1031 Exchange - IRS Form 8824 & Form 4797

1031 Exchange - IRS Form 8824 & Form 4797

Member since 2024 · 24 posts · 6 votes

Hi all, I did a 1031 exchange where I sold two apartments and bought a single family home. No boot or mortgages involved at all, so pretty straightforward.

Form 8824 (Like Kind Exchanges) was pretty simple to understand and easy to complete, and it reflected $0 recognized (taxable) gain, just as I would have expected. But I can't figure out how the info from Form 8824 transfers to Form 4797 (Sales of Business Property) as a deferred  (not yet taxable) gain.

On Form 4797, I do not see any line whatsoever that lets you indicate a gain is DEFERRED (not currently taxable). Every line with the word "gain" ultimately feeds to line 7, where it specifically states: "If line 7 is a gain and you didn’t have any prior year section 1231 losses, or they were recaptured in an earlier year, enter the gain from line 7 as a long-term capital gain on the Schedule D filed with your return." I checked the instructions for Form 4797 or Form 1040 Schedule D, and neither explain how to indicate that the gain is deferred and not taxable right now.

So either: 1) Form 4797 is irrelevant to my exchange and I don't need to file it at all, or 2) I am missing something. 

Can anyone provide me some guidance here? Thanks so much!

0Reply
212 views

4 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Member since 2026 · 17 posts · 5 votes
    8mo

    Because the exchange didn't involve any cash or debt relief, none of the gain is taxable this year. If the exchange is a fully deferred 1031 one like this, it just just reported on Form 8824. The gain is not shown anywhere else on the return because it is not currently taxable. The deferred gain instead is built into the tax basis of your new property. When you sell the replacement property, then the gain will be recognized in the form of the lower basis. In short, Form 4797 doesn't need to be filed in this instance. 

  • Member since 2024 · 24 posts · 6 votes
    8mo

    @Spencer Hunt thanks so much for your reply! That's what I suspected but it's just reassuring to have other knowledgeable people share the same opinion.

  • Ashish AcharyaBusiness Member
    CPA, CFP®, PFS · FL · Member since 2017 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    7mo

    Hi Stacey,

    You’re not missing anything. This is just one of those areas where the forms are not intuitive.

    In a fully deferred 1031 like yours, sold two properties, bought one replacement, no boot, no debt relief, Form 8824 is doing all the work. It shows the realized gain and that the recognized gain is zero.

    Nothing flows to Form 4797 because there is nothing currently taxable. Form 4797 is only used if there is gain to recognize, such as boot or debt imbalance. Since your exchange was fully deferred, there is no Section 1231 gain to report.

    The deferred gain is not shown as a separate line anywhere. It is built into the reduced basis of your new property. That lower basis is how the IRS tracks the deferred gain until you eventually sell in a taxable transaction.

    So in your case, Form 4797 is not required for the exchange itself because there is no current gain to report.

    Happy to connect

    INVESTOR FRIENDLY CPA®5240 Reviews
    TaxMD® | Tax Planning Software
Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.