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Taxes when selling an inherited house in Pasadena
Sidney Manzo, CA DRE #01108914, with Two different tax systems show up when heirs talk about selling a Pasadena house they inherited. One is federal income tax on gain. The other is California property tax, including Proposition 19. This note names the public pages and then sends the file to a CPA. It is general information, not legal or tax advice, and it is not an appraisal. Sidney does not buy the house. A home value review is his look at one address for planning a sale. It is not an instant or automated valuation, and it is not a date-of-death appraisal.
The income-tax note for a long-held home, including the sale-of-home exclusion, is Capital Gains Tax on Selling a House in California. Do not use this page as a second copy of that one. The property-tax note is How Prop 19 affects selling or inheriting a home.
Basis, in the IRS's words
The IRS gifts and inheritances FAQ, read November 10, 2026, says money from the sale of inherited property is generally included in gross income when you decide whether you must file, and that you report the sale on Schedule D and Form 8949 when a filing is required. To know whether the sale is taxable, the FAQ says you first determine basis. It says the basis of property inherited from a decedent is generally the fair market value on the date of death, whether or not an estate tax return is filed, or the value on the alternate valuation date only if the executor files Form 706 and elects that date.
The same FAQ says that if you or your spouse gave the property to the decedent within one year before death, you should see Publication 551. It also describes a consistency rule when an executor provides Schedule A to Form 8971. Those sentences are the IRS's. A CPA applies them to this house. This page does not compute gain, does not state a Pasadena sale price, and does not say the exclusion for a home you lived in applies to an heir. That exclusion is discussed on the capital-gains note linked above, still as general information.
Proposition 19 is the property-tax base
The State Board of Equalization describes Proposition 19 as the Home Protection for Seniors, Severely Disabled, Families, and Victims of Wildfire or Natural Disasters Act, approved November 3, 2020. Its parent-child chart says the current exclusion is for a family home or farm that is the principal residence of the transferor and the transferee, with a value limit, and that the exclusion for other real property was eliminated. The chart says a homeowners' exemption claim is filed within one year of the transfer. Implementing statute on that chart is Revenue and Taxation Code section 63.2, effective February 16, 2021. The Board's phone for the Property Tax Department is 1-916-274-3350.
That is assessed value for the property-tax bill. It is not the income-tax basis in the IRS FAQ. Keeping the Pasadena house as a child's residence and selling it are different files. The county assessor and a CPA say which chart row, if any, fits. Nothing here says a base-year value will transfer.
What a broker can add
A home value review can give the attorney and the CPA a broker's opinion of what the house might bring, separate from a date-of-death appraisal the estate may already have. The two numbers answer different questions. Request a home value review. Book a seller consultation. The local inherited-home page is selling an inherited house in Pasadena. Disclosure steps, including the presale certificate, are on What to Disclose When Selling a House in Pasadena. Authority to sign is a legal and title question, confirmed before anyone lists.
Questions homeowners ask next
- Is this the capital-gains note for a long-held California home?
- No. That note is Capital Gains Tax on Selling a House in California. This page is only the inherited-house question for a Pasadena property: IRS basis language, then Proposition 19 as property tax. A CPA applies both. This is not tax advice.
- What does the IRS say basis of inherited property generally is?
- The gifts and inheritances FAQ says basis is generally fair market value on the date of death, or on the alternate valuation date only if the executor files Form 706 and elects that date. A CPA applies the FAQ, including the one-year gift rule and any Form 8971 consistency rule, to the file.
- Does Proposition 19 calculate income tax on the sale?
- No. The Board of Equalization page treats Proposition 19 as the property-tax base, including a narrowed parent-child exclusion for a family home. Income tax on gain is the IRS question. This page does not compute either figure.
- Where do I read the parent-child rules?
- Start at boe.ca.gov/prop19 and the Prop 19 note on this site, then the assessor or a CPA. The Board lists 1-916-274-3350 for its Property Tax Department. Sidney does not apply the exclusion.
- Can a home value review replace the date-of-death value?
- No. A home value review is a broker's opinion for planning a sale. It is not an appraisal, not an automated valuation, and not the figure an estate uses as date-of-death fair market value. The executor and the CPA use the records they have.
- Does Sidney buy an inherited Pasadena house?
- No. Sidney Manzo, CA DRE #01108914, with , does not buy houses. He can review the property after the person who may sign is identified. A consultation does not create a listing.