How do I find the FMV of land inherited in 1993 but sold in 2017 when no records are found in the county tax department. Where do I put the 1099-S in TT?

[booklover2]

My grandparents bought a 7.5 acre farm in 1921 for $20,000. They had six children. My grandfather died in 1958 and my grandmother in 1992. My father, their son, died in 1993. The land sat idle and was sold in 2017. The proceeds were divided by 6 and my father's portion divided by 3 of his children. We have a form 1099-S. But we don't know how to find the FMV of 1993 when we inherited the land from our father. How do we show this on our taxes?

[MichaelL1 · Accepted solution]

To get a cost basis do some due diligence the best you can, otherwise you have to enter a $0 cost basis.

Take a realtor that specializes in land sales to see if you can get some historical data. 

Many agricultural colleges keep data on FMV of land.

As long as you use good sound logic, and have some evidence of how the value was arrived at, IRS can be somewhat reasonable in this area.  Just document what you arrived at, and how you arrived at it.