Date-of-Death Appraisals in Texas: Why Your CPA May Ask for a Retrospective Home Value

You’re sitting down with a CPA after the death of a parent or family member, working your way through a mountain of paperwork, when they ask:

“Do you have an appraisal showing what the house was worth on the date of death?”

That question catches a lot of people off guard.

The house may not be for sale. Nobody is applying for a mortgage. And the date your CPA is asking about may have been six months, a year, or even several years ago.

So why do they need an appraisal now?

Welcome to the world of the date-of-death appraisal, also commonly called a retrospective appraisal.

As a state-certified residential real estate appraiser serving Conroe, Montgomery, The Woodlands, Willis, Magnolia, Spring, and surrounding areas, I complete these assignments for families, executors, attorneys, and tax professionals throughout Montgomery County and the Lake Conroe area.

And despite the intimidating tax terminology surrounding them, the basic concept is pretty straightforward.

What Is a Date-of-Death Appraisal?

A date-of-death appraisal determines the value of real estate as of a specific date in the past, usually the date the property owner died.

That's the important part.

If the owner passed away on May 16, 2024, the question isn't:

“What is the house worth today?”

The question is:

“What was the house worth on May 16, 2024?”

Those can be two very different numbers.

Real estate markets change. Interest rates change. Neighborhoods change. Homes get remodeled. New construction pops up down the road. Sometimes prices rise substantially; sometimes they fall.

A retrospective appraisal essentially asks the appraiser to turn the clock back and analyze the property through the eyes of the market as it existed on that specific historical date.

No DeLorean required.

Why Would a CPA Need the Value From the Date of Death?

One common reason involves determining the property's tax basis after it is inherited.

Under federal tax rules, inherited property may receive an adjusted basis tied to its fair market value at the owner's death, depending on the circumstances.

This is commonly referred to as a “step-up in basis.”

Here's a simplified example.

Suppose Dad purchased his Conroe home in 1988 for $85,000.

Decades later, he passes away when the property has a fair market value of approximately $425,000.

His children inherit the property and eventually sell it for $450,000.

For tax purposes, the difference between the original $85,000 purchase price and the eventual $450,000 sale price isn't necessarily how the taxable gain would be calculated. The property's value at the time of inheritance may become extremely important.

That's why a CPA or tax professional may need credible documentation of the home's fair market value as of the date of death.

And that's where the appraisal comes in.

Important: I'm an appraiser, not a CPA or tax attorney. Your tax professional should determine how the valuation will be used and which tax rules apply to your particular situation. My job is to develop and support the real estate value they need.

What Does “Retrospective Appraisal” Mean?

It sounds considerably more complicated than it is.

A normal appraisal might have an effective date of today.

A retrospective appraisal has an effective date sometime in the past.

For example:

Date of inspection: August 28, 2026
Effective date of value: March 14, 2025

I may physically inspect the property in 2026, but I'm developing an opinion of what that property was worth on March 14, 2025.

That means I need to research the market around the historical effective date—not simply grab the newest sales available today.

How Do You Appraise a House in the Past?

This is where an experienced appraiser earns his keep.

The appraisal process typically involves researching comparable sales and market conditions that would have been relevant around the date of death.

I consider many of the same factors involved in any residential appraisal, including:

• Location and neighborhood

• Living area

• Site size

• Quality of construction

• Condition

• Age and effective age

• Bedrooms and bathrooms

• Garage and parking

• Pools, workshops, guest houses, and other improvements

• Waterfront or acreage influences

• Market conditions at the time

• Comparable sales that reflect the property's historical market

The goal isn't to determine what buyers think of the property today.

It's to reconstruct what knowledgeable buyers and sellers would have considered reasonable at that time.

Think of it like reviewing game film instead of watching the game live. The game already happened, but the evidence is still there.

But What If the House Has Changed Since the Owner Died?

This is an important issue.

Maybe the family renovated the kitchen.

Maybe new flooring was installed.

Maybe the house was cleaned out and painted.

Or perhaps the opposite happened—the property sat vacant for two years and deteriorated.

The appraiser needs to understand the property's condition as of the retrospective effective date, not simply what it looks like during the current inspection.

That's why historical information can be extremely helpful.

Depending on the situation, I may review things such as:

• Previous MLS listings and photographs

• County appraisal district records

• Prior appraisal reports

• Repair or remodeling records

• Contractor invoices

• Photographs from around the date of death

• Information provided by family members or representatives

• Other credible documentation describing the property at the time

The more reliable information available, the better the appraiser can reconstruct the property's condition as of the historical date.

Can't We Just Use the Montgomery County Appraisal District Value?

I wouldn't recommend assuming that.

Your county appraisal district value serves a completely different purpose.

Mass appraisal systems are designed to value thousands—or hundreds of thousands—of properties for property taxation. They don't involve an appraiser individually analyzing your particular home for an estate assignment.

