Cost basis refers to the cost of the property adjusted for improvement and can be adjusted up or down for other reason. The IRS has various methods of calculating and tracking cost basis. Read here for more information to determine your cost basis.
Buying a Vacation Home with IRA Funds
Thinking of buying a vacation home with IRA Funds? Watch out for higher fees when purchasing a vacation home in a self-directed IRA I listen to you every Sunday morning on WGN and I have a question. I'm thinking of buying a vacation home with IRA funds. Can I do that? A: The short answer [...]
Transferring Property to Your Child
Transferring property to your child? Here's what to do Q: My husband and I want to give or sell our house to our newly married daughter, who is our only child. She will inherit the house when we pass and receive the benefit of the stepped-up basis at that time, but we hope to be [...]
What Happens When You Sell a Property in a Trust?
What happens when you sell a property in a trust? This reader wants to know about the $250,000 gain exclusion and other tax implications. Q: My wife passed away this past year and our home is titled in her trust with me as trustee and my children as beneficiaries upon my passing. Is my cost [...]
Do Appliances Increase the Cost Basis of Your Home?
Do appliances increase the cost basis of your home? The short answer: it depends on your situation. Q: How can you say, as you did in a recent newspaper article, that putting in a new washer and dryer is an expense that would increase your basis in a condo? Aren't appliances simply replacements rather than [...]
How to Determine Taxes After Selling an Inherited Home
How to determine taxes after selling an inherited home. When selling an inherited home, especially if it's out of state, consider how it'll impact taxes. Q: We live in North Carolina but I also own a home in New York City with my four siblings. We inherited the home from our parents and now each [...]
Buying Homeowners Insurance For Vacant House
A sibling asks about having a brother move into his widowed mother's now vacant home to facilitate buying homeowners insurance. The family plans for the brother to buy the home but he can't afford it until he receives his share of the estate. It's a good idea to have the brother move into the home to help buy homeowners insurance, but it might not be necessary to sell him the home right away.
Quit Claim Deed Affects Cost Basis
How do you calculate cost basis on a home you receive through a quit claim deed? The type of home ownership is also a factor - for example joint tenancy. Learn how to do the calculation for cost basis and learn the rationale used to determine cost basis when families transfer home ownership using a quit claim deed.
Daughter Assumes Mortgage Payments
Can a daughter's name be added to the deed of her home since the daughter has started to make mortgage payments for her parents? While it may seem like a good short-term solution, there are many implications to the daughter assuming the mortgage. How can they protect both the parents and the daughter in the transaction? There have been incidents where the children assuming the mortgage have evicted their parents. Another option is to add the daughter's name to the house deed in addition to the names of the parents.
Property Inheritance Saves More Taxes Than Quit Claim Deed
Learn about property estate planning including repair and maintenance duties. Is using a quit claim deed or an irrevocable trust a better option? Inheriting property saves more on taxes than signing a quit claim deed.
Quit Claim Deed Transfers Cost Basis
Whenever a home owner transfers all or part of the ownership of a property using a quit claim deed, the person who they're transferring ownership to receives the property interest at the same cost basis that the home owner bought it for. While the percentage of ownership may vary, the cost basis used remains the same regardless of when the transfer takes place. As a result, when you sell a home that you receive through a quit claim deed you'll owe capital gains taxes calculated using the previous owner's cost basis.