The Record, Hackensack, N.J., Investment Mailbag Column.

Byline: Ted A. Carnevale

Aug. 10--QUESTION: My wife and I own a two-family duplex in Allendale. My son and his wife live on one side of the house. If I were to sign my wife's share of the house over to my son and his wife, would there be any tax implications? If my son then lived in the house for two years, sold it, and purchased another one-family home, would he get a tax break on half of the house? What would my tax consequences be?

I have depreciated the house over the years. If I were to sell the house to my son at the depreciated value, what would my tax consequences be? Would it be wiser, for tax purposes, to sign the entire house over to my son? If my son then lived there for two years, what would his tax deductions be? Would he get a tax deduction on only half the house since it is a two-family?

-- C.G.C., Ridgewood

ANSWER: First, let me congratulate you for packing the most questions into a single Tax/Investment Mailbag submission. During my 16 years of participating in this column, I have never encountered such a robust submission.

To answer your questions completely and accurately, I would need to obtain a lot of additional information. However, let me give you some of the basics and perhaps we can get you most of the way there.

Your questions cover two significant areas of taxation: income taxes related to both personal residences and rental property, and transfer tax issues relating to gifts of property. Let's deal with the transfer tax issues first.