The short answer: When someone who lived in Montgomery County dies and leaves real estate, the house is generally reported on the Pennsylvania inheritance tax return at its value as of the date of death, and that return is filed with the Montgomery County Register of Wills in Norristown. A date-of-death appraisal gives the executor a documented market value for that exact date. The tax is due at death, becomes delinquent nine months later, and there’s a 5% discount if it’s paid within three months, so it pays to order the appraisal early.
We appraise estate homes all over Montgomery County, including Lower Merion, Narberth, Abington, Cheltenham, Norristown, King of Prussia, Ambler, Lansdale, and the Main Line. Here’s how the appraisal fits into settling the estate.
Where does a Montgomery County estate file the inheritance tax return?
If the person was a Pennsylvania resident, the inheritance tax return is filed in duplicate with the Register of Wills in the county where they lived. For Montgomery County residents, that’s the Montgomery County Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans’ Court at One Montgomery Plaza, 425 Swede Street, Norristown. The county explains this on its Filing Inheritance Tax page.
One thing families don’t always expect: the Register’s office accepts the return and the payment and passes them to the Commonwealth, but its staff doesn’t prepare returns or advise on the tax. The county’s Register of Wills FAQ points you to an attorney or accountant for that. The appraisal is the piece that supports the number they report for the house.
What are the deadlines and the early-payment discount?
According to the PA Department of Revenue, inheritance tax is due at the date of death and becomes delinquent nine months after death. If the tax is paid within three months of death, a 5% discount is allowed.
That three-month window is short when you’re also arranging a funeral, finding the will, and opening the estate. If the family wants the discount, the appraisal usually needs to be one of the first calls.
How much does the inheritance tax rate depend on who inherits?
The rate depends on the heir’s relationship to the person who died. Per the PA Department of Revenue:
- 0% on transfers to a surviving spouse, or to a parent from a child aged 21 or younger
- 4.5% on transfers to direct descendants and lineal heirs
- 12% on transfers to siblings
- 15% on transfers to other heirs (charities, exempt institutions, and exempt government entities aside)
Property owned jointly between spouses is exempt. Because the tax is a percentage of value, a well-supported value for the house matters, especially when it passes to children, siblings, or other relatives.
Why does the date-of-death value matter after the estate is settled?
It also sets the heirs’ starting point for capital gains. The IRS says in Publication 551 that the basis of inherited property is generally its fair market value on the date of death (or on the alternate valuation date, if the estate elects it on a federal estate tax return). If an heir sells the house later, a documented date-of-death value is what their CPA works from.
What happens during a date-of-death appraisal?
- We confirm the details with the executor, attorney, or CPA: the property, the date of death, and who will rely on the report.
- We inspect the house as it is today, inside and out. If it has been cleaned out, repaired, or changed since the date of death, we talk through it and document it.
- We value it as of the date of death, using comparable sales and market conditions from around that date, not today’s market.
- You get a written report that the attorney or CPA can keep with the estate file.
If the house needs work, that’s fine. The appraisal reflects the condition as of the date of death, so there’s no need to fix anything first.
H.M. Hoffman & Company is an independent appraisal firm. We don’t buy, sell, list, or rent homes, so our only job is an unbiased value.
FAQ
Can the appraisal be done months or even years after the date of death? Yes. This is called a retrospective appraisal. We inspect the home now and value it as of the date of death, using sales and market data from that time.
Does the house have to be cleaned out or repaired first? No. We value the home in its date-of-death condition, so there’s no need to clear it out or make repairs before we visit.
Who orders the appraisal? Usually the executor or administrator, or the estate attorney or CPA on their behalf. We’ll ask who will rely on the report so it’s addressed correctly.
Is a property tax assessment or an online estimate good enough? An assessment is set for property tax purposes and an online estimate is a computer model; neither is an appraisal of that house on that date. Ask your attorney or CPA what support they want for the return, but a documented appraisal is the strongest record you can keep.
Is the inheritance tax filed in Montgomery County or Harrisburg? For a Pennsylvania resident, the return goes to the Register of Wills in the county where the person lived, which in Montgomery County is the office in Norristown. Nonresidents with Pennsylvania property file with the Department of Revenue instead.
About the appraiser
Jesse M. Hoffman is a PA Certified Residential appraiser, license RL003691, and an FHA-approved appraiser. H.M. Hoffman & Company is based in Narberth and serves Montgomery, Delaware, Philadelphia, and Chester Counties.
Need a date-of-death appraisal? Learn more on our Estate & Date-of-Death Appraisals page, order online, or call (610) 639-3554. For the basics, see our earlier post, Estate Appraisals: When and Why You Need a Date-of-Death Appraisal.
This post is general information, not legal or tax advice. Talk with your estate attorney or CPA about your situation.