@Jebuskrist wrote:
Okay so I got it from my dad and he paid 5 grand for it and did 5 grand worth of improvements. Do the improvements play a part in it?
Yes, the improvements are added to the basis. So your father's basis was $10,000. I don't know what the gift tax exclusion was 30 years ago, but he probably didn't pay any gift tax, so there's no adjustment for that. (If your father is still alive you can ask him if he paid gift tax.) If you made any improvements after you became the owner, you add the cost of those improvements to your basis, too.
