Taxes File Your Own Taxes What Is Adjusted Basis? By William Perez Updated on November 14, 2022 Reviewed by Ebony J. Howard Reviewed by Ebony J. Howard Ebony Howard is a certified public accountant and a QuickBooks ProAdvisor tax expert. She has been in the accounting, audit, and tax profession for more than 13 years, working with individuals and a variety of companies in the health care, banking, and accounting industries. learn about our financial review board Fact checked by Lars Peterson In This Article View All In This Article Definition and Example of Adjusted Basis How Adjusted Basis Works How To Get Your Adjusted Basis Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Photo: Jamie Grill / The Image Bank / Getty Images Definition The adjusted basis of an asset is its cost after you've taken various tax provisions into the calculation. You'll pay capital gains tax or have a capital loss based on the difference between your adjusted basis and the amount for which you eventually sell the asset. Key Takeaways The adjusted basis of an asset is generally its purchase price plus capital improvements and costs of sale, less any tax deductions you previously took for the property.The higher your adjusted basis is, the less you’ll pay in the way of capital gains tax when you sell and realize a profit. You’re likely to have a capital loss if your adjusted basis is particularly high, and losses can be used to offset capital gains on other property. Definition and Example of Adjusted Basis The adjusted basis of an asset is generally its purchase price plus capital improvements and costs of sale, less any tax deductions you previously took for the asset. Calculating your adjusted basis in an asset begins with its original purchase price. The higher your basis, the less you'll pay in capital gains tax when you sell. Some adjustments can increase your basis in an asset, while others can reduce it, and the latter generally is not a good thing at tax time. You can increase your basis from there by adding the amount of money you've spent improving the asset, as well as any amounts you might have paid for legal fees or the costs of sale. Note Your basis decreases if you must subtract amounts that you previously claimed as tax deductions, such as depreciation, casualty losses, or theft losses. Suppose you purchase a piece of property for $100,000 with plans to renovate it and flip it for profit. However, shortly afterward, a crisis strikes, and you put off renovations. After a year, the house has depreciated in value by $5,000. The following year, you are able to put about $30,000 worth of improvements into the home, and you thus increase its value significantly. Your adjusted basis is now $125,000 ($100,000 - $5,000 + $30,000), which could decrease your taxable capital gains by $25,000 (were you to sell it), or the difference between the adjusted basis and the final sale price, less the previous tax deduction. Note Real property is not the only asset whose cost basis is subject to adjustment. So are securities, with events (such as a stock split or dividends payment) that result in stock shares having an adjusted basis. How Adjusted Basis Works Your basis would be the amount of money you initially paid for the property, such as if you sell real estate that you didn't live in for the required number of years to allow you to qualify for a capital gains tax exclusion on its sale. You can then add the cost of any capital improvements you might have made, as well as agent commissions and other costs of sale. You must recapture any tax deductions that you previously took for the property by subtracting them from your basis after you've added in the above costs, such as if you've been depreciating the property on your tax returns since you've owned it. How To Get Your Adjusted Basis The key components of basis calculations are cost plus increases minus decreases. Some items can be added to achieve adjusted basis, and others must be subtracted. Cost Basis The cost basis of property is usually its purchase price—the amount you paid in cash, debt obligations, other property, or services. Your cost also includes amounts you paid for: Sales taxFreightInstallation and testingExcise taxesLegal and accounting fees when they must be capitalizedRevenue stampsRecording feesReal estate taxes if they're assumed for the seller Increases to Basis Increase the basis of property by all items that have been properly added to a capital account. These include the cost of any improvements that are expected to have a useful life of more than one year. Rehabilitation expenses also increase basis, but you must subtract any rehabilitation credit allowed for these expenses before you add them to your basis. Increase your basis by the recaptured amount if you have to recapture any of the credit. Keep separate accounts for each project if you make additions or improvements to a business property. You must also depreciate the basis of each according to the depreciation rules that would apply to the underlying property if you placed it in service at the same time you placed the addition or improvement in service. Expenses that can increase the basis of property include: The cost of extending utility service lines to the propertyImpact feesLegal fees, such as the cost of defending and perfecting titleLegal fees for obtaining a decrease in an assessment levied against property to pay for local improvementsZoning costsThe capitalized value of redeemable ground rent Decreases to Basis Some items reduce the basis of property. They include: Section 179 deduction Nontaxable corporate distributions Deductions previously allowed (or allowable) for amortization, depreciation, and depletion Certain vehicle credits Residential energy credits Postponed gain from sale of home Investment credit (part or all) taken Casualty and theft losses and insurance reimbursement Certain canceled debt excluded from income Rebates treated as adjustments to the sales price Easements Gas-guzzler tax Adoption tax benefits Credit for employer-provided child care Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) How do you report adjusted basis? You'll report the adjusted basis for your asset or property on your income taxes. The form you'll typically use is Form 8949, which deals with the sale of capital assets. How do you calculate adjusted basis? To find your adjusted basis, take the cost basis, or purchase price, add any increases to basis, then subtract any decreases. The result is your adjusted basis. Increases to basis will include things such as capital improvements while decreases can include any depreciation or tax credits you've already claimed. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit Sources The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. IRS. "Publication 551 (12/2018), Basis of Assets." IRS. "Stocks (Options, Splits, Traders)." IRS. "Publication 544 (2020), Sales and Other Dispositions of Assets." IRS. "Publication 946 (2021), How To Depreciate Property."