I would definitely contact an accountant in your jurisdiction for advice, but I'll note that in t the US, IRS publication 551 includes the following section:
‐------------------------ Generally, the basis of property inherited from a decedent is one of the following. The FMV of the property at the date of the individual's death. The FMV on the alternate valuation date if the personal representative for the estate chooses to use alternate valuation. For information on the alternate valuation date, see the Instructions for Form 706. The value under the special-use valuation method for real property used in farming or a closely held business if chosen for estate tax purposes. This method is discussed later. The decedent's adjusted basis in land to the extent of the portion of the value excluded from the decedent's taxable estate as a qualified conservation easement. For information on a qualified conservation easement, see the Instructions for Form 706. If you did not receive a Schedule A reporting the estate tax value of property you inherited, your basis in the property can be determined using the appraised value at the date of death for state inheritance or transmission tax purposes. -------------------------------- David T. On February 13, 2026 8:40:20 AM GMT+05:30, "David G. Pickett" <[email protected]> wrote: > The ATT family sites have basis calculators through the mergers and splits if > you know the date of acquisition, but I lack that! Essentially, ti will be > mostly gain! > On Thursday, February 12, 2026 at 09:26:11 PM EST, David T. > <[email protected]> wrote: > > David, > >Spinoffs can be confusing. The way I've decided to handle them is to do two >transactions. The first exchanges 40 CMCSA for 6.2 VSNT. The second sells .2 >VSNT for $6.70. Gains get handled in the normal way for each transaction. I've >tried the all in one method, but find the display in GnuCash too confusing. >Having one transaction that says "CMCSA spinoff to VSNT 7:1" and a second one >that says "Sale of fractional VSNT" is easier for me to follow later on. > >As for basis, either speak to the broker and ask for either a basis or a >purchase date. With the latter, you'd have to ultimately track through the >ticker history for any basis-changing events (splits, capital returns, etc.) >prior to your GnuCash books. > >According to a web search, NetBasis is a major service that calculates cost >basis from a simple date/shares purchased form. It costs $35 per report, >though--although you could potentially enter all your holdings and get a >single report with all for cost basis calculations. > >HTH, >David T. > > >On February 13, 2026 3:15:10 AM GMT+05:30, "David G. Pickett via gnucash-user" ><[email protected]> wrote: >GNUCash seems to lack tools to allow me to deal with our 40 CMCSA spinning off >6.2 VSNT, never mind how to handle the $6.70 from the .2 VSNT. I might be in >trouble because I started the CMCSA with opening balance, not a historical >buy. The basis is deep buried in family and ATT history, derived off a stock >option of the wife's first husband, also a David! They have web sites for >that sort of thing, but I have no record of his stock receipt! Sometimes I >use his death date, when title shifted to his wife, but I am sure that is not >a legal fudge. I suspect the difficulty establishing a basis compounds the >problems of showing the spinoff. I look forward to having to report capital >gains on .2 shares $6.70 ! Is there a basis editor hiding in there somewhere? > Maybe I can get the broker to do $6.70 in fractional shares! One tutoring >student made me aware that Robinhood has people trading in tiny fractional >shares, like 6 places! She wants to keep the shares, as before he died, he >said "Never sell, this is good stuff!" I suppose it is another curse on her >estate and executor, who might be me!gnucash-user mailing list >[email protected] >To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: >https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-userPlease remember to CC >this list on all your replies. >You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All. > > _______________________________________________ gnucash-user mailing list [email protected] To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user ----- Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
