Capital gains tax and real estate

[Ronnie]

I had to pay a lot of capital gains tax this year for a
property I sold last year. I have another property that I'm
thinking of selling this year. I know I can do an "even
exchange" with the proceeds of the sale for another real
estate investment. My question is can the same be done if I
wanted to buy a business (franchise) with the proceeds of a
real estate sale and avoid the capital gains?

Thank you in advance for any help.

 

[Arthur L. Rubin]

I had to pay a lot of capital gains tax this year for a
property I sold last year. I have another property that I'm
thinking of selling this year. I know I can do an "even
exchange" with the proceeds of the sale for another real
estate investment.

Not exactly. It must be an EXCHANGE. If you receive the
proceeds of the sale, you are not eligible. But, to
continue....

My question is can the same be done if I
wanted to buy a business (franchise) with the proceeds of a
real estate sale and avoid the capital gains?

No.

 

[Rich Carreiro]

I had to pay a lot of capital gains tax this year for a
property I sold last year. I have another property that I'm
thinking of selling this year. I know I can do an "even
exchange" with the proceeds of the sale for another real
estate investment.

No, you can't. Or at least you can't do it as you
described. If you actually touch the proceeds
of the sold property, the transaction becomes
taxable. You have to get the replacement property
designated and use a qualified intermediary to
handle the funds if you want to do the sort
of tax-free exchange you're talking about.