# Determining tax basis for mineral rights inherited in 2007
**URL:** https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/determining-tax-basis-for-mineral-rights-inherited-in-2007/45132
**Category:** Williams County, ND
**Created:** [April 26, 2019, 5:42pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/determining-tax-basis-for-mineral-rights-inherited-in-2007/45132 "2019-04-26T17:42:03Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Sher](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/Sher)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2019, 5:42pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/determining-tax-basis-for-mineral-rights-inherited-in-2007/45132/1 "2019-04-26T17:42:03Z")
Good morning: We inherited 14.2 acres of mineral rights in Williams County, North Dakota, in 2007. We are considering selling and don’t have any idea how to determine the cost basis in order to calculate capital gains tax. If anyone can steer us in the right direction we’d appreciate it. Thanks.
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### Author:  [@James\_Randolph](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/James_Randolph)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2019, 7:11pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/determining-tax-basis-for-mineral-rights-inherited-in-2007/45132/2 "2019-04-26T19:11:16Z")
Basis is value at date of death of the person from whom you inherited - or one year thereafter. You should have determined this value for estate tax purposes. Good Luck
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### Author:  [@Sher](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/Sher)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2019, 7:17pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/determining-tax-basis-for-mineral-rights-inherited-in-2007/45132/3 "2019-04-26T19:17:12Z")
Thanks for your reply. The mineral rights transferred to us via a family trust so we didn’t have to file an estate tax return. I just don’t know how to determine what the value was then. They weren’t producing until later that year.
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### Author:  [@James\_Randolph](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/James_Randolph)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2019, 7:50pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/determining-tax-basis-for-mineral-rights-inherited-in-2007/45132/4 "2019-04-26T19:50:20Z")
Try asking the former trustee.
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### Author:  [@Sher](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/Sher)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2019, 8:00pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/determining-tax-basis-for-mineral-rights-inherited-in-2007/45132/5 "2019-04-26T20:00:51Z")
I was the trustee. I may have to use a zero basis.
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### Author:  [@Steve\_Durrett](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/Steve_Durrett)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2019, 8:26pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/determining-tax-basis-for-mineral-rights-inherited-in-2007/45132/6 "2019-04-26T20:26:13Z")
Were the minerals in production at the time of inheritance? If not, the value would have been pretty close to zero back in 2007. If they were producing back then it should be a pretty simple matter to have them evaluated by an engineer for a few hundred dollars.
Depending on how big your pending sale is, the tax savings might or might not be worth the expense of an engineer’s report.
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### Author:  [@Sher](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/Sher)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2019, 8:32pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/determining-tax-basis-for-mineral-rights-inherited-in-2007/45132/7 "2019-04-26T20:32:01Z")
They went into production in late 2007. Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll look into getting an engineer’s report. It would be worth paying for a report.
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### Author:  [@Richard\_Winblad](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/Richard_Winblad)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2019, 9:09pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/determining-tax-basis-for-mineral-rights-inherited-in-2007/45132/8 "2019-04-26T21:09:39Z")
> [@Sher](#):
>
> I may have to use a zero basis.
Yikes, don’t take that hit. Hire a landman to provide you with the information. Unless it was a tiny sale of course.
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### Author:  [@Sher](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/Sher)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2019, 9:14pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/determining-tax-basis-for-mineral-rights-inherited-in-2007/45132/9 "2019-04-26T21:14:52Z")
That’s another good idea. No, it wouldn’t be a tiny sale, not huge but substantial.
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### Author:  [@MRFAdmin\_SV](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/MRFAdmin_SV)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2025, 6:22pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/determining-tax-basis-for-mineral-rights-inherited-in-2007/45132/10 "2025-01-11T18:22:46Z")