What happens to your taxes when you sell an inherited home? Depending on the state you live in, you may not have to worry.

Q:  My dad passed away awhile ago. He owned his home and had no mortgage. We recently sold his home for $300,000. How do I figure how much I will have to pay in taxes? What happens to income and real estate property taxes when you sell an inherited home? I’m single and I already took the $250,000 exemption for selling my first home when I moved to another.

Taxes and home sale exclusion

A: First of all, we are sorry for your loss. You have a couple of questions about different topics wrapped into your question. Let’s take the $250,000 home sale exclusion first. If you live in a home as your principal residence and live in that home for two out of the last five years, you get to exclude from federal income taxes up to $250,000 of profit on that sale. If you’re married and are selling your primary residence, you get to exclude up to $500,000 in profits from the sale.

There are some other requirements and under certain circumstances, you get to exclude less if you didn’t live in the home for two out of the last five years, but for most people, the two out of the last five year rule will allow them to exclude quite a bit of cash from taxation with the IRS.

You can take the home sale tax exclusion once every 24 months

In your letter, you mentioned that you recently sold your own home and, as you say, you qualified for the exclusion. You’ll be able to take the exclusion again once you have lived in your new home for at least two out of the last 5 years. So, let’s say you moved into your Dad’s home after he died and lived there for 2 years as your primary residence. You’d be able to take the exclusion.

Get help with your taxes from IRS Publication 523 – Selling Your Home

If you lived there for less than two years, you wouldn’t – with some exceptions. If, for example, you’re selling because you ‘re relocating due to employment changes, health issues, divorce or other unforeseen circumstances, you may be entitled to a partial exclusion. For more information on partial exclusions, take a look at IRS website by searching Publication 523, Selling Your Home.

Here’s some good news: when it comes to the sale of your dad’s home, you’ll probably owe no tax on the proceeds from the sale.

Selling an inherited home can mean you’ll pay nothing in taxes

Here’s why: We’re going to assume that you inherited the home. While your dad may have purchased the home for a fraction of the $300,000 sales price, and while you didn’t say so explicitly in your letter, we’re going to assume you inherited the property from him. Under current tax law, you inherited the home at the property’s value at or around the time of the owner’s death. That means that if your dad’s home was worth around $300,000 when he died, you inherited the home at that value and when you sell it you have no profit.

Current tax law means Dad’s estate owes nothing either

Also under current tax law, it’s likely that your dad’s estate owes no tax on the home either. In 2018, when someone dies, their estate can exclude up to $5.6 million from federal estate taxes. So your dad’s estate wouldn’t owe federal taxes either — unless he died with over $5.6 million in his estate. Depending on the state in which you live, however, you may owe state estate tax or transfer taxes on the sale of the property.

For more information, please consult with an estate attorney or tax professional.

Read more about inherited real estate and taxes

Leaving Real Estate to Children

Real Estate and Capital Gains Tax

Inheritance Taxes Depend On Estate Structure