How to avoid capital gains tax on an inherited property

by Rob Seltzer

I inherited my parents’ home, which is worth more than my current one. I’m thinking of claiming my parents’ home as my principal place of residence so that I can sell it in two years and not have to pay capital gains. I’m changing my homeowner’s exemption on my tax bill to my parents’ house. What other things do I need to do so that I won’t have to pay capital gains taxes on my parents’ house when I sell it?

Why go to the bother of trying to provide proof of your living in your parents’ home when you could probably sell the house now and pay no or little capital gain tax? When you inherited your parents’ house, you got a step up in its basis. In other words, the fair market value (FMV) of the property on the date of the death of your last parent is its new cost basis. And if it is more beneficial to you, the government says you can select another date to lock in the FMV as long as the date is between the date of death and the nine months afterwards.

If the difference between the FMV and the price you sell the house for is not that great, the homeowner’s exemption and principal residence issues are moot. If you sell the house sometime during the nine months following your parent’s death, the price the house sells for essentially is its FMV. Thus, if you use the date of sale as the FMV date, the sale price and basis are the same, meaning there is no capital gain tax.

You could also sell your parents’ home, sell your own house and use the money realized on both to purchase another home and likely pay no capital gains. As long as you’ve lived in your current home for at least two years out of the past five years, it qualifies for the exemption on capital gain tax ($250,000 if you are single, $500,000 if you are married).

If you really want to wait two years before selling the house, you will have to physically move into it in order to claim the homeowner’s exemption when you sell it. But I don’t think that would be in your best financial interest.

Rob Seltzer is principal of Robert Seltzer, CPA, PFS, in Beverly Hills. You can reach him at (310) 278-9944(310) 278-9944.

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To determine if the sale of inherited property is taxable, you must first determine your basis in the property. The basis of property inherited from a decedent is generally one of the following:

• The fair market value (FMV) of the property on the date of the decedent's death (whether or not the executor of the estate files an estate tax return (Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return)).
• The FMV of the property on the alternate valuation date, but only if the executor of the estate files an estate tax return (Form 706) and elects to use the alternate valuation on that return. See the Instructions for Form 706.

For information on the FMV of inherited property on the date of the decedent’s death, contact the executor of the decedent’s estate. Also, note that in 2015, Congress passed a new law that, in certain circumstances, requires the recipient’s basis in certain inherited property to be consistent with the value of the property as finally determined for Federal estate tax purposes. Check What's New - Estate and Gift Tax for updates on final rules being promulgated to implement the new law.

If you or your spouse gave the property to the decedent within one year before the decedent's death, see Publication 551, Basis of Assets.

Report the sale on Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains and Losses and on Form 8949, Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets:

• If you sell the property for more than your basis, you have a taxable gain.
• For information on how to report the sale on Schedule D, see Publication 550, Investment Income and Expenses.

Under the new law passed by Congress in 2015, an accuracy-related penalty may apply if an individual reporting the sale of certain inherited property uses a basis in excess of that property’s final value for Federal estate tax purposes. Again, check What's New - Estate and Gift Tax for updates on final rules being promulgated to implement the new law.

For estates of decedents who died in 2010, basis is generally determined as described above. However, the executor of a decedent who died in 2010 may elect out of the Federal estate tax rules for 2010 and use the modified carryover of basis rules.

Under this special election, the basis of property inherited from a decedent who died during 2010 is generally the lesser of:

• The adjusted basis of the decedent, or
• The FMV of the property at the date of the decedent’s death.

Under this special election for estates of decedents who died in 2010, the executor of the decedent’s estate may increase the basis of certain property that beneficiaries acquire from a decedent by up to $1.3 million (plus certain unused built-in losses and loss carryovers, if applicable), but the increased basis cannot exceed the FMV of the property at the date of the decedent’s death. The executor may also increase the basis of certain property that the surviving spouse acquires from a decedent by up to an additional $3 million, but the increased basis cannot exceed the FMV of the property at the date of the decedent’s death. The executor of the decedent’s estate is required to provide a statement to all heirs listing the decedent’s basis in the property, the FMV of the property on the date of the decedent’s death, and the additional basis allocated to the property. Contact the executor to determine what the basis of the asset is.

Report the sale on Schedule D (Form 1040) and on Form 8949, as described above.

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