What a date-of-death appraisal records for an heir

An heir who later sells an inherited house measures gain or loss from the house's basis. For inherited property, the IRS generally starts that basis at the fair market value on the day the owner died, and a sale above basis is a taxable gain. Under 26 U.S.C. 1014, the alternate valuation date can apply instead when an executor elects it under 26 U.S.C. 2032. Since 2015, where the estate tax rules call for it, the heir's basis has to be consistent with the value finally settled for federal estate tax.

"Step-up" is shorthand, not a guarantee. Depending on what the house was worth on that day, basis can end up lower as well as higher. A retrospective appraisal records one figure, the home's value on a past effective date; your tax adviser decides what to do with it.

Which taxes reach an inherited Ohio home, and which do not

• Federal inheritance tax: none exists. What Congress taxes is the transfer of the estate itself (26 U.S.C. 2001), and the executor pays (26 U.S.C. 2002). A return is required only when the gross estate, plus certain taxable lifetime gifts, goes past the year's threshold. A portability election is the other common reason to file. Ohio heirs face the same federal numbers as anyone: for 2025 deaths the line was $13,990,000, and the 2026 line is $15,000,000 (per the IRS estate tax page) for a U.S. citizen or resident who dies in 2026.
• Whether the heir owes income tax on the inheritance: generally not. IRS Publication 525 explains that inherited property usually stays out of the recipient's income, while income it produces afterward, such as rent, is taxable (IRS Publication 525).
• Ohio estate tax: none for deaths on or after January 1, 2013 (R.C. 5731.02). The Ohio Department of Taxation reports the repeal and no longer requires its tax release or inheritance tax waiver form.
• Ohio inheritance tax: none. The department's history of the tax refers to the former Ohio inheritance tax that the 1968 estate tax replaced.
• Real estate tax: in Ohio a local tax, not a federal one. The county auditor assesses every parcel in the county (R.C. 5713.01), and the county board of revision rules on complaints about value (R.C. 5715.01).

A home owned with a spouse: Ohio is not a community-property state

Federal law can treat a surviving spouse's half of community property as acquired from the spouse who died, so that half receives a new basis too (26 U.S.C. 1014(b)(6)). That rule rides on community-property law, and Ohio is not one of the states IRS Publication 555 names. If you and your spouse owned the house together, ask your tax adviser how basis works for it, and do not assume the whole house gets a fresh basis.

Three questions for a value on a past date

What is the effective date?

Ordinarily the day of death. If the executor files an estate tax return and elects the alternate valuation date, that date may govern instead. Your tax adviser names the date; the appraiser values the home as of it.

In what condition was the home that day?

A house that was renovated, cleared out or damaged after the death must be described as it stood on the effective date. Dated photographs, listing records, inspection reports and repair invoices help bridge the gap.

Which market evidence fits?

The appraiser looks to sales and market conditions from around the effective date. Later information can help pin down earlier facts, and the report says how any of it was used.

Local records that help reconstruct the date of death

• The county auditor's parcel record. The Butler County Auditor's Office keeps it for Butler County, the Warren County Auditor for Warren County, and the county auditor for Montgomery County. The tax value there is pegged to January 1 of a tax year, when the tax lien attaches (R.C. 323.11), so treat it as evidence to examine rather than a date-of-death value.
• Recorded deeds. The Butler County Recorder and the Warren County Recorder offer online searches of recorded documents. Deeds show when the home was acquired and how it passed after the death.
• The probate file, if there was one. An Ohio inventory reports the home at its date-of-death value (R.C. 2115.02). It is filed with the Butler County Probate Court, the Warren County Probate/Juvenile Court or Montgomery County's probate court. Let your adviser and the appraiser know what value it used.

Records for a past-date request

How a retrospective request runs

1. The request. Tell us the address, the effective date your adviser named, who will use the report and your deadline. You get the scope, fee and delivery estimate in writing to approve before any work.
2. Rebuilding the picture. Arrange access and share the records that exist about the home's condition on the effective date and the changes since.
3. The market of that period. The appraiser studies the evidence for that date and shows, in the report, why it supports the opinion of value.
4. A read-through with your adviser. Go over the effective date, the use and users named, and the assumptions and limiting conditions, and send any factual corrections to the appraiser.

Fee and schedule when the value is for a past date

Ask for a written scope, fee and delivery estimate for your property, intended use and deadline. An older effective date, thin condition records or several intended users can add research time. Get the delivery date confirmed before relying on it for a return, a sale or an estate deadline. If the estate also needs an inventory value, see probate appraisals; for a house being divided among heirs, see estate appraisals.

Ask about a date-of-death report

Tell us the property address, why the value is needed and the date your adviser identified. Call 937-637-2747 or use the contact page.

The Ohio sections on this page were written with AI assistance for Eagle Home Appraisal Ohio.