This is an interesting discussion about the how the tax is "imposed".
I was taught exactly as Opus said - the tax is "imposed" on the owner, and is therefore taxes from a prior owner are not a deduction as property tax when paid. But because of that, it is a 'cost' of acquiring the property, so it WOULD be added to Basis (at least if you were to purchase a property that had a lien for real estate taxes; inheriting a property that you already partially own could be different).
But I guess I never really looked into it, so I'm unsure what is correct. @Anonymous_ , do you by chance have any citations that show the tax is imposed on the real estate itself, rather than the owner? Or possibly it could vary by location???
