Sample output — fictional facts
Inherited Foreign Property — U.S. Reporting Plan
Accepted question: Explain the selected 2025 sale year for one inherited foreign apartment, organize the documented inheritance history that supports it, and specify the remaining U.S. preparation questions.
Scope: One household, one beneficiary ownership interest, one directly and personally held foreign property, one decedent or estate, and one selected reporting year (2025), within a proposed ten-document / forty-substantive-page review cap plus one organizer. The 2023 records support acquisition history; the earlier year's receipt-reporting determination is separately scoped.
All figures in this sample are fictional USD document amounts used for review. They are not a computed tax result. The valuation figure is evidence only; nothing here establishes final basis, gain, exclusion eligibility, or a foreign tax credit, and no gain is derived by subtracting the valuation figure from proceeds.
Accepted event and year
- Property: One apartment (fictional) (estate-schedule.pdf, p. 2)
- Decedent: Named decedent (death-record.pdf, p. 1)
- Acquisition method: Inherited by direct transfer (not purchased) (transfer-record.pdf, p. 1)
- Beneficiary: Named beneficiary, documented 100% interest (transfer-record.pdf, p. 1)
- Selected year: 2025 sale year (closing.pdf, p. 1)
- Earlier year: 2023 records support acquisition history only (death-record.pdf, p. 1)
Decedent-to-beneficiary timeline
| Event | Date | Supported fact | Source | Review / action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Death | 2023-04-10 | Named decedent; one property identified. | death-record.pdf, p. 1 | Confirm source status and the applicable U.S. questions. |
| Valuation | 2023-04-10 valuation date | USD 100,000 for the whole property; issuer and method stated. | valuation.pdf, p. 1 | Evidence available; U.S. basis treatment remains subject to review. |
| Direct transfer | 2023-09-15 | Named beneficiary receives a documented 100% interest. | transfer-record.pdf, p. 1 | Chain reconciles; no title opinion supplied. |
| Sale | 2025-08-20 | Gross USD 145,000; costs USD 5,000; receipt USD 140,000. | closing.pdf, p. 1 | Cash bridge reconciles with zero difference. |
Ownership and receipt facts
- Ownership at transfer: Documented 100% interest to the named beneficiary (transfer-record.pdf, p. 1)
- Receipt / transfer date: 2023-09-15 (transfer-record.pdf, p. 1)
- Estate or trust involvement: Direct transfer; no trust identified (transfer-record.pdf, p. 1)
- Title opinion: Not supplied; the chain is a factual acceptance test, not a foreign-law title opinion (—)
Documented value and basis questions
| Item | Amount | Status | Source | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Documented valuation (whole property) — evidence, not established U.S. basis | 100,000 USD | Client-confirmed | valuation.pdf, p. 1 | |
| Inherited U.S. basis (treatment to review) | Unresolved | Unresolved | — | U.S. basis treatment remains subject to review; the valuation figure is evidence, not an established basis. |
| Beneficiary use history and any prior depreciation | Unresolved | Unresolved | — | The beneficiary must confirm the dated use history and any prior depreciation. |
- Currency method: Apply the reviewed conversion method for the accepted sale year. The figures in this sample are already stated in fictional USD document amounts.
- Rate source: To be confirmed — no conversion rate has been applied in this sample.
- Status: Unresolved
Sale reconciliation (when included)
| Item | Amount | Currency | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross contract price | 145,000 USD | USD | Client-confirmed | closing.pdf, p. 1 |
| Selling costs | 5,000 USD | USD | Client-confirmed | closing.pdf, p. 1 |
| Local withholding | 0 USD | USD | Client-confirmed | closing.pdf, p. 1 |
| Mortgage payoff | 0 USD | USD | Client-confirmed | closing.pdf, p. 1 |
| Expected net receipt | 140,000 USD | USD | Client-confirmed | — |
| Actual bank receipt | 140,000 USD | USD | Client-confirmed | bank.pdf, p. 1 |
| Unexplained difference | 0 USD | USD | Reviewer-supported | — |
This table reconciles cash movement between the contract price and the amount received. It does not compute taxable gain, adjusted basis, exclusion eligibility, or any allowable foreign tax credit. A mortgage payoff reduces cash without reducing taxable gain, and a bank deposit is not proof of taxable gain.
