A recent tax court case disallowed a vacation property as a “like kind” property for a 1031 exchange. As a result, the IRS came out with a ruling to clarify when a vacation property is allowed for an exchange.
To be under the “safe harbor”, you must rent the property a minimum of 14 days a year. You can use the property for personal use no more than the greater of 14 days or 10% of the days you rent it out. Of course, like many IRS deductions, how could they prove you used it for personal use unless they hired a private investigator!
