1031 Exchange Deadline Tracker

Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code lets an investor defer capital gain and depreciation recapture on the sale of investment real estate by reinvesting the proceeds into a like-kind replacement property. The deferral is valuable. The rules for getting it are strict. Miss either of the two deadlines by even one day and the exchange fails retroactively, making the entire gain taxable in the year of the original sale.

Both deadlines run from the closing date of the old (relinquished) property. The 45-day identification clock ends on day 45. By that day the investor must identify replacement properties in writing to the qualified intermediary, following one of three counting rules (three-property rule, 200% rule, or 95% rule). The 180-day closing clock ends on day 180, not 45 + 180 = 225, but 180 total from the relinquished closing. The investor must close on one or more of the identified replacement properties by that day.

After the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, IRC 1031 was restricted to real property only; it no longer applies to personal property exchanges. This tool takes the relinquished closing date and calculates both deadlines with a countdown. Status flags switch from neutral to warning at 20 days (identification) or 60 days (closing), and to urgent at 10 days (identification) or 30 days (closing). See the methodology page for our sourcing of the counting rules.

Both deadlines derive from 26 CFR 1.1031(k)-1(b)(2). Quoting the regulation verbatim: "The identification period begins on the date the taxpayer transfers the relinquished property and ends at midnight on the 45th day thereafter." The exchange period ends at midnight on the 180th day. Both are calendar days; IRC 7503 extends a deadline landing on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday to the next business day (in practice at most 2-3 days).

The 45-day identification must be in writing, signed by the taxpayer, and delivered to the qualified intermediary (not to the taxpayer's own attorney or broker) before the end of the identification period. Per 26 CFR 1.1031(k)-1(c)(4)(i), three counting rules apply: the three-property rule allows up to three replacement properties without regard to value; the 200-percent rule allows any number of properties as long as their aggregate fair market value does not exceed 200% of the relinquished property's value; the 95-percent rule allows unlimited identification if the taxpayer ultimately closes on 95% of identified value.

The 180-day closing is absolute. The only statutory exceptions are a federally declared disaster under Rev. Proc. 2018-58 and the IRC 7503 weekend/holiday shift. There is no extension for closing delays, title issues, financing problems, or market conditions. Investors routinely close on day 179; closing on day 181 fails the exchange.

IRC 1031 restricted to real property only by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Pub. L. 115-97 § 13303(b)(5). Exchanges of personal property (equipment, art, collectibles) no longer qualify.

Use this the day the relinquished property closes. Post both dates somewhere permanent (not a sticky note) and set calendar reminders 14 days before identification and 30 days before closing. Work with a qualified intermediary from before the relinquished closing; exchanges fail most often because the taxpayer accidentally took constructive receipt of the sale proceeds before the QI was in place. For the tax impact of the deferred gain when the replacement property is eventually sold without another 1031, pair with the rental depreciation tool to estimate recapture.