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thom
Level 2

selling inherited rental house

I am so confused about selling an inherited property that was used for rental. The house was jointly owed by my wife & her brother. Do I enter entire sales price & let Turbo-Tax calculate? Do I need to really know structure price & land price? I received a1099-S but where do I enter it in Turbo-Tax Premier? Is the sale treated as business property or inherited? I'm sorry for so many questions but my head is spinning. Thanks

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7 Replies

selling inherited rental house

first,  can you comment on who owned the home originally and who inherited what percentage? that is going to impact the 'cost basis' because once inherited, the cost basis 'steps up'.   And because expressions can be used in correctly, 'by 'inherited' that means to me someone passed away and beneficiaries of that estate inherited the property

 

Who passed away and who inherited the property? what percent of the property did the person who passed away own and what were the percentage interests that each beneficiaries inherited . 

 

I can't tell if your wife and BIL inherited this property from their parents or the BIL passed and your wife inherited it, etc.  Let's clear that up first. 

 

 

thom
Level 2

selling inherited rental house

Sorry I wasn't clear.
My MIL passed in 2010 leaving house to my BIL & wife.( 50/50 split)
It was rented from 2011 to 5-1-2018 when it was sold.
On Form E, I entered sale price, etc. When I tried to enter 1099-S, Turbo-Tax says not needed. Also, I don't want sales price entered 2 times. I'm at a loss as to how all this fits together. Thank you any help/advice.

selling inherited rental house

you don't need the form because you already entered the sales price

 

advise - 

 

be sure to enter the closing expenses (broker, etc.) from the closing statement that will reduce your net sales price

the 'cost basis' should be the value of the property in 2010  when your wife inherited it, NOT the value when you MIL first purchased the property

and everything should be cut in half since your wife only owns 50% of the interest .

thom
Level 2

selling inherited rental house

Don't need 1099-S?
I understand cost basis, etc. I just didn't know about 1099-S when I had already entered sales price & used FMV when first started renting. I'd rather not have IRS coming to visit. Thanks again.

 

selling inherited rental house

During the time the house was rented, did your sister and brother-in-law report the rental income on schedule E?  Did they take an expense deduction for depreciation?  How did they determine the basis for depreciation?

thom
Level 2

selling inherited rental house

Used FMV at MIL's death & Turbo-Tax determined depreciation.

selling inherited rental house

I haven't run this exact situation but here is what is supposed to happen tax-wise.

 

First, when the property is placed in service as a rental, the owner needs to select a basis for depreciation.  That is the cost basis or FMV, whichever is lower.  In a recently inherited property, they are the same.  But, land never depreciates so you have to account for that.  If the property is worth $150K but the land is worth $20K, the basis for depreciation should be $130K, not $150K.

 

Next, when sold, the taxpayer pays capital gains, which is the difference between the adjusted cost basis and the selling price.  The cost basis must be reduced by the depreciation that was taken or could have been taken while the property was used as a rental.  This is taxed as ordinary income, as depreciation recapture, and the rest of the gain is taxed as long term capital gains at a lower rate.  Suppose the property sold for $200,000 and there was $19,000 of deprecation.  The capital gains is $69K, with $19K taxed as depreciation recapture and the rest as long term capital gains.

 

When you enter that you sold an asset and you choose a house at the type of asset, one of the first questions should be, was there a 1099-S and what sales price was reported.  The question about land value is probably being used to calculate the depreciation that could have been taken.  Look for a way to bypass this by indicating that you know the amount of depreciation from past tax returns.  If not, you will need an estimate of the land value.  This may be on the property tax bill or you may need to ask the local assessor or a real estate agent.  It should be the same land value estimate used in 2014 when the property was placed in service.

 

(If your sister and b-i-l used the full property value for depreciation, that was an error and they deducted excess depreciation.  If you can enter the actual depreciation taken in Turbotax instead of calculating it, use that.  If not, you may want to consult an accountant to determine the best way to fix the prior excess depreciation.)

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