An inherited rental does not automatically continue the decedent's old depreciation ledger. The heir first needs the property's inherited basis, any estate reporting, the land and building split, and the date the property was ready and available for the heir's rental activity.
What is the general inherited basis rule?
IRS Publication 551 says inherited property generally takes fair market value at the decedent's date of death, an elected alternate valuation date, or another applicable estate-tax value. When an estate files Form 706, a beneficiary may receive Schedule A to Form 8971 reporting the value that must be used under the consistent-basis rules.
How does land enter the schedule?
The inherited value still has to be allocated between land and depreciable building. Land receives basis but no depreciation. An appraisal, estate schedule, assessor ratio, or other documented allocation may inform that split. The source and method should be printed in the workpaper so the CPA can evaluate it.
When does the heir's depreciation begin?
Publication 946 starts depreciation when property is ready and available for a specific income-producing use. If an inherited home sat vacant during repairs or remained personal-use property before rental, the date of death does not necessarily become the rental placed-in-service date. The facts need their own timeline.
What can the Reality Contact check provide?
The free estimate applies the disclosed 80% building assumption and 27.5-year residential recovery period to the facts supplied. The $99 computation replaces the rough split with source records and builds the allowed-or-allowable schedule and section 481(a) adjustment. The $249 packet adds the corrected ledger, forward schedule, draft Form 3115 sections, and CPA cover note. The CPA reviews, signs, and files.
Where does the operator boundary sit?
This is not tax advice. Reality Contact, LLC prepares a computation and draft workpaper for a CPA. We do not prepare a return, sign or file Form 3115, represent a taxpayer, or decide whether a method change is available. The taxpayer's CPA reviews and files. The free estimate uses a disclosed 80% building assumption and the 27.5-year residential recovery period. It is a real arithmetic check and a demand sample. We reply by email; the paid work replaces the rough land split with the assessor record and closing documents. The current source check starts with this published record.