Non resident sale deceased spouse's residence

[leerobea]

Taxpayer is US citizen. Spouse resides in Romania - she is non citizen. Taxpayer died. Will gives his residence to non citizen spouse.
1. Must she file a US tax return upon selling the residence? Can she file MFJ?
2. Is she entitled to the $250,000 exclusion?
3. Does the step up in basis apply?
4. If the gain on sale is less than $250,000, does she have a tax liability?

[taxea]

All of your answers can be found with a little research. Have you checked the publication for sale of property or Pub 17 or irs.gov?

[Burke]

Taxpayer is US citizen. Spouse resides in Romania - she is non citizen. Taxpayer died. Will gives his residence to non citizen spouse.

How have they been filing the US return in the past? MFJ? MFS? From the limited information in your post, it appears house was not jointly owned, since it passed under the will. It would have gotten a stepped-up basis of 100% FMV in that case for US income tax purposes. There may be no capital gain to report, depending on how long it takes to sell, and the expenses. And how the sale is reported. Until the property is legally deeded to the spouse, it is an estate asset and she cannot sell it. There must be enough funds to take care of final debts, taxes and expenses, or the house may come into play in most jurisdictions.