Where art and collectibles sit on Form 706
Form 706, the United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return, reports the value of everything a decedent owned. Tangible personal property that is not real estate, a business or a security, which is to say art, antiques, jewellery, watches, cars, wine and similar collectibles, is reported on Schedule F, Other Miscellaneous Property. Each item or collection is listed with a description and its fair market value as of the valuation date.
An estate return is required when the gross estate plus adjusted taxable gifts exceeds the basic exclusion amount for the year of death. For 2026, that basic exclusion amount is $15,000,000 per individual, set by the law enacted in July 2025 (the Form 706 instructions list a credit equivalent of $5,945,800 at 2026 rates). Even below the filing threshold, an executor may file to elect portability or to fix basis, so the valuation still matters.
Date-of-death value, and the alternate valuation date
The default rule is fair market value on the date of death. The executor may instead elect the alternate valuation date, six months after death, under a specific set of conditions:
| Valuation basis | Value used |
|---|---|
| Date of death (default) | Fair market value on the day the decedent died. |
| Alternate valuation date (election) | Fair market value six months after death. Property sold, distributed or otherwise disposed of within those six months is valued at its disposition date. Available only if the election decreases both the gross estate and the combined estate and GST tax. It applies to the whole estate, not asset by asset. |
Both are retrospective valuations. You are not pricing a watch at today's market; you are pricing it as the market stood on a specific past date, using only the sales that had actually happened by then. That is a very different data problem from a live quote, and it is where most do-it-yourself estate valuations fall down.
When the estate needs an appraisal
The Form 706 instructions are specific about substantiation for Schedule F property:
If any item, or any collection of similar items, is valued at more than $3,000, attach an appraisal by an expert under oath, together with a written statement of the appraiser's qualifications.IRS Instructions for Form 706, Schedule F
And for higher-value art there is a second layer of scrutiny. The IRS maintains a specialist unit, Art Appraisal Services, with its Art Advisory Panel, that reviews the valuation of art on income, estate and gift returns. A single work of art valued at $50,000 or more is referred to that unit as a matter of course. An estate value that comparable sales cannot support is precisely the one that draws a review.
Why retrospective comps are the foundation
Everything above turns on fair market value, and as the IRS defines it, fair market value is anchored in comparable sales: what pieces like this one actually sold for, weighted by similarity, by how close the sale was to the valuation date, by whether it was a genuine arm's-length transaction, and by the market it came from. For an estate, the "valuation date" is a past date, so the comparable sales you need are the ones that existed on or before that date.
That retrospective requirement is exactly what an asking price, a dealer's current offer or a live price guide cannot give you. A watch that trades at one level today may have stood somewhere quite different on a date of death eighteen months ago, and the IRS values it as of then.
How ALT/FNDATA helps: value as of any date
ALT/FNDATA holds 19M+ realised auction results across watches, jewellery, art, classic cars, wine and 12+ more categories: real sold prices, 650+ houses, 20+ years, 27 currencies. For any item we show the comparable sold prices, the low, median and high, and, built specifically for estate and date-of-death work, the value as of any past date, from the sales that existed then. An executor or appraiser can pull the matched comps as of the date of death, or as of six months later for an alternate-valuation comparison, and export the range and method straight into the estate's appraisal file.
There is a second payoff that runs past the estate. For inherited property the beneficiary's basis is generally the estate value, a "stepped-up" basis, so the same date-of-death comps that support Schedule F also set the basis the heirs use if they later sell, which carries through to a future capital-gains calculation.
Frequently asked questions
How are art and collectibles valued for the estate tax?
At their fair market value on the date of death, reported on Schedule F of Form 706. An executor may instead elect the alternate valuation date, six months after death, but only if the election lowers both the value of the gross estate and the combined estate and generation-skipping transfer tax. Both are retrospective valuations: you need the market as it was on a past date, from sales that had already happened by then.
When does an estate need an appraisal for art?
The Form 706 instructions require that if any item, or any collection of similar items, is valued at more than $3,000, you attach an appraisal by an expert under oath together with a statement of the appraiser's qualifications. For a single work of art valued at $50,000 or more, the IRS also refers the valuation to its Art Appraisal Services unit and Art Advisory Panel. Confirm the current thresholds with your attorney.
What is the alternate valuation date?
Instead of the date of death, the executor may elect to value the estate six months after death. Property that was sold, distributed or otherwise disposed of within those six months is valued at its disposition date. The election is available only if it decreases both the gross estate and the estate and GST tax due. It applies to the estate as a whole, not asset by asset.
Does a date-of-death value affect the heirs later?
Usually yes. For inherited property, the beneficiary's cost basis is generally the fair market value used for the estate, a stepped-up basis. A defensible date-of-death value therefore sets both the estate-tax figure and the basis the heirs use if they later sell, which is why the same comparable sold prices carry through to a future capital-gains calculation.