*Loan,banking and credit>>>income tax

For Federal Income tax purposes, what is the cost basis of a house inherited under a will?

Is the cost basis the value of the house at the time of death of the testator or is it the original cost?

The cost basis of real estate is the value of the inherited property on the date of death. Source(s): http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/...

Discuss this with a tax expert, most likely, you'll have to have an appraisal.
Tax basis to you is current Fair Market Value at the time you received the house.

Yes, an appraisal would be a very good idea. However, if you are putting it on the market now, then the fair market value would fairly be determined as the final sales price - Because the fair market value is what an unbiased buyer would be willing to actually pay.
the cost basis of inherited property is its fair market value at the time of the decedent's death (exception, if the property passed to a joint tenant by means of a joint tenancy, the cost basis is the original value, or the FMV at the time the joint tenancy was created, if later)
There are two possibilities. The first is the value of the house at the time of death of the decendent. The second would be using what is called alternate valuation, which is 6 months after the date of death of the decedent. The only thing is that you have to use either the date of death or the 6 months after for all the assets in the estate. You can't pick date of death for some of the assets, and 6 months after for others. Most estate tax returns use the date of death of the decedent, but I wanted to let you know of the other date that is possible to use.
Value at the time of the death of the testator. If you had gotten it as a gift rather than as an inheritance, then it would be the basis of the giver.