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Author: 1031exchange Published: 2008-09-28 13:22:36 Last edit: 2008-09-27 07:06:08 Tags: 1031 exchange 1031 exchanges 1031 tax exchange |
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Section 1031 gives real estate investors a wonderful gift in the form of a tax deferral, a kind of 'interest-free loan' from Uncle Sam. This may give you cause to wonder why the government would see fit to do this. As a matter of fact, section 1031 is not a naked gesture of goodwill, but a calculated, mutually beneficial arrangement. Giving investors the ability to place their assets in the best investments possible stimulates the U.S. economy, creating new jobs and new opportunities for Americans.
The reasoning behind the prohibition of 1031 exchanges involving property in a foreign nation is clear, but things become a bit more hazy when you consider U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico, Guam, or the U.S. Virgin Islands. You are in fact permitted to make an exchange on a property in one of these territories, but it is essential to be cautious when making a transaction of this sort.
In private letter rulings relating to the U.S. Virgin Islands, the IRS has ruled that a property must be income-producing in order to meet like-kind requirements. This is a more constricted definition of a like-kind exchange than that which is normally applied to exchanges made on properties in the United States, which merely requires that your property be held for the purpose of business, trade or investment.
The path of least resistance when it comes to making a 1031 exchange is to confine your transactions to the United States, which comprise the fifty states as well as Washington D.C. In the event that you find it necessary to make an exchange on property located in an outside territory, I advise you to carefully analyze your replacement property to make sure it meets like-kind requirements. You may even want to request your own private letter ruling from the IRS.
United States investors can save their money by using a 1031 exchange to defer all of their capital gains tax on the sale of investment property. A 1031 tax exchange is almost like getting an interest free loan from Uncle Sam!
The reasoning behind the prohibition of 1031 exchanges involving property in a foreign nation is clear, but things become a bit more hazy when you consider U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico, Guam, or the U.S. Virgin Islands. You are in fact permitted to make an exchange on a property in one of these territories, but it is essential to be cautious when making a transaction of this sort.
In private letter rulings relating to the U.S. Virgin Islands, the IRS has ruled that a property must be income-producing in order to meet like-kind requirements. This is a more constricted definition of a like-kind exchange than that which is normally applied to exchanges made on properties in the United States, which merely requires that your property be held for the purpose of business, trade or investment.
The path of least resistance when it comes to making a 1031 exchange is to confine your transactions to the United States, which comprise the fifty states as well as Washington D.C. In the event that you find it necessary to make an exchange on property located in an outside territory, I advise you to carefully analyze your replacement property to make sure it meets like-kind requirements. You may even want to request your own private letter ruling from the IRS.
United States investors can save their money by using a 1031 exchange to defer all of their capital gains tax on the sale of investment property. A 1031 tax exchange is almost like getting an interest free loan from Uncle Sam!
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