There can also be differences in square footage, property characteristics, condition, improvements, exemptions, valuation dates, and methodology.

A tax assessment might be useful information, but it isn't automatically the same thing as a professionally developed opinion of fair market value for an estate.

What About Zillow?

I knew we were going to get here eventually.

An online estimate can be useful when you're casually wondering what the house down the street might be worth.

It's a different story when a CPA, attorney, estate, or potentially the IRS needs support for a historical property value.

An automated valuation model hasn't walked through the property. It may not know that the home was mostly original on the date of death, that the 1,500-square-foot workshop existed, that the pool had been renovated, or that the public-record square footage was wrong.

And asking an automated website what a house was worth on one specific Tuesday three years ago can get interesting in a hurry.

For something potentially tied to tax reporting, I would much rather have a valuation developed and documented by a qualified appraiser.

Where Does IRS Form 706 Come Into This?

Some estate appraisal assignments are connected with IRS Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return.

Form 706 can require the valuation of assets owned by a decedent, including real property.

Not every estate is required to file Form 706, and not every date-of-death appraisal is being completed for Form 706.

That's an important distinction.

A CPA or attorney may request a retrospective appraisal for several reasons involving estate administration, tax basis, probate, trusts, or future tax planning.

If your tax professional tells you they need an appraisal for Form 706 or another specific tax purpose, tell the appraiser upfront. The intended use and intended users of an appraisal matter, and the report should be developed for the actual assignment—not retrofitted after the fact.

Do I Need to Order the Appraisal Immediately After Someone Dies?

Not necessarily.

I regularly perform retrospective appraisals well after the effective date.

However, waiting can make gathering information more difficult.

Family members forget details. Documents disappear. Homes are remodeled. Personal property gets removed. Old MLS information becomes harder to locate.

If your CPA or attorney believes a real estate appraisal will eventually be needed, it's usually better to discuss it sooner rather than several years later.

That doesn't mean the appraisal can't be completed later. It just means we'll probably have a little more detective work to do.

Should the Appraiser Know the Appraisal Is for an Estate?

Absolutely.

This isn't the time to call an appraiser and simply say, “I need to know what Mom's house was worth.”

Tell us why.

Is this for:

• Estate administration?

• Establishing tax basis?

• IRS Form 706?

• Probate?

• A trust?

• Distribution among heirs?

• Another legal or tax purpose?

The purpose can affect how the assignment is developed and how the appraisal report is prepared.

If a CPA or attorney requested the appraisal, it's also helpful to find out exactly what they need before ordering it.

Five minutes of clarification at the beginning can save five emails, three phone calls, and a headache later.

What Information Should You Have Ready?

If you're contacting me about a date-of-death appraisal, having a few things available can make the process easier:

1. Property address

We'll start with the easy one.

2. Date of death

This will typically establish the historical date we're researching.

3. Purpose of the appraisal

Tell me what your CPA, attorney, executor, or other professional has requested.

4. Property contact

I'll need to know who can provide access if an interior inspection is appropriate.

5. Information about the property's historical condition

Let me know about major renovations, repairs, additions, storm damage, deferred maintenance, or other changes occurring before or after the date of death.

6. Relevant documents

Old listings, surveys, previous appraisals, renovation records, photographs, or other property information can sometimes be helpful.

Don't worry if you don't have everything neatly organized in a three-ring binder. Most people don't.

We can usually figure out what is actually needed.

Date-of-Death Appraisals in Montgomery County, Texas

Retrospective assignments can become particularly interesting in our part of Texas.

A house in The Woodlands isn't necessarily analyzed the same way as an acreage property outside Willis.

A Lake Conroe waterfront home may have influences related to water frontage, views, docks, bulkheads, and location.

A property in Montgomery might include several acres, a large workshop, a guest house, a pool, or other improvements that aren't adequately represented by a simple online estimate.

That's why local market knowledge matters.

The farther we travel backward in time, the more important it becomes to understand not only which properties sold, but which properties actually competed with the subject in that market.

Need a Date-of-Death or Retrospective Appraisal?

If your CPA, attorney, executor, or tax professional has asked for the historical value of residential real estate in Conroe, Montgomery, Willis, The Woodlands, Magnolia, Spring, or the surrounding Montgomery County area, Lake Conroe Appraisals can help.

I provide residential date-of-death, retrospective, estate, and private appraisal services with clearly defined effective dates and market-supported valuation analysis.

Before scheduling, it's helpful to ask your CPA or attorney exactly what valuation date and intended use they need. Once we have that information, we can make sure the appraisal assignment is set up correctly from the beginning.

Visit Lake Conroe Appraisals to learn more about residential appraisal services, or browse the Lake Conroe Appraisals Blog for more plain-English explanations of the appraisal process.

This article is intended for general informational purposes only and is not tax or legal advice. Tax laws and individual circumstances vary. Consult a qualified CPA, tax professional, or attorney regarding your specific estate and tax situation.