Section 1031 is real property after 2017. BasisFix does not defer a bitcoin trade.
Not tax advice · last updated 25 October 2026
Bitcoin and like-kind exchange
Section 1031, after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, applies to real property for exchanges completed after 31 December 2017. Bitcoin is not real property. BasisFix does not treat a bitcoin-for-bitcoin trade, or a trade of bitcoin for another asset, as a deferred like-kind exchange. The worksheet is a review with a tax pro.
Notice 2014-21 treats virtual currency as property. A sale or exchange for other property can be a recognition event. When a CSV shows that trade as a sale, BasisFix computes proceeds and basis under the lot rules, not under section 1031. When the two legs have no USD side, the rows are imported without a dollar basis and flagged. They are not relabeled as a like-kind exchange. There is no deferred-gain column.
People asked, before 2018, whether one virtual currency could be like-kind to another. This page does not reconstruct that argument and does not apply it to any year. BasisFix has no like-kind deferral at all. A holding-period question on a sale that is recognized is on bitcoin holding period. The box for that sale is on Form 8949 for bitcoin.
Questions
Can BasisFix defer a 2024 bitcoin-for-bitcoin trade under section 1031?
No. For exchanges completed after 31 December 2017, section 1031 is real property. This worksheet does not defer any bitcoin trade.
Does a pre-2018 trade get like-kind treatment here?
No. BasisFix does not apply like-kind deferral in any year. It also does not reconstruct the argument people made before the statute changed.
Is bitcoin real property?
No. Section 1031’s real-property limit is why this page does not use that section for a bitcoin trade. BasisFix still needs proceeds and basis when the CSV states a sale.