Transfer Real Estate and Defer Tax! Many of us have been there. If you sell appreciated property, your unrealized gain can become a realized gain, and create a potential tax liability. But, if you exchange your property for another like property, you may be able to continue to defer the taxable gain! A 1031 exchange is a swap of one business or investment asset for another. Capital gains on the sale of this property are deferred or postponed as long as the IRS rules are meticulously followed. 1031 exchanges typically involve real estate, but can be used for other investment properties like businesses. It involves a simple swap of one property for another between two people. Since it’s unlikely that you and another person will have the exact properties you want to swap, the vast majority of exchanges are delayed, three party, or Starker exchanges. In a delayed exchange, you need a middleman who holds the cash after you “sell” your property and uses it to “buy” the replacement property for you. There are two key timing rules you must observe in a delayed exchange. The first is that you can’t receive the cash, and within 45 days of sale, you must then designate a replacement property. The second is that you must close on the new property within 180 days of the sale of the old one. These two time periods must be concurrent. There can be other considerations as well. These exchanges can become complex and experts should always be consult