elliemay
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The County Assessor's office should send you a statement @ the end of the year to be used for tax purposes. If they don't, contact their office. The information is probably on-line. |
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CMass Stan
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One of those moments when keeping good records helps. Look for your statements from your town or county assessor's office and add up the amounts you've paid for the past year.
As a home buyer, fish out that HUD-1 form that you received at closing, listing everything that was paid. There are items in there, including prorated property tax, that could also be itemized on your Schedule A.
Good tax software package will ask for those items. Your human tax preparer will also appreciate your hard work in finding more items to deduct. |
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Sarahsmama
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Call your county clerk's office and they will have a record of your property taxes. |
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crazydave
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If you didn't pay them through the mortgage company, you must have written a check for them. Look through your check register for checks made out to the school tax or the town tax. The town and school should have mailed you a receipt also. It's also possible you may have paid some town or school taxes at the closing. Normally this is done to reimburse the seller for prepaid taxes. (Example: School taxes are paid a year in advance in September. If you close in October, you reimburse the seller for 11 months of School Tax.) |
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matt_helm0108
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You should get a statement in the mail from your county or city (or both) telling you how much you have paid. If not, I would call your local tax accessor/collector. |
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kate
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Either the mortgage company pays them OR
You do when get the bill . . .
Since you say you did NOT pay them thru the mortgage, then you wrote them a check when you got the bill.
How much did you write the check for ? |
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hatchland
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Don't forget the taxes you paid at close of escrow. They'll be listed on your Settlement Statement. |
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Angela C
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contact your local township treasury. |
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Jim C
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Your county auditor's website should have that info. |
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dapixelator
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You should have kept records on this. If you don't have your "statements" then contact your local county recorders office. |
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Kraftee
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Taxes owed for the portion of the year 2005 that you actually owned the property might have been paid by the seller before the actual sale went through and your portion of the tax may have been included in the closing cost statement. This may be the case but check first. The documents that show closing costs for your purchase should show this. |
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geezer 51
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your county assessors office should send you an estimated tax bill (usually at the 1st of the year) all taxes should be itemized on this bill for the current year. if they didn't ,you can find out at the courthouse usually. |
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Rich Z
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Call the tax collection office in the town or city you paid them to and ask them for a statement of taxes paid. They certainly know the answer. |
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petunia1354
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sINCE YOU DONT KNOW, you probably didnt pay any out of pocket this year, but you most certainly paid part of this year's taxes when you bought your house & that amount should be on your CLOSING PAPERS. It was probably pro-rated by the bank for the numbers of months you would own it & the number of months the previous owner had it. If it's a NEW HOUSE, then it didn't accrue any taxes until it was assessed, b4 that there would be taxes on the land, but more than likely those were paid by the builder, but again, check your CLOSING PAPERS -- it will be there if YOU paid it or any part of it. Your tax assessor may also be able to help you. It all depends on when you owned it & when it was assessed.
From now on you will recieve a yearly tax bill and depending on your house value & your millage rate -- that will be how much you pay. In my state they come out in late Oct to early Nov. and are due by April 1 of the next year -- but if you pay it in NOV. you get a BIG DISCOUNT !!!!!! Property taxes can range from a few dollars for bare land to $a few hundred for a house to several thousand !!!!!!!!!!!!
So, 2 things -- VERY IMPORTANT !!!!
#1. iF YOU HAVE NOT DONE SO -- go file for "homestead exemption" IMMEDIATELY !!!!!! This can save you HUNDREDS to THOUSANDS of $$$$$$ in TAXES !!!!!! If you dont have it ask if they might "back issue" it to you for the previous year -- as you werent told to file for it & you're a 1st time home buyer & didnt know -- they may be simpathetic, or they might not be allowed to back-issue an exemption because of the state law ???
Also, if you or anyone in your home is disabled you may get another discount to absolutely NO TAX bill!!! So if you qualify, apply -- ask what other discounts may be available !!!
#2. Starting NOW, begin putting away a monthly amount of money (savings account) for NEXT YEAR'S PROPERTY TAXES !!!! Find out approx. what a year's tax bill will be (after subtracting your HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION) and divide that amount by 12 months -- that is the amount you will need to save EACH MONTH in order to be able to pay your taxes when you get the bill (you'll save a lot by paying it when it 1st arrives). DONT WAIT TIL the TAXES come due to try to pay them, this will be very hard on your family & your marriage !!!! SAVE UP IN ADVANCE !!!!!!!! If you have insurance due yearly, you'll need to save monthly for that too!
