I'm sorry for your loss.
For estates subject to estate tax there are circumstances where you can use an alternate date.
The shares are split between the two of you, so half now have a stepped-up basis and half do not.THREE QUESTIONS
So consider a hundred jointly owned shares of a mutual fund or ETF with a cost basis of $100 per share and a total cost basis of ten thousand dollars. Suppose a spouse dies, and at the time of death the current price is $200 per share.
Q1: Is there a choice as to how the 50% step-up will be applied? Is it up to you whether the new cost-basis will be $150 for all 100 shares or whether it will be $200 for fifty of the shares and $100 for the other fifty?
Typically yes it is the date of death, for publicly traded equities you take the average of the high and low values on that day.
Q3: Is the step-up always based on the price of the stock on the date of death? I think this must be true but I thought I heard someone suggest it may not always be (but I also think that had to do with non-spousal inheritance issues).
For estates subject to estate tax there are circumstances where you can use an alternate date.
Statistics: Posted by avalpert1 — Wed Sep 18, 2024 7:33 pm — Replies 9 — Views 879
