For owners selling commercial & investment property

The tax bill on your building
is a decision, not a destiny.

A long-held property often surrenders 25–33% of its gain at closing — federal capital gains, 25% depreciation recapture, NIIT, and state tax, stacked. A 1031 exchange defers every dollar of it. You have 45 days to choose. The numbers take five minutes.

See what you'd defer →  Check my deadlines

Your 1031 clock

When did your sale close?

45 days to identify, 180 to close — calendar days, no weekend extensions. Open the full 1031 planner →

The decision

Three doors out of a sale.
Most owners are only shown two.

Path A

Sell and pay the tax

Walk away clean · pay 25–33% of the gain

Sometimes right — and always the honest baseline. We show this number first, computed the way your CPA would, because a comparison that hides it isn't a comparison.

Path B

1031 into another building

Every dollar stays invested · so does every obligation

Full deferral, familiar playbook — and another decade of tenants, refinancing, and 2 a.m. phone calls. The default choice, mostly because nobody shows owners the third door.

Path C

1031 into a DST

Same deferral · institutional real estate · zero management

The exit that isn't an exit: your equity keeps working in stabilized property, the checks keep coming, and the only thing you give up is the landlording. How DSTs actually work →

Guides

Start where your question is

1031 into a DST vs. buying again

The full decision framework, with the deadlines, the boot traps, and the identification rules.

Choosing a qualified intermediary

Bonding, segregated escrow, and the questions to ask before you wire a nickel.

Passive CRE income

What "passive" actually means in commercial real estate, and what it pays.

$0

everything here is free — no gates, no email required to run a single number

3

paths compared honestly, starting with the one nobody selling anything shows you: sell and pay the tax

50

states in the capital-gains table — every assumption sourced and dated

Who writes this

By an owner, for owners

1031 Deferred is written by Casmir Mason, founder & CEO of North Pine Capital, a commercial real estate sponsor. That affiliation is disclosed plainly because it's the point: the math here is the math we use. More about the site →

Quick answers

The questions everyone asks first

How long do I have to complete a 1031 exchange?

45 calendar days from closing to identify replacement property, 180 to close — no weekend extensions. Compute your exact dates.

What is a DST in a 1031 exchange?

A Delaware Statutory Trust holds institutional real estate; your beneficial interest qualifies as like-kind replacement property, making the exchange fully passive. The complete guide.

Can I 1031 exchange into a REIT?

Not directly — but the DST-to-721-UPREIT path gets you there in two steps. Here's how it works.