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Level 5
January 30, 2023

How to report a Cost Basis Step up when a joint grantor (husband and wife) living trust sold the appreciated real property after the husband dies?

  • January 30, 2023
  • 2 replies
  • 15 views

It is a joint grantor living trust set up for a husband and wife.  They transferred their 20 acre farmland in Colorado where their main residence is, to a joint Colorado living trust in 2018. The cost basis transferred into the trust was $100K.  

In 2019, the husband dies, 50% of the real property had a cost basis step up, at an appraised FMV of $1.1M.  The wife remains to be the living grantor and the trustee, and she decided to sell the house without any tax planning, subsequent to the husband's death, and move to Florida in 2021. 

There were no distribution made after the sale.  The trust bank account hold the proceeds, and the Wife terminated CO trust and transferred everything into a successor Florida trust.  In my understanding with the trust lawyer, all transactions were within the trust but the husband's 50% cost basis had a step up before the sale.  

Q1: Do I need to file a Form 1041 for the Colorado trust (which remain a revocable living trust with the late husband's SSN as the EIN) to report the sale of the house, or this sale of house can be reported on the Wife's individual income tax return? In either case, can I still use Form 8971 to report the values to the IRS?  

Q2: Does the asset transferred from Colorado trust to Florida successor trust trigger any reporting requirement?  

 

Much appreciated!!

 

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    2 replies

    sjrcpa
    Level 15
    January 31, 2023

    I think the 1/2 of the trust attributable to husband is no longer a Grantor Trust after his death.

    I think 1/2 the sale, with the 1/2 step up gets reported on a 1041, and to CO.

    The wife's half of the trust is still a Grantor Trust. Her half of the sale gets reported on her 1040 and on a CO nonresident return.

    I'll say it again-I hate joint trusts.

    The more I know the more I don’t know.
    TaxesTechAuthor
    Level 5
    January 31, 2023

    Thank you for the quick response...I really appreciate it.  

    It makes sense to me from the tax reporting purpose, half of the trust is a living trust and half of the trust is an irrevocable estate trust.  That is a great idea to report taxes - thank you!!

    Now the trust never had a EIN...so I guess an EIN needs to be applied now to file the Form 1041, and I can attach a statement noting the EIN was applied late?  

    The CO trust was terminated and all assets were transferred to FL successor trust, which bought a residential house for the wife to live in.  No further transactions after that.  I guess this should not be counted as the CO trust distribution and no Form 706 is needed, is that correct? 

    P.S., after another call with the client I was told the CO trust is still there.  I've updated the facts in this threads.  Sorry!

     

     

    sjrcpa
    Level 15
    January 31, 2023

    Was the CO house the only thing in the trust at time of husband's death?

    Wass all of the money from the sale used to buy the new house? Or only some of it?

    The more I know the more I don’t know.
    BobKamman
    Level 15
    January 31, 2023

    No one should be trying to answer these questions without knowing the terms of the original trust.  "Joint grantor living trust" tells us nothing.  We can make assumptions that it is a typical revocable trust, but that could lead you down the wrong path.  

    The Florida trust is likely a red herring.  What year return are you preparing, anyway?  Was the sale in 2021 and "Florida Woman" is just getting around to sorting out this mess?