Saturday, February 7, 2009

Loss on inherited house

Question:
Three siblings inherited 1/3 interest in their parents home. One sibling lived in the home for two years after the inheritance, the others did not. The house had a substantial decrease in value since the date of death and has been sold at a loss.

Is the loss deductible to the siblings that did not utilize the home as a residence?

My opinion:

The two who did not live in the house could probably take a capital loss, but the one who lived there could not. However, before I would take this kind of loss on a tax return I would do more research. I have not encountered this situation, but another accountant raised the question and most of the people responding made the same interpretation I did.

I have always taken a loss on inherited property when it is sold for less than the tax assessor's appraisal. Often, if they had an independent appraisal from a licensed appraiser, they might claim a bigger loss.

I recently got my tax appraisal lowered, but later had an independent appraisal which came up with a much higher figure than the tax appraisal board did.

http://www.1040.com/taxxcpa/

3 comments:

mactoolsix said...

Since a relative used the residence at a reduced rent after the date of death, the property will not qualify as investment property. Use of the home by ANY relative changes the character of the asset from investment to personal. You can not claim part of it as "investment property" and the other part as "personal property." Thus no loss is allowed.

mactoolsix said...
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mactoolsix said...
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