Tax question: determining fair market value for inherited property

[Anonymous]

Need an appraisal (not an assessor as some mentioned)... Date of death value is the operative number...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe that a real estate assessor in the area of your parents' house can do an historical assessment that will hold up for the IRS.

Correct.

If you're selling, you will owe capital gains tax of either 20% or 23.8% (depending on your income) on any gain between the value of the house at the time of their death and the value when you sell.

That is, unless you've lived in the home at any time yourself in two of the last five years.

But she also should have paid inheritance tax on it in 2009.

No she wouldn't have. Not federal tax anyway -- she might have owed a state inheritance tax but that depends on the state in which she lives. But there is a step up in basis for real estate, so no tax would have been owed.

but even if she didn't owe anything wouldn't she still have filed an estate tax return where she stated the value of the estate?

Depends on the value of the whole estate. If it was under the amount that triggered estate taxes, then I don't believe anything would have been had to be filed.