Leveraging a 1031 Exchange not only allows you to defer up to four levels of taxes providing you with greater capital to reinvest, but it can also provide a greater return on your investment in the future based upon the compounded rate of return.
Let’s take a look at the long-term benefits of utilizing a 1031 Exchange for your qualifying real estate transaction.
Joannie Investor owns a retail center she has been leasing for the past 20 years. She has taken annual depreciation deductions of $10,000 since 1990, reducing her tax basis to about $240,000. She sells her retail center at the market value of $1,250,000 and to rid herself of management responsibility reinvests her proceeds into a passive Like-Kind investment opportunity called a Delaware Statutory Trust (DST).
Without leveraging a 1031 Exchange, Joannie will incur the following tax liability, leaving her only $942,400 to reinvest.
Federal Capital Gains Tax (Up to 20%): $189,000
Depreciation Recapture Tax (25%): $51,280
State Capital Gains (5% varies by state): $38,250
Net Investment Income Tax (3.8%): $29,070
Total Tax Liability: $307,600
Reinvestment Total Without a 1031 exchange: $942,400
However, should Joannie engage a Qualified Intermediary prior to the sale of her retail center and structure her transaction as 1031 Exchange, she will defer all levels of tax above and have the total $1.25 million to reinvest.
The immediate benefit is obvious; Joannie has an additional $307,600 to reinvest. The less obvious benefit is how that additional amount compounds over the proceeding years. With Joannie utilizing a 1031 Exchange and reinvesting the full $1.25 million, at an 8% compounded rate of return over the next 10 years she will have more than doubled the investment for a total of $2.7 million.
Without a 1031 Exchange, the reinvestment amount of $942,400 after 10 years at the same compounding rate of return comes to just $2 million, that’s $700,000 less over 10 years should a 1031 Exchange not be utilized. By paying $307,600 in taxes, Joannie not only loses the Present Value of those dollars, but the Future Value of those dollars as well. Through subsequent 1031 Exchanges, she may also effectively defer those capital gains in perpetuity with ultimately an elimination of those capital gains via a step-up in basis for heirs. Utilizing a 1031 Exchange is indeed a powerful tool to maintain and build generational wealth.
A well-executed 1031 Exchange not only defers four levels of tax but also serves as a catalyst for diversification, capital growth, and enhanced income streams within a carefully curated real estate portfolio of DSTs or real property.
The material in this blog is presented for illustration purposes only. The information presented is not investment, legal, tax or compliance advice.
Greg McEwin
Managing Partner
1031 Investment Real Estate
Wells Fargo Center
299 S. Main St., 13th Floor
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
385-292-1031
greg@1031ire.com
www.1031ire.com
GPC MCO Approved 10/2024