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The determination of gain depends on a key factor known as "basis," which is essentially the figure against which the selling price is measured to show whether there was a gain or loss. irs office locations Government tax sales. Where an individual sells an asset that he purchased, his basis for determining gain or loss on his subsequent sale of the asset is normally his cost. Where the property was received by inheritance or as a gift, there is, of course, no cost to the recipient. Federal tax law provides a series of rules for establishing basis in such situations. irs office locations Irs-codes. Calculating the Basis of Inherited PropertyThe general rule, which is usually favorable to taxpayers, is that the recipient''s basis for inherited property is stepped up (orstepped down) from the decedent''s cost to the asset''s fair market value at the decedent''s date of death. The advantage of a step-up in basis is demonstrated by the example of a decedent who bought shares of stock for $500 and held onto the investment until his death, at which time the stock had appreciated to a value of $1 million. The person who receives the stock upon the decedent''s death will take a stepped-up basis of $1 million, the stock''s fair market value at the decedent''s death. irs office locations File taxes. Therefore, upon the recipient''s subsequent sale of the stock, the appreciation in value between $500 and $1 million will not be recognized for income tax purposes, and the recipient of the stock will be taxed only on the gain represented by any appreciation of the stock beyond $1 million. Calculating the Basis of Gifted PropertyThe rules as to basis in the case of a gift do not allow for a stepped-up calculation and they depend upon whether the basis isbeing calculated for purposes of gain or loss. For determining gain, the basis is the same as it would have been in the hands of the donor and is called a "carryover" basis. In the above example, if the individual who had acquired the shares of stock for $500 chooses to give them to the recipient as a gift and does not hold them until his death, the recipient takes the same $500 basis as the donor. Therefore, if the recipient sells the shares when they reach $1 million in value, the tax liability would be based on the gain of $999,500. The choice between transferring an appreciating asset by gift and holding it until death can be crucial for purposes of the recipient''s income tax liability on a later sale. Where an asset transferred by gift depreciates to a value below the donor''s original cost, the recipient''s basis is the fair market value of the asset at the time of the gift. Thus, in the stock example, if the shares that had cost the donor $500 were worth $250 at the time of the gift and had depreciated in value to $150 at the time of the recipient''s subsequent sale, the recipient''s basis for measuring his loss would be $250, and his loss would be $100. If, however, the stock had been worth $600 at the time of the gift but had declined to $300 by the time of the recipient''s subsequent sale, the basis for loss would be the donor''s basis of $500 (because that figure is lower than the $600 at the value date of the gift), and the recipient''s loss would be $500 less $300. Neither Gain Nor LossIn the unusual situation where the recipient''s selling price is higher than the asset''s value on the date of the gift but lower than thedonor''s cost basis, the recipient will have neither a gain nor a loss.
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