it’s worth $700,000. Some people might think you only have to pay taxes on the $300,000 gain