Purchased mother-in-law’s home, but facing a large tax bill

[Stuart Fillmore]

I have a friend who sold their Utah rental home in order to fund the purchase of their mother-in-law’s home (also in Utah)—to provide her the funds she needed to live out her last few years. They were planning on renovating and then moving into it in a year or so, only to find out they can’t do that for four more years to avoid a tax bill of about 50% of the value of the home.

Does anyone know if this situation is unique to Utah Tax law or is it the same in other states?