P.S. -- Find out from your county (perhaps TAX ASSESSOR) if you are in a FLOOD ZONE !!! Ask if there's a 100 year guideline for flooding in your area. If you are at all susseptable to FLOODing from any source (ocean, river, creek, lakes) then by all means: BUY FLOOD INSURANCE !!!!! It's a lot cheaper than HOMEOWNERS INS. & most homes are damaged or destroyed by FLOOD more than ANY OTHER CAUSE !!!!!!!!!!!!!! (are you in a valley??? Very prone to flooding !!!!!) If your home is damaged or DESTROYED BY FLOOD & you dont have flood ins., your homeowners will NOT cover your losses & you'll have to rebuild out-of-pocket PLUS PAY YOUR MORTGAGE !!!!!!!!!!
BEST WISHES for YOUR NEW HOME !!! |
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Culture Warrior
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If you bought it this year (2006) than your settlement or closing statement will show how much was paid during 2006 at the time of closing.
You will need to contact your County Treasurer's office to get the actual amount paid.
However, in some states, when you buy a house, the seller gives you a credit for taxes paid. This is called paying taxes in arrears. If the seller did give you a credit at the time of closing or actually paid the taxes during 2006 than you will not be able to deduct them as well. |
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Travlin
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Call your municipal tax collectors office. Give your address. They can look up your property and tell you exactly what you paid last year. |
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dathinman8
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You will have to go to the county tax assessor's office and ask for the records. Some counties pay their taxes every six months, and if you bought your home this last year, you may not have gotten a tax bill yet. When you bought the house, pro-rated taxes may have been paid as part of the fees you paid at closing. Get out your mortgage papers and check them to see if you paid taxes at closing. Just a suggestion....... even if you are on an extremely tight budget, the smartest way to pay the taxes is by including them in your monthly payment. You make the full payment every month, the taxes are held in escrow until the county sends the bill to your mortgage, and then your mortgage company pays the tax bill on time for you. There's no chance you'll get behind on the taxes, or be worrying about coming up with the money to pay them when they're due. It's actually easier to budget your money, because you have an exact amount that you know you have to pay every month, and that covers taxes, insurance, the loan principal and interest. |
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Roman Soldier
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Check old copies of your bills, bank statements, ect. |
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mf52dolphin
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Considering the fact that some areas may not have the same rules as California, where I live, there would have been two ways to pay the property taxes.
In California residential propert taxes are payable in two installments. At least half of the payment must be paid, postmark date, by December 10th, with the remainder due by the following April 10th. The payment is made to the county treasurer. So if you have a bill to the county treasurer, and you wrote a check to that person, your property tax will be that ammount.
The other payment may be in the title documents when your mortgage and purchase were finalized. In the title documents there are many costs and fees individually listed. Among them are property taxes paid.
So therefore whatever you can deduct for 2006 would come from either payments you made to the county treasurer in 2006, or the propert tax charges from the title fees in 2006. |
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Monkey Lips
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You receive an annual statement from your county tax assessor's office. If you can't find this statement - you can call the county tax assessor or go to their office and they will make a photocopy of it for you. |
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belinda f
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Just call your local tax office in your county and they would have that information from home and car etc. OR local court house. |
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Winters child
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town hall has the info. |
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ebay_singh
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Your statements |
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laughter_every_day
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If they are not paid through your mortgage company, then you paid them yourself (or you could be in default of the taxes and at risk of losing your house). Look in your checkbook and see how much you paid. |
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kinga m
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Check the statement you get in the mail or call and ask the county treasurer |
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sgt
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Go on line or ask your local county franchise board. |
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pusherhombre
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You should get a bill from your county clerk that bills you for the year. Compare that bill to your check register. What you paid last year is what you can deduct.
You will also be assessed taxes on your settlement closing statements. Any taxes you paid there as part of closing on your deal you can deduct as well, like PPD (or prepaid) County Taxes.
Some mortgage companies pay your taxes for you through the payments you send them. You can find that amount on your 1098. |
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BKN
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If you have a morgage... contact your morgage holder (Bank)
and they can tell you as they usually included it in your morgage.
If they do not with hold it contact your tax appraisal district. |
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Jerry
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Most states not all, but most pay the property taxes in arrears, that is you pay for 2005 taxes in 2006. If you bough the home in 2005 you will probably not have a property tax bill this year.
Not all states are this way.
On your closing documents there is likely a line that reduced the amount you paid to the seller by property taxes that had accrued, if this is the case you need to reduce the amount you actually pay by this amount.
The county or state will likey provide you a statement. Many counties assossers provide the information on line per address or parcel. |
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Beau R
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Check with the treasury or tax department in your city or town. They will have the record. |
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JoshuaCaleb
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It's really according what method you paid the property tax. If you did not pay them through your mortgage company, how did you pay them. In a regular scenario, you could look at your monthly coupon (statement) and the information should be on there. At the end of the year companied send out a 1098 that has exactly how much interest you have paid as well as tax. You a claim interest as well, even closing cost. |
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