[supafamous]

Originally Posted by PeanutButter

This is going to be my situation soon. My parents have a house and it's my brother and I... He has a condo and has told me he just wants the cash. The house is worth $2.5M, I don't have the resources to float him the $1.25M that's his, so we're going to have to sell the house. I'm just wondering though, if my parents put both of our names on the title, can we skip the tax when they pass?

If you own a place already then DO NOT put your name on your parents house because your portion of it will become taxable unless you declare it your principal residence at which point your current place becomes taxable.

The probate tax is pretty trivial - for a $2.5m place it's $35k. (https://westcoastwills.com/bc-probate-fee-calculator/)

As long as the house is in your parents name and it's their principal residence there's no taxes for you to pay on the value of the property up till the time they die. From the time they die till 1 year after you only owe probate and then after that you also owe taxes on any capital gains that happen. So if you can sell the house in year 1 then it's just the $35k you owe (split between you and your brother) (Edit: I can't find the explanation where it says you have a 1 year grace period so I could be wrong in this).

As always, I'm not a tax advisor so do consult a tax advisor if things get serious b/c it's A LOT of money.