@airdisc , Namaste ji
(a) we need to distinguish between gift and inheritance ----- I am aware that in India we often do not make a distinction e.g. a grandfather may say I want this prop to go to my granddaughter but the actual transfer does not happen till after passing of the grandfather.
(b) under US tax laws, a gift is a transfer from a living donor to another and in such case the basis of the asset so transferred in the hands of the recipient is the same as that of the donor. Under some circumstances it can be lower of FMV and that of the donor.
(c) an inheritance i.e. transfer after the passing of the decedent, always has a basis ( for the recipient) equal to FMV at the time of passing of the decedent.
Therefore it is very important to determine whether this transfer to your spouse is a "gift" or "inheritance".
I am aware that under current Indian tax laws you still have two different regimes --- indexed and at 20% or un-indexed at 12.5%. Us does not have any indexing and it is pure diff. between sales proceeds and basis but generally at capital tax rate.
Hope this answers your query. Is there more I can do for you ? You can always PM me ( just no PII -- Personally Identifiable Information please ) .
Namaste ji
pk
