The term 721 exchange is common shorthand, but it describes a transaction built on a different section of the tax code than Section 1031. Under 26 U.S.C. Section 721, a person can contribute property to a partnership in exchange for a partnership interest without recognizing gain at the time of contribution. When a real estate investment trust structures its ownership through an umbrella partnership, the REIT's operating partnership can accept a contribution of real estate, or of a qualifying DST interest, in exchange for operating partnership units, commonly called OP units.
The result looks similar to a 1031 exchange in one respect: gain is not recognized at the moment of the transaction. The mechanism, the ongoing tax treatment, and the investor's position afterward are meaningfully different, and confusing the two structures leads to decisions made on the wrong assumptions.
A Section 721 contribution is a transfer of property into a partnership in exchange for a partnership interest, and it is a routine, non-exchange-specific mechanism used any time property moves into a partnership structure. When applied to real estate investors, it most often shows up as the second step after a DST holding period: the DST's real estate is contributed to a REIT's operating partnership, and the beneficial interest holders receive OP units in that partnership rather than cash.
OP units are not shares of the REIT itself. They are units in the partnership that owns the REIT's properties, and they typically carry a right to convert into REIT common shares or cash at the REIT's election, on a schedule set by the partnership agreement rather than at the investor's discretion.
Section 1031 requires like-kind real property on both sides of the transaction and a qualified intermediary to avoid constructive receipt. A contribution to a partnership under Section 721 involves neither requirement; it is a separate nonrecognition provision that applies to contributions of property to a partnership generally, not to exchanges of real property for real property. An OP unit is personal property, an interest in a partnership, not a direct or beneficial interest in real estate, which is why a straight 721 contribution cannot itself serve as 1031 replacement property.
This distinction matters for sequencing. An investor moving directly from a sold relinquished property into OP units, with no qualifying real property step in between, has not completed a 1031 exchange and does not get 1031 deferral on that leg of the transaction. The nonrecognition available is the separate nonrecognition under Section 721, which applies to the contribution itself but does not defer any gain that was already triggered by an earlier taxable sale.
The structure that connects a 1031 exchange to a REIT typically runs in two separate steps, on two separate timelines. First, exchange proceeds from a sold relinquished property are used to acquire a qualifying DST interest, completing a standard Section 1031 exchange into real property under Revenue Ruling 2004-86. Second, at a later date determined by the DST sponsor and the REIT, the DST's real estate is contributed to the REIT's operating partnership under Section 721, and the investor's DST interest converts into OP units.
The first step defers gain from the original sale. The second step is a separate transaction governed by Section 721, and it happens on the sponsor's timeline for that specific DST program, not automatically or on a date the investor controls. An investor evaluating a DST program that expects to eventually roll into a REIT should read the offering documents for whether and when that second step is expected, since not every DST is designed to convert into OP units.
Converting from a DST interest to OP units trades one set of illiquidity terms for another. A DST interest has no secondary market until the trust sells its property. OP units, depending on the partnership agreement, may offer a redemption right for REIT shares or cash after a holding period, which can create a path to liquidity that a standalone DST does not have. That path runs through the REIT's own share price and redemption terms, so the investor is now exposed to the REIT's broader portfolio performance and market pricing rather than the economics of one property.
OP unit holders also give up the direct real estate character of their holding. Diversification within the REIT's portfolio is a potential benefit; correlation to REIT share price volatility, which behaves differently than a single property's income stream, is the trade-off.
Converting OP units into REIT shares or cash is generally a taxable event, recognizing the gain that was deferred through the original 1031 exchange and carried into the Section 721 contribution. Basis in the OP units carries over from the contributed DST interest, and that carryover basis, along with any liabilities assumed by the partnership, determines the amount of gain recognized on a later redemption. Some investors hold OP units for estate planning purposes, since a step-up in basis at death can eliminate the deferred gain for heirs, but that outcome depends on individual estate facts and current law at the time of death, not a feature of the OP unit itself.
None of this sequence removes the need for professional tax-advisor review at each step. The original exchange, the DST hold, and the eventual 721 contribution each have separate reporting requirements, and a tax preparer needs visibility into all three to file correctly.