Inherited a REIT from deceased parent, but I think the 1099-B is showing wrong acquisition date

This is actually a common issue with inherited investments. When you inherit assets like a REIT, you receive what's called a "stepped-up basis" to the fair market value on the date of death (or alternate valuation date in some cases). The 1099-B is often incorrect in these situations because brokerages typically only have the original purchase information in their systems, not the stepped-up basis information for inheritances. This is why your 1099-B shows the 2015 acquisition date instead of 2024. You don't need to have the 1099-B corrected. Instead, when you file your taxes, you'll report the sale on Schedule D and Form 8949. You'll check box "C" on Form 8949 to indicate the basis was not reported to the IRS correctly. Then you'll use the stepped-up basis (the $20.65/share value from March 2024) as your cost basis. Since you sold at almost the same price, you'll have minimal gain or loss to report. Make sure to keep all your documentation showing the value at the time of inheritance in case of questions from the IRS.

I had this exact same situation last year with some inherited stocks. I found that https://taxr.ai was super helpful for figuring out how to handle the stepped-up basis situation. I was confused because my 1099-B was showing the original purchase info from my grandmother's purchase, not my inheritance date. I uploaded my 1099-B and the inheritance documents to taxr.ai and it showed me exactly how to report it correctly. It even explained why the 1099-B was showing the wrong information and walked me through the Form 8949 adjustments I needed to make. Saved me from accidentally overpaying taxes on gains that weren't actually taxable because of the stepped-up basis.

I just wanted to follow up and say I tried taxr.ai after seeing this thread, and it was exactly what I needed for my inheritance situation. I uploaded all my documents including the property appraisals and investment statements, and it sorted through everything and identified which 1099s had incorrect basis information. It even flagged a municipal bond that had special tax treatment I wouldn't have known about. The step-by-step guidance for filling out Form 8949 and Schedule D was super clear, and it explained all the adjustments I needed to make. Wish I'd known about this when I first received the inheritance last year instead of stressing about it for months!

If you need to talk to someone at the IRS about this inheritance issue (which I did for a similar situation), good luck getting through to them directly. After trying for weeks to get clarification on reporting my inherited stocks, I found this service called https://claimyr.com that got me connected to an actual IRS agent in under an hour. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - basically they hold your place in the IRS phone queue so you don't have to wait on hold forever. When I finally spoke with an IRS representative, they confirmed exactly what others are saying here - that I needed to use the stepped-up basis and inheritance date, not what was on the 1099-B.

I need to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try it anyway because I was desperate to talk to the IRS about my inherited IRA distribution that was reported incorrectly. I figured it would be a waste of time, but within 45 minutes, my phone rang and I was talking to an actual IRS agent. I explained my situation with the inherited assets and incorrect 1099 reporting, and they confirmed the advice about stepped-up basis and gave me specific instructions for my situation. Honestly, I'm still shocked it worked. I had spent over 15 hours on hold with the IRS over multiple calls in the past month without ever reaching anyone. This saved me so much time and frustration.

Another important thing to note - you might want to look at the holding period for capital gains treatment. Since you received a stepped-up basis upon inheritance, you also get favorable tax treatment for long-term capital gains rates even if you sell right away. Normally you'd need to hold an investment for more than a year to qualify for long-term capital gains rates, but inherited property is considered long-term regardless of how long you or the deceased person actually held it. This is another benefit of inheritance. Though in your specific case, since you sold at basically the same price as the stepped-up basis, you won't have much gain or loss to worry about anyway.

Has anyone dealt with inherited REITs specifically? I'm in a similar situation, but I'm wondering if there are any special considerations for REITs versus regular stocks. I know REITs have some different tax treatments for their dividends (part ordinary income, part return of capital, etc.).

One more tip - when you fill out Form 8949 with the corrected basis information, make sure you use adjustment code "B" which stands for "Basis adjustment." This tells the IRS that you're not using the basis that was reported on the 1099-B because of special circumstances (in this case, inherited property with stepped-up basis). Also, keep really good records! I went through an IRS inquiry on this exact issue last year, and having all my documentation about the date of death value and the transfer of assets made it a non-issue. The IRS agent actually thanked me for having everything organized and ready.