1031 exchange calculator
Type the sale, the basis and the replacement, and see what defers, what is taxed this year, and the two dates the whole exchange hangs on. Rates are inputs, because yours depend on your return.
The property you are selling
The property you are buying
Your rates (inputs, not advice; your CPA knows yours)
Send me these numbers
Leave your name and an email or cell number so the team can respond about this estimate. With an email address, we can also send you a copy.
Next number to run
What is my home worth What I walk away with Transfer tax Buyer closing costs Capital gains What I can afford
How the numbers work
Adjusted basis is what you paid, plus improvements that added to the property, minus the depreciation you took (or were allowed to take, whether or not you took it). Realized gain is the sale price minus selling costs minus that basis.
Boot is value that leaves the exchange. Cash boot is equity you keep instead of putting into the replacement. Mortgage boot is debt you shed and do not replace with new debt or new cash. The IRS taxes boot in the year of the sale, up to your gain. The two rules that keep boot at zero: buy equal or greater value, and reinvest all the equity.
The recognized gain is taxed in layers. Depreciation recapture comes first at a federal rate of up to 25 percent, then the rest at your long term rate, plus the 3.8 percent net investment income tax when your income is above its line, plus New York State at your bracket. The deferred gain lowers the basis of the replacement, so it is taxed the day that one sells without an exchange.
The clocks start on the closing date of the sale and run in calendar days. Identification in writing by day 45 (three properties, or more under the 200 percent rule), closing by day 180. The 180 days end early at your tax return due date unless you file an extension.
A qualified intermediary must hold the sale proceeds from the closing table. Touch the money and the exchange is over. Nothing on this page is tax or legal advice; the figures are arithmetic on the inputs you typed, checked against IRC Section 1031, Form 8824 and IRS Publication 544 when the page was built. Your CPA and your intermediary confirm your numbers.
Common questions
What is boot in a 1031 exchange?
Any value you take out instead of rolling it into the next property: cash kept, or debt shed and not replaced. It is taxed this year, up to the gain. Equal or greater value plus all the equity reinvested means no boot.
How are the 45 and 180 days counted?
Both start on the day the sale closes, calendar days, no extensions for weekends. Day 45 is the identification deadline, day 180 the closing deadline, and your tax return due date cuts the 180 short unless you extend.
Does the exchange avoid the tax or delay it?
Delay. The gain rides into the replacement through a lower basis. Sell that one without another exchange and the tax comes due. Held until death, the basis steps up under current law.
Can I exchange my own home?
No. Section 1031 is for property held for business or investment. A primary home uses the Section 121 exclusion, covered on the capital gains page.
Disclaimer: every figure on this page is arithmetic on the numbers you typed, using the rules in IRC Section 1031 and IRS Form 8824 instructions as read when the page was built. Actual results vary with your return, your state residency, passive loss history and the structure of the exchange. Confirm with a CPA and a qualified intermediary before you sign.
Read the rules in plain words on the 1031 exchange page, and the buy box on the investor page.