45 Days. That’s the Rule.

The 1031 exchange has two clocks, and the first one is brutal: 45 days. From the moment your relinquished property closes, you have 45 calendar days — not business days, not “about six weeks” — to identify, in writing, the replacement property you intend to buy. Miss it and the exchange is dead, with no appeal and no extension. In this Short, Leah Badach explains why the 45-day rule trips up more investors than any other part of the process.

21 seconds • Published June 12, 2026 • Watch on YouTube

The Full Story Behind the Video

The 45-day identification period starts the day your sale closes and runs on calendar days — weekends and holidays included. If day 45 lands on a Sunday or a holiday, that is still your deadline. There is no grace period and, short of a federally declared disaster, no extension the IRS will grant.

“Identify” has a specific legal meaning. You must name the replacement property in a written, signed document delivered to your qualified intermediary — not just have one in mind, and not just be in escrow. Most investors use the three-property rule (identify up to three properties of any value), but other identification rules exist for larger portfolios.

The reason 45 days is so dangerous is that it overlaps with everything else — finding a property, negotiating, doing diligence — while the clock never stops. Investors who succeed line up candidate properties before they ever close the sale, so the 45-day window is for confirming a choice, not for starting the search.

Questions Investors Ask

When does the 45-day period in a 1031 exchange start?

It starts the day your relinquished (sold) property closes — that closing date is day zero, and you count 45 calendar days from there. It does not start when you list the property or sign a sale contract; it starts at closing.

What does it mean to “identify” a replacement property?

You must deliver a written, signed document to your qualified intermediary that unambiguously describes the property you intend to acquire — typically by street address or legal description. Most investors identify up to three properties under the three-property rule, giving themselves backups if a deal falls through.

Can the 45-day deadline be extended?

Almost never. The only routine exception is a federally declared disaster affecting the exchange, which can trigger IRS relief. Otherwise the 45 days are absolute — if you don’t identify in time, the exchange fails and the tax becomes due that year.

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