tax structure on inherited property

[terri]

Okay, so I posted this in financing so I`m trying again.....

I`m helping a friend to decide what the best route would be to go on a house that he just inherited in Markham. He does not live in Markham, has no intention of living in the house, and currently rents in Toronto. We`re going to be looking at a couple of different senarios involving either selling or possibly refinancing and what I`m not sure about is whether he will have to pay tax on the property if he sells and if so at what tax rate.

I haven`t seen the property yet so I have no idea what the value vs rental income is but before I give him any advice on selling I want to make sure I`m clear on what the true cost will be.

What are the rules for tax on selling an inherited property in Ontario? I tried looking it up on line but was at a loss. I BELIEVE that it would only be capital gains on the amount it increased in value from the time he inherited to the time he sells it, therefore if he sells it immediately, there will be little or no tax. Is this assumption correct?

and ... does he need to get an appraisal done to show what, if any, increase in value that occurred?

thanks in advance,

Terri

 

[George]

QUOTE (terri @ Jan 2 2008, 11:36 PM) Okay, so I posted this in financing so I`m trying again.....

I`m helping a friend to decide what the best route would be to go on a house that he just inherited in Markham. He does not live in Markham, has no intention of living in the house, and currently rents in Toronto. We`re going to be looking at a couple of different senarios involving either selling or possibly refinancing and what I`m not sure about is whether he will have to pay tax on the property if he sells and if so at what tax rate.

I haven`t seen the property yet so I have no idea what the value vs rental income is but before I give him any advice on selling I want to make sure I`m clear on what the true cost will be.

What are the rules for tax on selling an inherited property in Ontario? I tried looking it up on line but was at a loss. I BELIEVE that it would only be capital gains on the amount it increased in value from the time he inherited to the time he sells it, therefore if he sells it immediately, there will be little or no tax. Is this assumption correct?

and ... does he need to get an appraisal done to show what, if any, increase in value that occurred?

thanks in advance,

Terri

Good evening Terri,

Your assumption is most likely correct. In theory the CRA could argue that the property was inventory and therefore there is income as compared to a capital gain but this isn`t very likely.

The appraisal may have already effectively been done if for example the Will was probated (values of the assets in the Will reported for probate purposes). While you could argue that the values were incorrect, it may be difficult to explain to the authorities that the value for the probate was under reported and thus probate taxes avoided (but could rectify an error).

The tax rate would depend on your friend`s other income (the more income, the higher the tax rate).

Warm regards...

George