On Sept. 1, 2021, the remnants of Hurricane Ida hit the northeastern United States, causing extensive flood damage in certain areas.  In order to provide relief to taxpayers who may have been affected by this storm, the IRS has extended certain tax deadlines for taxpayers in affected areas, including deadlines that apply to like-kind exchanges described in Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code.  In many cases, these extensions apply regardless of whether the taxpayer was personally impacted by Hurricane Ida.

In general, a taxpayer may defer gain from the sale of real property by acquiring real property of comparable value in a Section 1031 exchange.  To qualify, a taxpayer engaging in a forward exchange (that is, an exchange in which the relinquished property is sold before the acquisition of replacement property) must identify replacement property within 45 days of selling the relinquished property, and must close on the acquisition of the replacement property within 180 days of the sale.