Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New York

Re: capital gains tax

The current owner may avoid any tax, but the tax does not disappear. By making a gift to your children, they take ownership but at your original cost, regardless of current value. If and when they sell, they are responsible for any taxes on the gain. If they die and their children inherit the property from them, they get a new basis and this may eliminate the tax on the gain, but there are other tax considerations. You have not provided values (original cost, improvements, current value of property, accrued depreciation and method of calculation). This information bears on the type of gain, potential income taxes that must be addressed and potential gift and estate tax consequences. This is a response to an Internet question and the reply is not intended to be legal advice or as creating an attorney-client relationship. Omitted or missing facts may result in a different reply.