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Sue Doe-Nym · 12-10-2023, 08:40 PM

This is a question I have been thinking about for some time, and it’s something that might be useful, and I don’t have the foggiest idea what the answer is.
Here goes: a couple purchased a waterfront property 25 years ago for $300,000.
Over the years, the property was well maintained, a garage added, new kitchen and bath…nothing extraordinary. Fast forward to 2023: the property is reassessed for $1.5 million. If one of the owners dies…they are husband and wife.. does the surviving spouse now own the property at the stepped up value, I.e., $1.5 million? It would make a tremendous difference as to whether or not to sell the property regarding capital gains taxes, since they haven’t been revised since the 1990s. It also raises the question of whether to hang on to the property and pass the real estate on to the next generation, with no capital gains taxes owed. I would love to hear from folks who know the answers…..interesting stuff to ponder.

12-10-2023, 08:40 PM	#1
Sue Doe-Nym Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 1,372 Thanks: 712 Thanked 758 Times in 393 Posts	Hypothetical tax question This is a question I have been thinking about for some time, and it’s something that might be useful, and I don’t have the foggiest idea what the answer is. Here goes: a couple purchased a waterfront property 25 years ago for $300,000. Over the years, the property was well maintained, a garage added, new kitchen and bath…nothing extraordinary. Fast forward to 2023: the property is reassessed for $1.5 million. If one of the owners dies…they are husband and wife.. does the surviving spouse now own the property at the stepped up value, I.e., $1.5 million? It would make a tremendous difference as to whether or not to sell the property regarding capital gains taxes, since they haven’t been revised since the 1990s. It also raises the question of whether to hang on to the property and pass the real estate on to the next generation, with no capital gains taxes owed. I would love to hear from folks who know the answers…..interesting stuff to ponder.