Don't Miss Your Property Tax Deduction

There are really only two things in life that are 100 percent for certain and those are death and taxes. What is not at all certain is how much each person will pay in taxes. And we all know that the federal income tax bite can be quite large and to some painful. In the top income tax brackets you can be required to pay up to 35 percent of your income in taxes so you don't want to miss any legitimate deductions you may be able to take. Because the only legal way to pay less income taxes is to take full advantage of every possible deduction.

And as I have found out by buying the books , checking out the websites and watching those late night infomercials that while its true that there are a lot of tax deductions you might could take that if you don't own a farm , own your own business or have substantial trust or investment income that a lot of the deductions are not available to you. For example you may hear that medical or doctor expenses are deductible you must have doctor or medical bills in excess of 9 percent of your income or you can't claim the deduction. So unless your medical bills are huge you won't be able to take that deduction.

However if you happen to own real estate there are several tax deductions available to you. Fortunately the U.S. Government continues to encourage people to buy their own homes by allowing you several tax deductions. You should know that any interest paid on a mortgage is deductible. And on new mortgages you can also deduct any points paid on your loan.

But you know one deduction a lot of people miss is the property tax deduction. Doesn't it seem unfair for you to have to pay taxes on money that has already been used to pay taxes. Well in this case the U.S. Government agrees with you and allows you to deduct your property tax. So if you are paying to have your income taxes filled out and filed for you be sure to tell the CPA or tax filer to be sure to file for your property tax deduction.

A lot of people fail to remember to ask for the property tax deduction and unless you ask for the deduction even your CPA or tax filer may overlook it. One reason people forget to ask for their property tax deduction is that a lot of mortgage companies pay your property taxes from your escrow account that was set up when you applied for your mortgage. And while the mortgage company may well pay the property tax bill for you the deduction is yours. So be sure you get that deduction.

In order to file for your property tax deduction you will need to file a Internal Revenue Service Form Schedule A. It is on line 6 where you will deduct your property taxes. If your mortgage company pays your property tax for you then they will mail you a Form 1099 INT and on this form will be the amount of property tax you paid. And you should know that you can deduct any city , county , or state property taxes paid so be sure to keep careful records and be sure to keep a paper record of any property taxes paid.

I was not fully aware of the property tax deduction so I thought I would write a hub page about it and I hope you find this hub page on the property tax deduction helpful and thanks for reading. I hope you will post a comment below. If you have questions please feel free to post them as well.