[Lorna7]

My husband passed away and left me realestate and cash in excess of $2,000,000. Will I be taxed upon returning to NY. I've lived abroad for 30 years and haven't worked.

[ebaines]

No - there is no inheritance tax in NY. There IS an estate tax, but there is an unlimited exclusion for estates that pass from husband to wife. Also, since you have been living abroad, you should check to see whether there are any inheritance tax consequences in the country of your residence.

There is one significant complication however, which you need to be aware of. You may have heard that the federal estate tax has been repealed for 2010. That may be good news, but it also means that the cost basis of assets that are inherited in 2010 is NOT the fair market value as of the date of death (as was the rule up through the end of 2009), but rather is set to the same cost basis as it was for the decedant. So - if your husband died in 2009 then your cost basis of these assets is equal to the fair market value as of the date of death, but if he died in 2010 your basis is the same as your husband's original basis.