Best Friend & Inheritance

[Enigma]

My best friend's mother passed away and had been moving all her assets overseas to a different country (Laos).  He is working on trying to liquidate her assets (houses, etc) and will probably inherit $400k.

Would that be subject to any inheritance taxes?

[Sibley]

I believe that in the US, taxes are paid by the estate, not the person receiving items. However, if he inherits a house worth $100k and sells it for $150k, he may have to pay taxes on the gain of $50k. Hope that makes sense.

[JoJo]

The amount is well below the federal & state estate tax limits, but a few states have inheritance tax.

http://taxfoundation.org/blog/does-your-state-have-estate-or-inheritance-tax

[frompa]

Your friend needs to talk to an attorney who handles estates in the geographic area where his mother died.  As some one inferred above, taxation of estates depends on state as well as federal law, and there are nuances sufficient to justify getting advice from an attorney who your friend trusts.  This is not an internet sort of question, from a reasonable point of view -- there's too much at stake.  Good luck.