Adjusted Basis

Before figuring gain or loss on a sale, exchange, or other disposition of property or figuring allowable depreciation, depletion, or amortization, you must usually make certain adjustments (increases and decreases) to the basis of the property. The result of these adjustments to the basis is the adjusted basis.

Increases to Basis

Increase the basis of any property by all items properly added to a capital account. These include the cost of any improvements having a useful life of more than 1 year. Other items added to the basis of property include the cost of extending utility service lines to the property and legal fees, such as the cost of defending and perfecting title.

Improvements. Add the cost of improvements to your basis in the property if they increase the value of the property, lengthen its life, or adapt it to a different use. For example, improvements include putting a recreation room in your unfinished basement, adding another bathroom or bedroom, putting up a fence, putting in new plumbing or wiring, installing a new roof, or paving your driveway.

Assessments for local improvements. Add assessments for improvements such as streets and sidewalks to the basis of the property if they increase the value of the property assessed. Do not deduct them as taxes. However, you can deduct as taxes assessments for maintenance, repairs, or interest charges on the improvements.

Example. Your city changes the street in front of your store into an enclosed pedestrian mall and assesses you and other affected property owners for the cost of the conversion. Add the assessment to your property's basis. In this example, the assessment is a depreciable asset.

Decreases to Basis

The following items reduce the basis of your property.

• The section 179 deduction.
• The deduction for clean-fuel vehicles and clean-fuel vehicle refueling property.
• Nontaxable corporate distributions (see chapter 9).
• Deductions previously allowed (or allowable) for amortization, depreciation, and depletion.
• Exclusion of subsidies for energy conservation measures (see Energy conservation subsidies in chapter 13).
• Credit for qualified electric vehicles.
• Postponed gain from the sale of your home.
• Casualty and theft losses and insurance reimbursements.
• Certain canceled debt excluded from income.
• Rebates received from a manufacturer or seller.
• Easements.
• Gas-guzzler tax.
• Adoption tax benefits.

Table 14-1. Examples of Adjustments to Basis

Casualties and thefts. If you have a casualty or theft loss, decrease the basis of your property by any insurance proceeds or other reimbursement and by any deductible loss not covered by insurance.

You must increase your basis in the property by the amount you spend on repairs that substantially prolong the life of the property, increase its value, or adapt it to a different use. To make this determination, compare the repaired property to the property before the casualty.

For more information on casualty and theft losses, see chapter 27.

Easements. The amount you receive for granting an easement is generally considered to be from the sale of an interest in real property. It reduces the basis of the affected part of the property. If the amount received is more than the basis of the part of the property affected by the easement, reduce your basis in that part to zero and treat the excess as a recognized gain.

If the gain is on a capital asset, see chapter 17 for information about how to report it. If the gain is on property used in a trade or business, see Publication 544 for information about how to report it.

Depreciation and section 179 deduction. Decrease the basis of your qualifying business property by any section 179 deduction you take and the depreciation you deducted, or could have deducted, on your tax returns under the method of depreciation you selected.

For more information about depreciation and the section 179 deduction, see Publication 946.

Credit for qualified electric vehicles. If you claim the credit for a qualified electric vehicle, you must reduce your basis in that vehicle by the lesser of the following amounts.

• $4,000.
• 10% of the vehicle's cost.

This basis reduction rule applies even if the credit allowed is less than the reduction. For more information on this credit, see chapter 12 in Publication 535.

Deduction for clean-fuel vehicle and refueling property. If you take the deduction for clean-fuel vehicles or clean-fuel vehicle refueling property, decrease the basis of the property by the amount taken. For more information about these deductions, see chapter 12 in Publication 535.

Exclusion of subsidies for energy conservation measures. You can exclude from gross income any subsidy you received from a public utility company for the purchase or installation of an energy conservation measure for a dwelling unit. Reduce the basis of the property for which you received the subsidy by the excluded amount. For more information about this subsidy, see chapter 13.

Postponed gain from sale of home. If you postponed gain from the sale of your main home before May 7, 1997, you must reduce the basis of your new home by the amount of the postponed gain. For more information on the rules for the sale of a home, see Publication 523.

Example

You owned a duplex used as rental property that cost you $40,000, of which $35,000 was allocated to the building and $5,000 to the land. You added an improvement to the duplex that cost $10,000. In February last year the duplex was damaged by fire. Up to that time you had been allowed depreciation of $23,000. You sold some salvaged material for $1,300 and collected $19,700 from your insurance company. You deducted a casualty loss of $1,000 on your income tax return for last year. You spent $19,000 of the insurance proceeds for restoration of the duplex, which was completed this year. You must use the duplex's adjusted basis after the restoration to determine depreciation for the rest of the property's recovery period. Figure the adjusted basis of the duplex as follows:

Your basis in the land is its original cost of $5,000.

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