ESTATE TAX APPRAISAL
Mobile Home Appraisal for Estate Tax
Mobile home appraisal services for estate tax covering date-of-death fair market value, IRS Form 706 reporting, and gross estate substantiation, prepared in accordance with USPAP. Mobile Home Mavens delivers independent, defensible reports on single-wide and double-wide manufactured homes nationwide.
ESTATE TAX REQUIREMENTS
Mobile Home Mavens Prepares Date-of-Death Valuations for Federal Estate Tax Returns
When someone passes away owning a mobile or manufactured home, that home becomes part of their gross estate. If the estate is large enough to require a federal estate tax return, IRS Form 706, every asset in the estate, including the home, must be reported at its fair market value as of the date of death. An independent appraisal establishes that value and supports the figure reported on the return.
Mobile Home Mavens prepares USPAP-compliant appraisal reports that establish the date-of-death fair market value of a mobile or manufactured home for federal and state estate tax filings. Estate tax reporting requires a retrospective value, the value of the home as of the day the owner passed away, or as of the alternate valuation date six months later when the estate elects it. Because we do not buy, sell, broker, lease, or finance mobile homes, our valuation conclusions are independent and defensible to the IRS, the estate's CPA or tax attorney, and any heir or beneficiary.
Estate tax reporting is distinct from the probate process that settles the estate itself. When the court needs a value to inventory the home and divide it among heirs, a mobile home appraisal for probate serves that purpose, and the same date-of-death value often supports both the probate inventory and the estate tax return. When a home is given away during the owner's lifetime rather than passing at death, a mobile home appraisal for gift tax establishes the value reported on IRS Form 709.
We appraise single-wide and double-wide homes classified as personal property (chattel). We do not appraise manufactured homes permanently affixed to land and classified as real property; those typically require a state-licensed real estate appraiser.
Our estate tax appraisal reports include:
- A complete description of the home (make, model, year, HUD label information when available, condition, and specifications)
- The effective date of value (the date of death, or the alternate valuation date when elected) and the intended use (estate tax reporting)
- The methodology and comparable sales used to determine fair market value
- The appraiser's qualifications and USPAP compliance statement
- A value conclusion formatted to support IRS Form 706 and the estate's records
HOW IT WORKS
Your estate tax appraisal report, from intake to delivery
- 01
Submit the Home's Details
Provide the home's make, model, year, and location, any available title or HUD label information, and the date of death or alternate valuation date the estate requires.
- 02
Research & Valuation
A credentialed mobile home appraiser researches the market and determines an independent fair market value using comparable sales and condition-based adjustments as of the required effective date.
- 03
Receive Your Report
Your completed appraisal is delivered electronically, formatted to support IRS Form 706 and the estate's records.
- 04
Report the Value With Confidence
The estate's executor, CPA, or tax attorney has a defensible, independent valuation to support the home's value on the estate tax return.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Mobile home estate tax appraisals: what to expect
Why does an estate need an appraisal of a mobile home for estate tax?
Every asset in a decedent's gross estate must be reported at its fair market value, including any mobile or manufactured home. When the estate is large enough to require a federal estate tax return, the executor reports the home's date-of-death value, and an independent USPAP-compliant appraisal gives the IRS and the estate a defensible basis for that figure.
What is IRS Form 706, and when is it required?
Form 706 is the United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return. The executor or personal representative files it when the value of the gross estate, plus certain lifetime gifts, exceeds the federal estate tax exemption for the year of death. Our appraisal establishes the fair market value of the home reported on that return.
What is the alternate valuation date?
An estate may elect to value its assets as of six months after the date of death rather than on the date of death itself, when doing so reduces the estate's value and tax. We prepare the report to whichever effective date the estate requires, whether that is the date of death or the alternate valuation date.
Does the estate tax value also set the heirs' cost basis?
Generally yes. The date-of-death fair market value typically establishes the stepped-up cost basis for whoever inherits the home, which affects the taxable gain if they later sell it. A supportable appraisal documents that value for both the estate tax return and the heirs' records.
Do we need separate appraisals for probate and estate tax?
Usually not. Both the probate inventory and the estate tax return rely on the home's fair market value as of the date of death, so a single date-of-death appraisal commonly supports both. Tell us the intended uses up front and we will prepare the report accordingly.
What types of mobile homes do you appraise for estate tax?
We appraise single-wide and double-wide mobile and manufactured homes classified as personal property (chattel). Homes permanently affixed to land and classified as real property require a state-licensed real estate appraiser, so those fall outside the scope of our reports.
Request Your Mobile Home Estate Tax Appraisal
Tell us about the home and the estate's requirements. We'll confirm scope and fee before work begins.