Series 79: A.8.3.3. Inherited Vs. Gifted Securities

A.8.3.3. Inherited vs. Gifted Securities

When a taxpayer dies, and his heirs inherit his securities, the tax laws give the new owners a tax break on appreciated securities. No matter what the deceased person paid for the securities, the heirs use the price of those securities on the deceased person’s date of death as their tax basis on the securities. This is referred to as a stepped-up basis.

For example, if your grandfather leaves you 10,000 shares of stock that he bought at a dollar a share, your tax basis is not your grandfather’s cost of a buck a share. Instead, your tax basis will be the price of the stock the day your grandfather died. If the stock was trading at $100 per share on the day your grandfather died, that would be your starting point for calculating profit or loss—not