Ask Liz Weston

Get smart with your money

Taxes

Q&A: Grandma needs tax help

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Dear Liz: My grandma is 78, divorced, and has not filed taxes in the last decade. I was wondering what she should do because she is head of the household and taking care of three adopted kids and needs help.

Answer: Please help connect your grandmother with AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, which provides free virtual and in-person tax help. You may be able to help her make an appointment and gather the documents she’ll need to file those missing tax returns.

Your obviously busy grandma may have procrastinated on filing her taxes because she worried about a tax bill.

But depending on her income and circumstances, she may have been eligible for refundable credits or other tax breaks that could have put money back in her pocket. (The tax law provides a three-year window to claim a refund, so she would already have lost out on refunds from the earlier years.)

If she does owe taxes and penalties, the IRS has payment plans that could help. A Tax-Aide volunteer will explain her options for paying any overdue bills.

Q&A: Tax pitfalls of a house gift

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Dear Liz: I have a friend whose mom gave him and his sibling her house a few months before she died. They sold it right away. He got a 1099-S tax form and is confused about what the capital gains are. Technically there were none because they sold it right after she died.

Answer: Ouch. If your friend and his sibling had inherited the home after the mother died, you would be right — there would be little or no capital gains, because the house would receive a new value for tax purposes on the day the mother died. That “step up” to the current market value would mean no taxes would be owed on all the appreciation that occurred during the mother’s lifetime.

But that favorable tax break happens only when property is transferred after death. Instead, the mother gave the house to her children during her lifetime. That means they got her tax basis as well — essentially what she paid for the house, plus any qualifying home improvements. They will owe capital gains tax on the difference between that basis and the net amount they realized from the sale (the sale proceeds minus any selling costs).

It’s unfortunate the mother didn’t consult a tax pro before transferring the home. Urge your friend to do so now because there may be ways to reduce (but not eliminate) the tax bill that resulted.

Q&A: Tax consequences of a CD bequest

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Dear Liz: I currently have a certificate of deposit with what I consider a reasonably high balance. I’ve named a beneficiary in the event something were to happen to me. Would there be tax consequences for the beneficiary upon receipt?

Answer: There’s no federal inheritance tax, but six states — Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey and Pennsylvania — do assess inheritance taxes. Spouses are typically exempt and the tax rate is generally lower for close relatives.

Q&A: Selling a rental property? Here are the tax consequences

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Dear Liz: My siblings and I are considering selling a triplex. It was bequeathed to us by our mother when she died in 2007. There is no mortgage and it is fully occupied. If we sell, my wife and I (both over 50) would get roughly $200,000, and we’d like to minimize the tax impact. We own our home free and clear and have no debt. We’d like to use this windfall to help our son buy a home. We’d also give our daughter a cash gift. We have no interest in buying another investment property using a 1031 exchange. Any suggestions to minimize our tax bill given our circumstances?

Answer: Talk to a tax pro, because selling a rental property is more complicated than selling your personal home.

You’re not eligible for the $250,000-per-person home sale profit exclusion, and in addition to paying capital gains tax you also face a depreciation recapture tax of 25%. (Depreciation is the amount of wear-and-tear you wrote off during your ownership of the property; the IRS requires you to repay that tax break when you sell.)

A big capital gain could affect other areas of your finances, such as Medicare premiums, and the pro can help you plan for that as well.

A 1031 exchange would allow you to defer taxes on a rental property by buying a similar replacement property.

Another solution would be to hang on to the property, continue to enjoy the rental income and bequeath your portion of it to your children when you die. Your portion will receive a favorable step-up in tax basis so that your heirs won’t owe taxes on the capital gains that occurred during your ownership. They also won’t face the tax on depreciation recapture you would otherwise owe.

But that obviously isn’t a good solution if you no longer want to be a landlord or want the cash instead. In that case, the tax pro can help you properly account for selling costs, legal fees and improvement expenses that could reduce the tax hit and may be able to suggest other ways to manage your tax bill.

Q&A: Taxes on a deceased spouse’s assets

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Dear Liz: My dear friend’s husband just passed away and she is immediately selling off all his antiques through an auctioneer. Sales should net well over $100,000 this calendar year. Is there any way to offset the tax hit she will take on this? This will be on top of selling the house in the same calendar year.

Answer: Previous columns have discussed the favorable “step up” in tax basis that happens when someone dies.

Their assets, including at least half of a jointly-owned home, typically get updated to the current market value for tax purposes. Appreciation that occurred during the deceased’s lifetime is never taxed. In community property states, both halves of jointly-owned assets usually get this step up.

The auction shouldn’t generate much if any tax bill unless the antiques jump significantly in value between the date of his death and the date of the sale.

The same is true of the home sale if the friend lives in a community property state. If not, she may have potentially taxable appreciation on her half of the property. If the sale occurs within two years after the year her husband died, though, she can exclude up to $500,000 of home sale profits from her income. Otherwise she can exclude up to $250,000.

Your friend should consult a qualified tax pro who can review her specific situation and offer individualized advice.

Q&A: Surviving spouse’s home gains

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Dear Liz: If a surviving spouse is selling the couple’s longtime home, are there any special provisions on the long-term capital gains?

Answer: When one spouse dies, their half of the home gets a new value for tax purposes. The value is “stepped up” to the current market value, so that the appreciation that happened on that half of the property is no longer taxable. In community property states, both halves of the property get this step up.

Let’s say a couple bought a home for $100,000 and that it was worth $250,000 when the first spouse died. In most states, the tax basis — what’s subtracted from the net sales price to determine potentially taxable capital gains — would rise from the original $100,000 to $175,000. The surviving spouse’s basis would remain at $50,000 while the deceased’s half would be stepped up to $125,000 (one half of the current $250,000 value). If the home was sold for $250,000, there would be $75,000 of potentially taxable capital gain.

In community property states — Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin — the home’s basis would get a double step-up to $250,000. If the home was sold for $250,000, there would be no potentially taxable capital gain.

Even if there is a gain from the sale, a single person can exclude up to $250,000 of home sale capital gains from their income as long as they owned and lived in the home at least two of the previous five years. Couples can exclude up to $500,000. However, widows and widowers who sell their homes within two years of their spouse’s death can take the full $500,000 exclusion.