I live in ca and would like to know how much if any tax I will need to pay when my father leaves me his house in Los Angeles county. I live in another county in Ca. My brother is the executor and my father said he has a living trust. Also how is the value of the property assessed. Does it matter if I sell or rent it and will this make any difference. I would guess the value to be around 500,000. We almost own the home we are living in now and we live on around 2,200 for a family of 4 If that matters.

CA does not have an inheritance tax, and neither does the US government, so YOU will not owe any tax on the inheritance. However, it may be that the estate will owe estate tax to the US (CA has phased out its estate tax) - this depends on the total value of your father's estate as of the date of death, and it is the responsibility of the executor to pay any estate taxes due out of the assets of the estate prior to making distribiutions of the remaining assets to the heirs. Neither the fact that your father has a living trust, nor your intended use of the house, makes any difference regarding the amount of estate tax that may be owed.

As ebaines said, the ESTATE pays the taxes, not the heirs.

However, if you get title to the house as your share of the estate, then value of the property at the time of your father's death will need to be determined. This will become your cost basis for the property. If you should sell it, then any profit you make will represent taxable income to you. If you rent it, then you will have to pay taxes on the income generated from the property.

There is no federal tax on inheritances. Also CA does not tax inheritances.

The executor must file estate return and pay taxes, if the total value of the estate is more than the exemption limit for that year.