topic I own land in another state. I pay annual taxes and fees to maintain the property. Can I deduct the taxes paid on my return? in Deductions & credits

I own land in another state. I pay annual taxes and fees to maintain the property. Can I deduct the taxes paid on my return?

pauline-10 — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 10:59:45 GMT

Re: I own land in another state. I pay annual taxes and fees to maintain the property. Can I deduct the taxes paid on my return?

Opus 17 — Mon, 09 Jan 2023 17:20:43 GMT

Short answer: You can deduct real property taxes you pay on any property you own in the US as an itemized deduction on schedule A, but that is subject to the overall $10,000 cap on deducting state and local taxes. Fees are not deductible.

Long answer: Expenses for land held for personal purposes are never deductible. Prior to tax reform, it was possible to deduct carrying costs for investment property as a miscellaneous itemized deduction subject to the 2% rule. There was also the option to capitalize the carrying costs, that is, add them to the cost basis, which would reduce your capital gains when you sell. You could also choose to capitalize the property taxes if you didn't want to take the immediate schedule A deduction. To capitalize your costs, you must attach a written statement of the costs to your tax return to keep track of the old cost basis, capitalized costs, and new adjusted cost basis.

The miscellaneous itemized deduction was eliminated for 2018-2025. Capitalization was not specifically eliminated, but the regulations say you can only choose to capitalize costs that would have been deductible. Some accountants make an argument that the costs are still technically considered deductible even though you can't actually claim the deduction, but the common sense approach is that the costs are not currently deductible so they can't be capitalized either.

Re: I own land in another state. I pay annual taxes and fees to maintain the property. Can I deduct the taxes paid on my return?

DoninGA — Mon, 09 Jan 2023 17:21:08 GMT

Property taxes paid can be entered as an itemized deduction on Schedule A.

To enter, edit or delete Property Taxes -

Click on Federal Taxes
Click on Deductions and Credits
Click on I'll choose what I work on (if shown)
Under Your Home
On Property Taxes, click on the start or update button

Or enter property tax in the Search box located in the upper right of the program screen. Click on Jump to property tax

Re: I own land in another state. I pay annual taxes and fees to maintain the property. Can I deduct the taxes paid on my return?

Hal_Al — Mon, 09 Jan 2023 17:21:55 GMT

Q. Can I deduct the taxes paid on my return?

A. Yes, real estate taxes are deductible, on the federal return, on all property, not just your home. They are only deductible as an itemized deduction and subject to the $10,000 limit on all State and local tax (SALT) deductions.

If you are asking about a deduction on a state return, probably not. You'll have to identify the state and type of property. Very few states have such a deduction and it's usually only on your residence.