A 1031 exchange lets you sell one investment property and roll the entire gain into the next one without paying tax that year. Done across a portfolio's life, it's the difference between compounding on your full equity and compounding on what's left after the IRS takes its cut. Done wrong, it collapses on a deadline and the tax bill arrives anyway.
This page is the map. Every question a 1031 raises has its own deep dive below. Start wherever yours is.
Start with the rules
The whole framework in one place: the two clocks, like-kind, equal-or-greater value, debt matching and boot, and a worked example with real numbers.
1031 exchange rules for rental property →
Watch the clock
The deadlines don't move, and most failed exchanges die between them. The day-by-day map, plus where exchanges actually stall and how to build slack into the timeline.
The 1031 exchange timeline: day 0 to day 180 →
Know what qualifies
Like-kind is the most misunderstood term in the code, and it's far more permissive than it sounds. What qualifies, what never does, and why hold time is the test that actually matters.
Know the tax you're deferring
Before you defer it, understand it. The real bill on a rental sale has four layers, and capital gains is rarely the biggest.
Capital gains on a rental property →
Choose your intermediary
The qualified intermediary holds every dollar of your proceeds between closings, and the industry is barely regulated. What a QI does, what one costs, and the five questions that separate real ones from cheap ones.
The advanced moves
Once the basics are solid, these are the decisions that shape a specific exchange.
- Reverse 1031 exchange → When you have to buy before you sell, and why it usually isn't necessary.
- DST or direct property → The fractional easy button, and what you trade for it.
- Moving into your 1031 property → The 5-year rule for converting a replacement property into your home.
- Refinance instead of selling? → Sometimes a cash-out refinance beats an exchange. Run both.
How it works at Lineage
Most exchanges fail on coordination, not tax law: the lender, inspector, seller, and title company don't move at 1031 speed. Lineage runs lending, insurance, and title in parallel against pre-screened, pre-underwritten inventory, so closes average about 22 days, as few as 13 when everything lines up. That speed is the slack a live exchange needs. Bring your qualified intermediary; we handle the acquisition.
See the 1031 exchange platform →
Educational content, not tax or legal advice. 1031 exchanges have strict requirements. Work with a qualified intermediary and your CPA.