One key finding of the survey of almost 700 CPAs was that clients do not tap their CPAs' knowledge of Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code. This section of the tax code allows buyers and sellers of commercial property to defer capital gains taxes by rolling the proceeds from a sale into another investment property of equal or greater value.

While the majority of the CPAs surveyed said that they are familiar with the tax deferral benefits of Section 1031, almost half of them are not advising their clients to execute this transaction. The reason, according to a quarter of the CPAs polled, is that they are not consulted on real estate transactions until after their completion.

A real estate attorney with three decades of experience expressed surprise at the finding and urged investors to use all the resources at their disposal when making commercial real estate investment decisions.

"Recognizing that your CPA has helpful knowledge of real estate tax issues can be critical," said Stephen A. Wayner, vice president of Bayview Financial Exchange Services. "Clients who do not avail themselves of this counsel until it is too late miss out on opportunities to build equity and increase their net worth."

Most CPAs can provide basic information on 1031 exchanges, as these transactions are called. Many can direct investors to qualified intermediaries, independent third parties recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as facilitators of 1031 exchanges.

"As tax experts, CPAs understand tax deferral strategies for commercial real estate transactions and can advise on 1031 Exchanges," said Wayner. "Many investors remain unaware of this profitable option without that kind of advice."

The "1031 Exchange Programs Awareness Survey" was conducted between Feb. 8 and Feb. 22, 2005. Randomly selected readers of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' CPA Insider e-newsletter were sent a 10-question survey about their familiarity with 1031 property exchange programs and other tax deferral strategies via email. A total of 690 surveys were satisfactorily completed. The survey was sponsored by Bayview 1031.