1031 Exchange Cost:
$800–$1,500.
Easy1031’s is FREE!

A standard forward 1031 exchange costs $800 to $1,500 in qualified intermediary fees at a conventional provider, before add-ons such as wire fees, per-property charges and rush fees. On top of that sit the ordinary closing costs of buying and selling property: title insurance, escrow, recording and transfer taxes, and your CPA's time on Form 8824. Easy1031 charges $0 for a standard forward exchange and shares the interest earned on your funds instead.

Most intermediaries land between $800 and $1,500 for a straightforward one-property forward exchange. The figure rises with each additional relinquished or replacement property, typically $300 to $500 each, and firms commonly bill wire transfers separately at $30 to $150 apiece. Very few publish a rate card, so the only reliable way to know your number is to ask for it in writing before you sign.

The biggest one is not a fee at all. Your intermediary holds your sale proceeds for up to 180 days and earns interest on them, and at most firms that interest is kept entirely by the intermediary. On a $2,000,000 exchange held for four months, that float is worth far more than the setup fee you were quoted. Ask who receives the interest, and get the answer in the exchange agreement rather than in an email.

Because the interest on held funds can support the business on its own. A firm confident in that revenue can waive the setup fee and remain profitable. It is the same economics every intermediary runs on, with the income taken from one line instead of two. What matters is not which line the money comes from, but whether the account is segregated, which bank holds it and what bond stands behind it.

Considerably more than a forward exchange, typically $5,000 to $10,000 or above. A reverse exchange requires a separate holding entity, an exchange accommodation titleholder, to take and hold title to one of the properties, and that entity has to be formed, insured and administered. Easy1031 prices reverse and improvement exchanges from $4,999.

For almost any exchange of consequence, the arithmetic is not close. Federal capital gains, depreciation recapture at 25%, net investment income tax and state tax together commonly reach 25% to 35% of the gain. On a $500,000 gain that is $125,000 to $175,000 deferred, against intermediary fees measured in hundreds or low thousands. The cost only becomes a real question on very small gains.

Ordinary exchange expenses, including the intermediary's fee, are customarily paid from the exchange proceeds at closing without creating boot. Costs unrelated to the exchange, such as prorated rent or loan-related charges, are treated differently and can create a taxable amount. This is a question for your CPA on your specific settlement statement, not a rule to apply from a web page.

The intermediary's own fee generally does not, because most firms price nationally. What varies enormously is everything around it. Transfer taxes and recording fees are set locally and range from nothing to five figures on a large transaction, and a handful of states require attorney involvement at closing. Two identical exchanges in different states can differ by tens of thousands in total cost without either intermediary charging a different fee.