Can we claim the interest on a property a family member owns if they died and we have been paying the mortgage, taxes, insurance, and repairs?

alysha-rabitoy — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 09:46:57 GMT

Another family member is living there who is also not the legal owner. But we pay every expense associated with the home. Mortgage, taxes, insurance, repairs, and every single utility bill. The home is listed as "estate of" until we complete probate but we have personally been paying for everything since the family member/owner passed over a year ago.

Re: Can we claim the interest on a property a family member owns if they died and we have been paying the mortgage, taxes, insurance, and repairs?

Opus 17 — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 13:06:57 GMT

No, you can't deduct those items if you are not the owner. All the bills should be paid by the estate, not by you or any other person personally, until the estate is settled. If you have been approved by the probate court to be the administrator of the estate, then you should be allowed to reimburse yourselves from the proceeds of the estate before the balance of the estate is distributed to the heirs. You may want an attorney to help you with the estate at this point. If you have not been approved as the administrator, then nothing should be paid until someone volunteers to be administrator (or an executor is named in a Will) and that person is approved by the court.

topic Can we claim the interest on a property a family member owns if they died and we have been paying the mortgage, taxes, insurance, and repairs? in Deductions & credits

Can we claim the interest on a property a family member owns if they died and we have been paying the mortgage, taxes, insurance, and repairs?

Re: Can we claim the interest on a property a family member owns if they died and we have been paying the mortgage, taxes, insurance, and repairs?