Question

Gwen inherited 100 shares of supershoes stock when her mother died on october 21, 2015; the fair market value of the stock was $20 per share. her mother paid $200 per share when she purchased the stock march 1, 2006. if gwen sells all 100 shares for $50 per share on july 3, 2017, how should she report the sale on her income tax return?

Answer 1

Answer: Gwen should report a $3,000 long-term capital gain in her income tax return.

In this question the price paid by Gwen’s mother for the shares is irrelevant because of her death.

The stock’s fair market value ($20) when Gwen inherited the shares (21st October 2015) is Gwen stepped up value.

Gwen’s gain from selling the shares is:

`Gain / (Loss) = (Selling Price per share - Stepped up value per share) * Number of shares`

`Gain = (50 - 20) *100`

`Gain = $3,000`

Gwen inherited the shares on (21st October 2015) and held the shares until (3rd july 2017), so she held the shares for more than one year after inheriting it. So, she will report a long-term capital gain on her income tax return.