Rick Hess wrote:
- quote -

I know it's a bit late to be responding to this thread (I
had some problems with my usenet feed and then totally
forgot about the posting).

In any case, I came to the conclusion that the previous
owners of the house had contributed an estimated tax payment
for the part of 2004 that they still owned it to my escrow
account. As for the deductions, I won't be able to take any
credit until 2005 taxes. Just as well, however, since (as
someone previously mentioned in this thread), I didn't have
enough interest payments on the house to make itemization
worthwhile.

Again, I want to thank all of you who responded!

Regards,
Kevin

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"Harlan Lunsford" <hlunsford[at]bellsouth.net> wrote
- quote -

My comment meant that there are indeed other places in the
country where real estate taxes are paid in arrears.

My qualifications for knowing this? I own property in some
of them.

--
Rick Hess
New Orleans
To reply, eliminate All_Spammers

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Rick Hess wrote:
- quote -

Without wanting to even sound facetious, may I ask what are
your qualifications for knowing Illinois property tax law?

Please tell us how Phil Marti erred. IMWTK.

ChEAr$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA
24 Mar 2005

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"Phil Marti" <prm20871[at]verizon.net> wrote
- quote -


I can't tell if you're being facetious or serious, but
that's certainly not true.

--
Rick Hess
New Orleans
To reply, eliminate All_Spammers

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"Kevin" <dressel1_[at]charter.net> wrote:

- quote -

It matters a lot that it's Illinois. AFAIK Illinois is the
only place in the country where real estate taxes are paid
in arrears. It was a "one-time" thing in the Depression
that never got changed.

You'll start having a deduction when you start paying taxes
that accrued after you bought the property. I don't know
all the ins and outs in detail, but your closing statement
should show the amount that the seller gave you at closing
for the accrued but unpaid taxes and the relevant dates.

--
Phil Marti
Clarksburg, MD

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The split of property taxes between old and new owners of
real estate should be done in escrow. Check the paperwork.
You should find that you paid property tax from August
through December and just didn't realize it.

Basic tax 101 - take deductions when PAID, not for any
particular time. People often are hit with back taxes,
deductible when PAID, and not for when owed.

Nan, EA in LA

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It's conventional in most areas of the US to reimburse the
seller a pro-rated part of property taxes in the purchase
contract. See if there is an amount listed there, and save
that document for any questions from the IRA.

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dressel1_[at]charter.net (Kevin) posted:

- quote -

Well, it sounds like you're "skewed" a little on the
calendar. If you bought the home in August of 2004, any tax
payments made at settlement should have applied to the '04
tax year. You would have to consult your settlement
documents to verify that. Since you bought the house in the
middle of the year, interest payments may not have been
sufficient to justify itemization. You also should have
received a 1098 from your lender, assuming you have one.

As for 2005 property taxes, they can be itemized on Schedule
A, as one of the permitted deductions _in lieu of_ the
standard deduction. You should go with whatever works best
(i.e., gives you the larger deduction).

Bill

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Quick question (I hope) about real estate taxes
(specifically for the state of Illinois if it matters)... At
what point will I be able to deduct property taxes? I
realize that although I cannot deduct them on this year's
taxes since I did not pay any in 2004, I will make property
tax payments in 2005 (to apply towards my 05 taxes next
year). However, since I purchased the home in August 2004,
some of that tax payment will be for the folks who owned the
home before me (I think...please correct me if I'm wrong!)

Thanks for any assistance here! If I haven't given enough
info, please let me know!

Cheers,
Kevin

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