what type of entity is the grocery business? S-Corp, C-Corp, partnership, LLC, trust
You say the family owns the land. how is it titled?
for example, the land may be owned by a limited partnership while the grocery business is owned by an S-Corp whose stockholders are the same as the partners in the limited partnership. from an income tax standpoint, these are separate tax entities.
you see if matters if different tax entities own the land and the business. the IRS could impute rental income to the entity owning the land based on what the fair rental value would be and maybe give the grocery business a related tax deduction but this could seriously impact the individuals involved.
on the other hand, if it's the same tax entity that owns the land and business, the business would be entitled to deduct the taxes.
According to our legal documents, our business owns four structures, the structure of the business itself as
well as three additional homes. We pay all of the real estate/property taxes.
this is a separate issue. if the grocery business owns the homes are they being rented? this would require separate reporting by the grocery business and if used by family members could create tax issues on the deductibility of real estate taxes associated with the land they occupy.
I'm not a lawyer, so this could be wrong. once you erect a permanent structure on land it's the landowner that has full control over the structure. without a lease or similar document, the landowner could tell you to remove the structure and if not go to court to have you tear it down. what you have is a leasehold improvement.
you have a complicated situation for which you should seek legal advice.
