| > Is this a special provision that kicks in only on death To my knowledge, yes [1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepped-up_basis > How long has that been in place? Since 1921 [1]. When the estate tax was in force, it was meant to avoid double taxation. In 1976, the Congress replaced the step-up basis with a carryover basis (you don't pay taxes on death but neither do you step up the basis). In 1980, it repealed the carryover basis "due to the record-keeping problems associated with reconstructing what a long-deceased relative might have paid for properties that had been held for generations," but didn't re-instate the step-up basis. In 2010, the estate tax was repealed. (EDIT: It was reinstated in 2011 in a neutered form [3].) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepped-up_basis [2] https://greenleaftrust.com/missives/stepped-up-basis-a-short... [3] https://itep.org/federal-estate-tax-historic-lows-2023/ |