If you’re thinking about selling an investment property and you haven’t looked into Section 1031, you could be leaving a lot of money on the table.

In simple terms, a 1031 exchange may let you sell one investment or business-use property, buy another like-kind property, and defer the capital gain instead of paying it right away. That can leave more of your equity working for you in the next deal, which is a big reason investors use it to keep building over time.

But there’s a catch. The rules are strict.

You generally have 45 days to identify replacement property and 180 days to complete the exchange. And if you want the exchange to qualify, you usually need to work through a qualified intermediary rather than taking control of the sale proceeds yourself.

I’ve seen investors focus so much on the sale that they miss the planning window.

Curious, how many investors here are actually using 1031 exchanges as part of their long-term strategy, and how many are just paying the tax and moving on?