Does cost basis of house shift upon death of a spouse to fair market value of home on date of death?

[dickcostello]

Home purchased in 1954 for $15000.  Spouse died in 1992.  Surviving spouse sold house for $685,000 in 2017.  Does adjusted cost basis of house remain at $15,000 plus improvements, or does it step up to fair market value of home on date of spouse death.  House is in CT.

[Phillip1]

One of the down sides of being in a common law state is that a surviving spouse only gets a stepped up basis on one half of the property. So the surviving spouse's inherited basis is half of the original basis (7500 dollars + half the cost of improvements) plus one half of the fair market value from the date of death in 1992.  

In community property states, the surviving spouse receives a full step in basis to the fair market value on the date of death. See IRS Publication 551.

[anchoragedan]

What about normal states?