Basis Issues
The general rule is that property is valued in a decedent’s gross estate at its fair market value as of the date of the decedent’s death. I.R.C. §1014. It is that fair market value that determines the basis of the property in the hands of the recipient of the property. That’s fairly simple to understand when the decedent owns the entire property interest at death. However, that’s not the case with property that is held under a life estate/remainder arrangement. In that situation, the remainder holder does not benefit from the property until the life tenant dies. That complicates the income tax basis computation.
Uniform basis. The general idea of uniform basis is that the cost basis of inherited property should equal the value used for estate tax purposes. The new cost basis after death is usually referred to as the “stepped-up” basis, although the new basis can be lower than the original cost. As noted above, it’s tied to the property’s fair market value as of the date of death for purposes of inclusion in the decedent’s estate. The regulations state that the basis of property acquired from a decedent is uniform in the hands of every person having an interest in the property. Treas. Reg. §1.1014-4. As explained in the regulations, under the laws governing transfers from decedents, all ownership interests relate to the death of the decedent, whether the interests are vested or contingent. That means that there is a common acquisition date and a common basis for life tenants and remainder holders.
The uniform basis rule is easy to implement after the death of the life tenant, as shown in the following example.
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Example. Boris leaves his entire estate to his son, Rocky, as a remainder holder. However, all income from the estate is payable to his wife, Natasha, until her death. The value of the property is $200,000 at the time of his death.
Natasha collects the income from the inherited property for 20 years. When she dies, the appreciated value of the property is $500,000.
When Natasha dies, Rocky becomes the sole owner of both the property and the future income. However, because Rocky's ownership of the property is based initially on his father's death, Rocky's basis is $200,000 - the value at the time his father died.
how do you determine FMV on DOD. realtors can sometimes provide the info other times. a professional appraiser needs to be hired.
