@Opus 17 wrote:
To deduct property taxes, you must be a legal owner
I previously thought that too, but the Courts have repeatedly ruled that property tax can also be deducted for an equitable owner. [EDIT: While I was looking up citations, Hi Palms beat me to it. LOL.]
As with mortgage interest, we have held that taxpayers who do not have legal title to property may nevertheless deduct property taxes paid with respect to the property if they establish equitable ownership of the property. See Trans v. Commissioner, supra; Uslu v. Commissioner, supra. Because we have found petitioners to be the equitable and beneficial owners of the residence property, we accordingly find petitioners are entitled to the claimed Schedule A deductions for real estate taxes on the residence property.
https://www.taxnotes.com/research/federal/court-documents/court-opinions-and-orders/beneficial-owner...
As in the case of mortgage interest, we have held that taxpayers who do
not hold legal title to property but who establish they are equitable owners of the property are
entitled to deduct property taxes paid by them with respect to the property. See Trans v.
Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1999-233 [1999 RIA TC Memo ¶99,233]; Uslu v. Commissioner,
T.C. Memo. 1997-551 [1997 RIA TC Memo ¶97,551]; Conroy v. Commissioner, supra.
https://bradfordtaxinstitute.com/Endnotes/TC_Memo_2000-360.pdf
