ARTICLE
23 January 2025

IRS Extends Deadline For 1031 Exchanges Affected By The 2025 Southern California Wildfires: Key Points You Need To Know

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Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger

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As a result of the wildfires and straight-line winds that began in Southern California on January 7, 2025, the IRS issued an extension of the 45- and 180-day deadlines for IRC §1031 exchange transactions.
United States California South Carolina Real Estate and Construction

As a result of the wildfires and straight-line winds that began in Southern California on January 7, 2025, the IRS issued an extension of the 45- and 180-day deadlines for IRC §1031 exchange transactions.

Here are key points and frequently asked questions about the extension.

Who is eligible?

  • The extensions apply to (i) taxpayers residing in, or whose principal place of business or books and records are located in, Los Angeles County and (ii) taxpayers who have difficulty meeting the deadlines due to the disaster.
  • The extensions permit eligible persons who began an IRC §1031 exchange between November 23, 2024, and January 7, 2025, to extend the 45-day identification period to October 15, 2025.
  • The extensions permit eligible persons who began an IRC §1031 exchange between July 11, 2024, and January 7, 2025, to extend the 180-day exchange period to the later of October 15, 2025, or 120 days after the original 180-day deadline date.
  • The extensions permit eligible persons who began a reverse exchange in between December 31, 2024, and January 7, 2025, to extend the 5-business day period to enter into a Qualified Exchange Accommodation Agreement (a "QEAA") to October 15, 2025.
  • A taxpayer may need to extend the time for filing his, her or its 2024 tax return to obtain this benefit.

Which transactions are covered?

  • Forward Exchanges. The Relinquished Property was transferred by no later than January 7, 2025.
  • Reverse Exchanges. The Exchange Accommodation Titleholder ("EAT") acquired the Replacement Property or the Relinquished Property, as applicable, by no later than January 7, 2025.

Who are eligible taxpayers?

The taxpayer must be one of the following:

  • An "Affected Taxpayer." An "Affected Taxpayer" is:
    • Any individual whose principal residence is located in the Disaster Area;
    • Any business entity or sole proprietorship that has its principal place of business located in the Disaster Area;
    • Any individual who is a relief worker and is assisting with the Disaster Area; or
    • Any individual or business entity whose records are kept in the Disaster Area.
  • Any Person Having "Difficulty" In Meeting Deadlines. A person who has difficulty meeting 45- and 180-day deadlines for one of the following reasons (or for a similar reason):
    • The Relinquished Property or Replacement Property is located in the Disaster Area;
    • The principal place of business of any party to the transaction (for example, a Qualified Intermediary, Exchange Accommodation Titleholder, transferee, settlement attorney, lender, financial institution, or a title insurance company) is located in the Disaster Area; or
    • One of the other reasons listed in Revenue Procedure 2018-58 (including the death of any party to a transaction, failure of a lender to fund the transaction, and refusal of the title insurance company to write a title insurance policy).

What are the new deadlines?

  • An Affected Person or a Person Having Difficulty in Meeting Deadlines is entitled to an extension of the 45-day identification deadline, the 180-day exchange deadline and, if applicable, the 5-business day deadline for entering into a QEAA, as follows:
    • Any deadline that falls on or after January 7, 2025, may be extended to the LATER of:
      • October 15, 2025, or
      • 120 days after the date on which the deadline would have otherwise occurred.
  • However, in no case may this deadline be extended beyond (a) the due date (including extensions) of the taxpayer's 2024 tax return (if the Relinquished Property was transferred or the EAT acquired the Replacement Property in 2024) or 2025 tax return (if the Relinquished Property was transferred or the EAT acquired the Replacement Property in 2025) or (b) 1 year.

What if the Relinquished Property was transferred or the EAT acquired the Replacement Property after January 7, 2025?

  • If a Relinquished Property was sold, or a Replacement Property was acquired, after January 7, 2025, and the original 45-day identification deadline falls on or before October 14, 2025, the 45-day identification deadline is extended to October 15, 2025. Similarly, if the original 180-day exchange deadline falls on or before October 14, 2025, the 180-day exchange deadline is extended to October 15, 2025. Finally, in the case of a reverse exchange, the original 5-business day deadline to enter into a QEAA falls on or before October 14, 2025, the deadline is extended to October 15, 2025.
  • This extension is only available to Affected Persons. It is not available to Persons Having Difficulty in Meeting Deadlines.

How might all of this work?

Here are some examples.

  • Example 1. If a Relinquished Property is transferred in a forward exchange on August 1, 2024, then the transaction will have the following deadlines:
    • Identification of Relinquished Property. Without the extension, the 45-day deadline to identify the Replacement Property would be September 15, 2024. This deadline is not affected by the extension, because it does not occur on or after January 7, 2025.
    • Receipt of Replacement Property. Without the extension, the 180-day deadline for the taxpayer to receive the Replacement Property would be January 28, 2025. With the extension, the new deadline is October 15, 2025. The taxpayer may be required to extend his, her or its 2024 tax return to obtain this benefit.
  • Example 2. If a Relinquished Property is transferred in a forward exchange on December 27, 2024, then the transaction will have the following deadlines:
    • Identification of Replacement Property. Without the extension, the 45-day deadline to identify the Replacement Property would be February 10, 2025. With the extension, the new deadline is October 15, 2025. (Note that if a taxpayer wants to change his, her or its 45-day identification, he, she or it will need to revoke the prior identification prior to submitting a new identification.)
    • Acquisition of Replacement Property. Without the extension, the 180-day deadline to acquire the Replacement Property would be June 25, 2025. If the taxpayer is able to utilize the full 120-day extension, the new deadline is October 23, 2025. However, if the due date (including extensions) of the taxpayer's 2024 tax return is earlier than October 23, 2025, then the taxpayer's deadline to acquire Replacement Property will be the extended due date of the taxpayer's 2024 tax return.
  • Example 3. If a Relinquished Property is transferred in a forward exchange on January 6, 2025, then the transaction will have the following deadlines:
    • Identification of Replacement Property. Without the extension, the 45-day deadline to identify the Replacement Property would be February 20, 2025. With the extension, the new deadline is the latter of (i) June 20, 2025 (120 days after February 21, 2025), and (ii) October 15, 2025.
    • Acquisition of Replacement Property. Without the extension, the 180-day deadline to acquire the Replacement Property would be July 5, 2025. With the extension, the extended identification deadline is the latter of (i) October 15, 2025, and (ii) November 2, 2025 (120 days after July 5, 2025). The taxpayer has until November 2, 2025, to complete its exchange. The taxpayer does not need to extend its 2025 tax return to take advantage of this extension.

What does the State of California say?

  • The California Franchise Tax Board conforms to the foregoing extensions.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

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