Are property taxes deductible?

Property taxes are usually deductible from your reported income.

You report them on the tax return for the year in which you paid them, i.e., you report the property taxes you paid in 2010 on your returns for the year 2010, and those returns are in most circumstances due this year.

If you own the house, yes, you can deduct the property tax.If you paid them in 2010, whether you paid them at once or in installments during the year, the total amount goes on the 2010 tax return. It goes on Schedule A.

If you’re paying a mortgage, no, the property tax cannot be claimed separately. It’s already part of your mortgage deduction.

If you’re paying the property tax on a business location or a rental property, you can’t deduct it separately—it’s part of either the business or rental property information.

It matters when you mailed the check. If you mailed it in 2010, you can deduct it.
For me, I paid in April and December, and an extra in June, the bastards.

needs to be your primary residence. For rental property real estate taxes are generally expensed.

@theninth Can you show a citation that says you can’t deduction both mortgage interest and property taxes. I deducted both until the house was paid off. Now it’s just the property taxes. My software has places for both and shows it as part of Schedule A deductions. We’ve owned the house for twenty years, and we’ve always used both deductions. I think you must be mistaken on that one.

Perhaps you are thinking that the mortgage has a “fees” part which collects for property taxes and insurance? You still have to put the expenses on different lines. They are not included in the same line on the tax form, even if you are paying them with your mortgage payments.