A Qualified Intermediary, or QI, is an independent third party to the transaction whose function is to prepare the documents necessary to create the exchange, as well as to act as the independent escrow agent for the exchange funds.
Appraisals are an integral part of the 1031 exchange process as they provide an unbiased estimate of the property's value.
Section 1031 is part of federal law, so it applies to federal taxes, which are the same no matter what state you're in. You can perform a 1031 exchange between business or investment properties located anywhere in the United States, so long as they meet all other 1031 requirements.
You can perform a 1031 exchange with foreign properties, so long as your relinquished and replacement properties are both located outside the United States. For example, an investment property in the Cayman Islands can be exchanged for rental property in the Cayman Islands or for investment property in New Zealand.
Your settlement agent is required to submit the 1099-S upon the completion of every sale and Form 8824 is your way of notifying the IRS that you did an exchange on that sale and may have deferred your tax liability.
This means that you cannot perform a 1031 exchange between a U.S. property and a non-U.S. property. If your relinquished property is located within the United States, then your replacement property must also be located within the United States (or certain U.S. territories) to qualify for 1031 tax deferral.
In summary, 1031 exchanges in foreign countries can only be used if all properties involved (the relinquished property and the replacement property) are outside of the United States and its territories, and they should only be done in countries with no capital gains taxes.
How do you report Section 1031 Like-Kind Exchanges to the IRS? You must report an exchange to the IRS on Form 8824, Like-Kind Exchanges and file it with your tax return for the year in which the exchange occurred.
If during the current tax year you transferred property to another party in a like-kind exchange, you must file Form 8824 with your tax return for that year. Also file Form 8824 for the 2 years following the year of a related party exchange. See Line 7, later, for details. Section 1031 regulations.
After completing a 1031 exchange, you must report the transaction to the IRS using Form 8824 to maintain the transaction's tax-deferred status.