Taxpayer asks:
I stumbled here by mistake but am glad I did. I’m a first time home owner about to file his first 1040. I know I can legally claim my interest paid on my return but while reading about that, I also read that “real estate taxes” charged by the county can be deducted.
Is that true? What documents would I need for that if I could claim it?
Taxgirl says:
Here’s the short answer – real estate taxes are deductible if they are taxes on your primary residence. If you escrow your real estate taxes with your mortgage company, your documentation will be on your 1098 submitted by your lender – you’ll get that in January. If you pay the assessor directly, you’ll need to hold onto your bill and your check as proof of payment. The taxes have to be paid in the year you claim them, not just come due.
If you have any special circumstances, or if they do things differently in your state or locality in terms of billing or payment of real estate taxes, you might want to check with your accountant or tax professional.
Before you go: be sure to read my disclaimer. Remember, I’m a lawyer and we love disclaimers.
If you have a question, here’s how to Ask The Taxgirl.
I don’t believe that real estate taxes have to be on a primary residence in order to be deductible