Tax on sale of inherited property

[jeanettemcmurtry]

Need to sell house of deceased parents and wonder what is best for taxes.  

If I sell my share of the inherited house at 1/2 FMV to a sibling, will I have to pay capital gains or income taxes on the amount she pays me for mys share?

If we sell to a third-party and not each other at FMV will there be taxes we need to split and account for our on our returns as this is an inherited property?

[KarenL4]

Hi, jeanettemcmurtry,

Your question has some of "it depends" to my answer.  First, it doesn't matter if you sell the house to your sibling or a third party, you are potentially looking at a gain or loss on sale, assuming you have not owned and lived in the house as your residence for two out of the last five years. If you just acquired the home through inheritance, that rule won't apply to you, but I am unsure how long you held the property before considering selling.  This article explains in general about home sales.

If you just inherited the house, and are considering selling, there may not be much gain or loss as you get what is called a "stepped up basis" on the home, typically with the basis stepped up to the fair market value of the inheritance at the date of death (there is an alternate valuation date possible, just as an FYI).  This article explains "step up" in basis.

If you and your sibling each own 1/2 the house and sell it, you should receive separate sales information and would separately account in your taxes for your piece of the house (e.g., proceeds and basis split).

Hope this helps.

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Regards,

Karen

TurboTax Expert

[jeanettemcmurtry]

Per your question, my sister wants me to sell my share of a houewe inherited to her so she own the full house.  So if I agreed,I would sell my 1/2 of the property which we both own to her at a set amount, likely at half the FMV at time of parent's death, right?

She owes me a lot in damages in relation to this transaction. So would I have to pay tax on the damages I am able to get paid back from her that would be above 1/2 the value of FMV?

Thanks

[KarenL4]

Hi, jeanettemcmurtry,

While I cannot suggest the sale price, if you sold 1/2 the inherited property at 1/2 the fair market value at the valuation date (typically the date of death) you would have no gain or loss (or might have a  loss for the selling expenses or other increases to basis).

I am unsure what you mean about damages, but this article may help in determining the taxability of a settlement.

Hope this helps.

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Regards,

Karen

TurboTax Expert

[mblumenthal]

Inherited property gets a step-up in basis. What this means is that your basis in the house you inherited is whatever the market value is on the day the original owner passed away. So, on a sale of the house you would figure any gain on the excess of the selling price over your stepped-up basis. (Or one-half of that in your scenario.)