Ten Things to Know About 1031 Exchanges

Tax nerds may be able to spout off Internal Revenue Code Sections, but most people never get beyond 401(k). (That’s right, your workplace retirement savings plan is named after a section of the tax code.)

Still, “Section 1031″ is slowly making its way into daily conversation, bandied about by realtors, title companies, investors and soccer moms. Some people even insist on making it into a verb, a la FedEx ( FDX – news – people ), as in: “Let’s 1031 that building for another.” (While Section 1031 isn’t restricted to real estate, that’s clearly where most of the discussion takes place.)

So what is 1031? Broadly stated, a 1031 exchange (also called a like-kind exchange or a Starker) is a swap of one business or investment asset for another. Although most swaps are taxable as sales, if you come within 1031, you’ll either have no tax or limited tax due at the time of the exchange.

In effect, you can change the form of your investment without (as the IRS sees it) cashing out or recognizing a capital gain. That allows your investment to continue to grow tax deferred. There’s no limit on how many times or how frequently you can do a 1031. You can roll over the gain from one piece of investment real estate to another to another and another. Although you may have a profit on each swap, you avoid tax until you actually sell for cash many years later. Then you’ll hopefully pay only one tax, and that at a long-term capital gain rate (currently 15%).

Warning: Special rules apply when depreciable property is exchanged in a 1031. It can trigger gain known as “depreciation recapture” that is taxed as ordinary income. In general, if you swap one building for another building, or one machine for another machine, you can avoid this recapture. But if you exchange improved land with a building for unimproved land without a building, the depreciation you’ve previously claimed on the building will be recaptured as ordinary income.

Such complications are why you need professional help when you’re doing a 1031. Still, if you’re considering a 1031–or just curious–here are 10 things you should know.