A 1031 exchange is a provision in the tax code that lets real estate investors sell an investment property and defer the capital gains tax by reinvesting the proceeds into a like-kind replacement property. You don’t avoid the tax permanently. You push it forward until you eventually sell without exchanging, which is why some investors chain exchanges for decades.

The rules are strict on timing. You have 45 days from the sale of the relinquished property to identify potential replacement properties in writing. You have 180 days from the sale to actually close on one of those identified properties. Miss either window and the exchange fails, meaning the full gain becomes taxable in the year of sale. The proceeds also can’t touch your hands. A qualified intermediary holds the funds between sale and purchase.

Like-kind is broader than most people expect for real estate. Any real property held for investment or business use qualifies as like-kind to any other investment or business real property. You can swap a rental duplex for raw land, an office building for an apartment complex, or a warehouse for a retail strip. What you cannot do is exchange property held as inventory, which is why fix-and-flip properties don’t qualify. The IRS treats flips as dealer inventory, not investment property.

The bookkeeping requirements come down to tracking four things. First, the adjusted basis of the property you sold, which is your original cost plus improvements minus accumulated depreciation. Second, the realized gain on the sale, which is the sale price minus selling costs minus adjusted basis. Third, the deferred gain that rolls forward, which becomes part of the replacement property’s tax treatment. Fourth, the carryover basis of the replacement property, which is generally the purchase price minus the deferred gain.

You’ll need to keep the closing statements from both transactions, the qualified intermediary agreement and accounting, the 45-day identification letter, any exchange-related fees, and documentation supporting the investment intent of both properties. If you received boot, meaning cash or debt relief that exceeded what you reinvested, that portion is taxable in the year of exchange and needs to be recorded separately.

Depreciation on the replacement property gets complicated. You continue depreciating the carryover basis on the original schedule and start a new schedule on any additional basis you added by paying more for the replacement. Most bookkeeping software doesn’t handle this split automatically, so it needs to be tracked manually or by someone familiar with the mechanics.

The records matter because the deferred gain follows the property until the final sale, which could be 10 or 20 years later. If your books don’t clearly show how the basis was calculated at the time of exchange, reconstructing it later is painful and expensive. Investors working with experienced real estate investor bookkeepers set up the tracking at the time of exchange so the information is there when it’s eventually needed.

Dennis at A Squared spent over 20 years in real estate accounting before founding the firm, so 1031 exchange mechanics are familiar territory. If you’re planning an exchange or already closed one and aren’t sure your records are set up correctly, the Pasadena bookkeepers at A Squared can walk through your situation and make sure the tax position is properly documented.