1031 Exchanges And The Closing Expenses On Real Estate Sales

By Larry J. Conery

The closing of a sale on real estate property involves a number of expenses that may draw off from your proceeds and reflect themselves on the closing statement. Some of these are the standard operating expenses or the ones used for your agent's commission and the recording of the deed. But during the proceedings, additional expenses may also arise like security deposits and rent proration.

These sorts of expenses don't seem to fit on your typical closing statement, and for good reason. Some costs are appropriate to debit off your closing statement during a 1031 exchange transaction, and there are some that most certainly are not.

The property's new owner can have future rent and security deposits via a check taken from your personal account. It may pose some danger to debit these kinds of expenses to the closing statement primarily because in the process, you are taking 'boot' from the transaction's proceeds. In addition, you are freeing an amount from your account that is supposed to be for your own use.

Any cash benefit or boot you receive from the sale is not considered part of a like-kind exchange, and investors who have attempted this have found themselves facing IRS litigation.

You are responsible for all the expenses related to your replacement property particularly those that are not under like-kind exchange. In the course of a 1031 exchange - you also have to take into account fees for loan origination, underwriting, and processing. Payment of these fees has to come from your own property.

This article would like to emphasize the importance of being extra cautious in your 1031 exchange transactions. In case you are tempted to receive non like-kind proceeds or cash benefits from 1031 exchange, put in mind that the IRS may run after you and are actually looking closely on these types of transactions. - 23218

About the Author:

Investors in the U.S. can save big 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 similar to an interest free loan from Uncle Sam.