The Internal Revenue Code Section 1031 (a) (1) says, "no gain or loss is recognized if property held for productive use in a trade or business or for investment is exchanged solely for property of a like kind to be held either for productive use in a trade or business or for investment." What does the code really mean? Property that is held for investment can be exchanged for any other property that is being held for investment and the owner will be allowed to defer paying capital gains taxes.

What are some properties held for productive use in a trade or business or for investment? The list includes apartments, single-family rentals, office buildings, retail centers, warehouses, farms, hotels, and raw land, to name a few.

The way the code reads, any combination of these properties can be exchanged. For example that means an apartment can be exchanged for an office building, a warehouse exchanged for a retail center, or raw land exchanged for a single-family rental.

In an exchange of real property for real property, the fact that any real property is improved or unimproved is immaterial, because that fact relates only to the grade or quality of the investment property and not to its kind or class.