Gift tax

[lemonearth138]

i reside in new york state. my mom and dad are deceased. 3 yrs prior to their death they sold their home, only asset, to their children, with lifetime residence. there are 4 children. dad died 1 yr after and mom last sept. 2001. the home was valued at 80,000 by a lawyer and the gift of 20,000 per child and spouse was agreed upon. january 2002 we sold the house for 76,000. my question - are the proceeds from the sale of the house still considered a gift from my mom and dad. We had to file tax information on the proceeds - 4 separate tax forms, at the closing. If this is still a gift tax issue do we file form 709 with the government this year or next? also i have not remarried and was not married at the time of the transfer of property to the children. if this is a gift tax issue can i give the portion for my spouse to my child?


jmh

 

[ALawyer]

Unless I am missing something, IF your parents total gifts during their lifetime PLUS the value of their estates at death did not exceed $675,000, there would be no gift tax or estate tax payable. The gift tax rules required ONLY reporting of gifts in excess of $10,000 per year per person (that's now up to $11,000 for 2002) but untilt the totla of such lifetime gifts over $10,000 exceeded $675,000 there would be no tax.