Thinking of exiting a Florida rental? The tax bill is the part nobody mentions until closing.

When you sell a rental, you're not just taxed on the gain. You're also taxed on the depreciation you claimed against the property every year you owned it. That's depreciation recapture, and for a property held ten or twenty years it can be a meaningful bill — one that many owners don't see coming because no one raised it before they listed.

This page is the plain version of what exiting an investment property involves: recapture, the 1031-or-pay decision, tenant handling, and selling from wherever you actually live now.

Here's the part that catches people: depreciation recapture is taxed separately from your capital gain, and it applies to the depreciation you were entitled to take — whether or not you actually claimed it on your returns. Owners who never bothered to depreciate the property sometimes assume recapture doesn't apply to them. It generally still does.

The gain from depreciation is taxed as unrecaptured Section 1250 gain, at a maximum federal rate of 25% — separate from, and often higher than, the long-term capital gains rate on the rest of your profit. Your specific figure depends on your basis, years held, and depreciation schedule, so a CPA should run the exact number. My role is to make sure it's on the table before you list, factored into whether the exit even makes sense.

A 1031 exchange lets you defer both capital gains and depreciation recapture by rolling the proceeds into another like-kind investment property, within strict IRS timelines. From the day your sale closes, you have 45 calendar days to formally identify the replacement property and 180 calendar days to close on it — weekends and holidays included, no extensions. It's a powerful tool if you want to stay invested in real estate.

But a 1031 keeps you a landlord. If the reason you're selling is that you're done being a landlord, deferring the tax by buying another property may solve the wrong problem. Sometimes paying the tax and walking away clean is the right answer — it depends on what you actually want, not just what minimizes this year's tax bill.

Sell with the tenant, or vacant?

A paying tenant with a solid lease makes the property attractive to investor buyers — income from day one. A vacant unit shows better and opens it to owner-occupants, who often pay more per square foot. Which nets you more depends on your lease terms, Florida notice requirements, and which buyer pool values your specific property. We'll weigh both before deciding how to bring it to market.

Selling from out of state.

Nearly all of it can be handled remotely — disclosures, showings, inspections, and closing. What needs your attention is deciding tenant handling, reviewing offers, and signing, which is electronic or by mail. We'll set a communication rhythm that fits your time zone so you're never chasing an update.