I'm helping my mother do her taxes for last year. My father died towards the end of the year. They held some equity shares jointly in a trust account. After my father's death, the brokerage stepped up the basis on the shares 100%, because my parents live in a community property state. A month after my father's death, my mother sold some of these shares.
On the 1099-B that my mother received from the brokerage, it correctly reports the stepped up cost as the basis for the shares sold. In box 1b for date acquired, the 1099-B shows my father's date of death. The 1099-B also correctly shows the shares sold as held long term, even though the date acquired/date of death was only a few months before the shares were sold.
On form 8949 for date acquired should we just put the date reported on the 1099-B in box 1b, which is the date of death and therefore the date the cost basis on the shares were stepped up? Or should be put "inherited" as the date acquired (as discussed in the instructions for form 8949)?
As I said, the 1099-B is accurate. It shows the correct stepped up cost basis. So we're not correcting anything on the 1099-B (which as far as I understand would be the usual reason to put "inherited" for the date acquired--because one is reporting a basis other than what the 1099-B states). Anyway, I'm just not sure what to fill in for the date acquired and whether these shares are considered inherited, even though they were held in a joint account.
