A holding period is the length of time that an investment is held by an investor and is used to determine the taxes associated with the investment; a holding period begins on the day you acquire the investment. Holding periods may be long-term (over a year) or short-term (under a year), though inherited property is always considered to be long-term. This means that even if you’ve only owned the inherited property for one day, it is still a long-term asset and you can enjoy the benefits of lower tax rates.