How Does Step-Up in Basis Work in Delaware?

Whether you owe state tax on the gain depends on where you live. Delaware taxes long-term capital gains at the same rates as ordinary income30 Del. C. § 1102(a)(14) (graduated 2.2%–6.6% individual income tax)Verified Jul 14, 2026. There is no preferential capital gains rate. The gain is added to other taxable income and taxed at the standard state income tax rates. The step-up is still valuable: it reduces the gain on which both federal and state tax are calculated. Delaware's top marginal income tax rate is 6.6%.

For tax purposes, inheriting assets is usually better than receiving them as a lifetime gift. Inherited property gets a step-up in basis to fair market value at death under IRC § 101426 USC § 1014Verified Jul 13, 2026; gifted property carries the donor's original basis under IRC § 101526 USC § 1015(a)Verified Jul 13, 2026. If the donor bought stock at $10,000 that's now worth $200,000, a recipient who sells after a gift owes capital gains tax on the full $190,000 of appreciation. The same recipient inheriting the same stock owes tax only on appreciation after the date of death. A revocable living trust preserves the step-up — assets held in the trust during life still receive the basis adjustment at death.

No. Inherited property automatically receives long-term capital gains treatment regardless of how long you hold it before selling, per IRC § 1223(9)26 USC § 1223(9)Verified Jul 13, 2026. Even if you sell the day after inheriting, the gain (if any, after the step-up) is taxed at long-term federal rates of 0%, 15%, or 20% depending on income (IRC § 1(h))IRC § 1(h); IRS Topic No. 409Verified Jul 13, 2026. This is one reason inherited assets are tax-advantaged compared to gifted assets.

Documentation depends on the asset type. Stocks and mutual funds use the average of the high and low trading prices on the date of death (IRS Pub. 551)26 USC § 1014(f), § 6035; IRS Pub. 551 (Basis of Assets); Form 8971 / Schedule AVerified Jul 13, 2026. Real estate calls for a qualified appraisal effective as of the date of death. Closely held business interests typically require a formal valuation by an independent appraiser, particularly when a Form 706 estate tax return is filed. Retain every valuation; it supports the basis you report on Schedule D when the asset is sold.

The alternate valuation date (AVD) is an executor election under IRC § 2032§ 1014(a)(2); § 2032(a)Verified Jul 13, 2026 that values estate property six months after death rather than on the date of death — except for property disposed of within those six months, which takes its value from the date of disposition. It applies to the entire estate, not on an asset-by-asset basis, and is permitted only when it lowers both the gross estate and the federal estate tax due. When the election is made, beneficiaries take the AVD figure as their stepped-up basis. AVD is only in play for estates filing a federal estate tax return — those exceeding $15 million per individual.

IRC § 1014(e)§ 1014(e)Verified Jul 13, 2026blocks the step-up in this case. If the decedent received appreciated property by gift within one year of death and the property passes back to the original donor (or the donor's spouse), the basis reverts to the decedent's adjusted basis rather than receiving a step-up. The rule exists to prevent families from gifting appreciated property to a dying relative purely to harvest a basis adjustment.