Sale of vacation home disallowed as tax-free like-kind exchange.

The Tax Court recently ruled that the sale of a vacation home and the purchase of another through an escrow agent did not qualify for tax-free like-kind exchange treatment under Sec. 1031 because the homes were not held for investment (Moore, TC Memo 2007-134). The taxpayers (P) used the homes exclusively for recreational purposes and never rented or attempted to rent out the homes to others. P's argument that he purchased the property with the expectation that the property's value would increase and he would sell the property at a profit was not enough to qualify it as property held for investment.

P purchased a second home three hours away from his principal …