Many real estate owners seeking to realize their gains in the years after the Great Recession are fortunate a vital section of the U.S. tax code remained in place following Washington's latest reworking of tax laws.

Investors are still able to defer the tax gains from the sale of real estate used in a business or held for investment and reinvest the proceeds into another commercial property through a provision of the tax code know as a 1031 like-kind exchange. Personal property, however — such as equipment, airplanes, art, collectibles and intangibles — no longer qualifies under the new tax law.

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