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Investors & landlords
Again, I recommend that you obtain legal advice.
If your parents died intestate and without a trust, any real properties owned should have gone through probate. Depending on the laws in the state, you could have been awarded a share of the property at that time, rather than shortly before the sale, and that would change the calculation of your basis in the property.
The basis of property inherited from a decedent is generally one of the following:
- The fair market value (FMV) of the property on the date of the decedent's death (whether or not the executor of the estate files an estate tax return (Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return)).
- The FMV of the property on the alternate valuation date, but only if the executor of the estate files an estate tax return (Form 706) and elects to use the alternate valuation on that return. See the Instructions for Form 706.
See this IRS FAQ for more information.
To determine your basis in property you received as a gift, you must know the property's adjusted basis to the donor just before it was given to you, its fair market value (FMV) at the time it was given to you, and the amount of any gift tax paid with respect to the gift.
If the FMV of the property at the time of the gift was less than the donor's adjusted basis, your basis for gain on its sale or other disposition is the same as the donor's adjusted basis, plus or minus any required adjustments to basis during the period you held the property.
A different rule applies if you sell gifted property at a loss. If the FMV of the property at the time of the gift was less than the donor's adjusted basis, your basis for loss on its sale or other disposition is its FMV at the time of the gift, plus or minus any required adjustments to basis during the period you held the property. In other words, for purposes of determining losses, you use the lesser of the donor's adjusted basis or the FMV at the time of the gift as your basis.
See this IRS webpage for more information on the basis of gifted property.
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