U.S. income and information-reporting issue map
| Area | Question | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. income | What is the inherited basis, and how is the later sale gain determined? | Unresolved | The valuation is evidence only. Do not derive gain by subtracting the valuation figure from proceeds. The applicable acquisition treatment, valuation date and beneficiary interest, any estate-basis consistency requirement, and later adjustments including use history and depreciation remain for qualified review. |
| Information reporting | Does the 2023 receipt require information reporting? | Unresolved | The earlier year is separately scoped; the 2025 plan records the documented history as support only. |
| Account reporting | Do the sale proceeds create foreign-account reporting questions? | Unresolved | The proceeds were received into a foreign bank account. FBAR/Form 8938 questions are flagged, not resolved. |
| Exclusion | Is any gain eligible for a principal-residence exclusion? | Unresolved | A dated use history must be confirmed; no exclusion is decided here. |
| Foreign tax | Is any local tax or withholding creditable? | Unresolved | None shown on the fictional closing statement; creditability is not determined here. |
Missing evidence
- Beneficiary confirmation of the dated use history and any prior depreciation.
- Any local tax or withholding evidence for the sale year.
- Confirmation that the closing statement captured every fee and credit.
Ordered next actions
- Buyer — Confirm the use history and any prior depreciation. (required record: A dated use timeline and any prior depreciation schedules.)
- Operations-verification agent — Record the accepted U.S. treatment and authority, or state an explicit blocker. (required record: Current authority for the accepted sale year.)
- Preparer — Quote the sale-year preparation and any separately requested earlier-year review. (required record: The reconciled workpaper and prior U.S. filings.)
Preparation and referral next steps
If preparation is requested, it is quoted separately after final basis and the account-reporting questions are resolved. This plan does not prepare or file any return, FBAR, or information return, and it does not create a valuation.
Appendix — inheritance-chain table
| Event | Date | Person / role | Ownership share | Value / currency | Evidence / source / page | Unresolved question | Next action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Death | 2023-04-10 | Decedent | — | — | death-record.pdf, p. 1; estate-schedule.pdf, p. 2 | Applicable U.S. questions to confirm | Confirm source status. |
| Valuation | 2023-04-10 (valuation date) | Issuer / valuer | Whole property | USD 100,000 (whole property) | valuation.pdf, pp. 1–2 | U.S. basis treatment remains subject to review | Do not treat as an established U.S. basis. |
| Direct transfer | 2023-09-15 | Beneficiary | 100% | — | transfer-record.pdf, pp. 1–2 | No foreign-law title opinion supplied | Chain reconciles; retain the records. |
| Sale | 2025-08-20 | Beneficiary (seller) | 100% | USD 145,000 gross; USD 140,000 received | closing.pdf, p. 1; bank.pdf, p. 1 | None; the cash bridge reconciles to a zero difference | Preparer quotes the sale-year preparation. |
Estimates and assumptions (labeled)
- Labeled assumption: all amounts are fictional USD document amounts used to demonstrate the plan; they are not a computed tax result.
- Labeled assumption: the 2023 events are included as documented acquisition history only; the earlier year's receipt-reporting determination is separately scoped.
Notices and limits
- The sale reconciliation explains cash movement; it does not establish final adjusted basis, taxable gain, exclusion eligibility, or an allowable foreign tax credit.
- Valuation evidence is kept distinct from the factual reconciliation and is not labeled an established U.S. basis.
- Do not derive a final gain merely by subtracting the valuation figure from proceeds.
- This plan does not include return or FBAR preparation, a valuation opinion, a legal opinion, or a penalty conclusion. Those are separate.