Estate Taxes

[anncoffey824]

My husband and I haven't paid our estate tax in over a decade. The house has been in my name. The house is in foreclosure. My husband recently died. He had been taking care of the finances. We are working on a loan modification pending completion of my taxes. When I file, can I file the unpaid estate taxes in my late husband's name as they were de facto his responsibility?

[AJ]

Modified on 11/15/2018: I originally stated that I could not answer this fully because, I would want to know, what defines the "estate"?  I made an assumption that there was an estate, including the house, had been places into a trust at the time of someone's passing.  It didn't occur to me that the real issue might be property taxes.  But I think ValerieE has diagnosed this in a way that makes sense.  By now I hope that your real estate person has this straightened out your property taxes.  And if in fact you did have a trust, then I hope that you are talking to a professional preparer and tax attorney.

[ValerieE]

By "estate taxes" do you mean real estate taxes sometimes called property taxes?  Property taxes are generally paid to your local tax collector rather than being filed with the IRS.  I only ask because generally estate taxes are not paid annually.  They are paid only when someone passes away.

If you do mean property (or real estate) taxes then you can include them as a deduction on your personal income tax return.  Whether you file them on your late husband's return will depend on when he passed away and when the taxes are paid.  If they are paid after he passed, then the more appropriate place to file them is on your personal return.  You may not see a full deduction for these taxes though, since under the new tax law deductions for state taxes is limited.

[AJ]

Thanks.  Good catch!