Are vacant land property taxes deductible?

[Phillip1]

Yes.

Real estate taxes are deductible even if the taxes were from vacant land.

See the following from IRS Tax Topic 503 Deductible Taxes:

State, Local, and Foreign Real Estate Taxes

Deductible real estate taxes are generally any state, local, or foreign taxes on real property levied for the general public welfare. The charge must be uniform against all real property in the jurisdiction at a like rate.

There are popular loan programs that finance energy saving improvements through government-approved programs. You sign up for a home energy system loan and use the proceeds to make energy improvements to your home. In some programs, the loan is secured by a lien on your home and appears as a special assessment or special tax on your real estate property tax bill over the period of the loan. The payments on these loans may appear to be deductible real estate taxes; however, they're not deductible real estate taxes. Assessments or taxes associated with a specific improvement benefitting one home aren't deductible. However, the interest portion of your payment may be deductible as home mortgage interest. Refer to Publication 936 , Home Mortgage Interest Deduction, to see whether you might qualify for a home mortgage interest expense deduction.

Many states and counties also impose local benefit taxes for improvements to property, such as assessments for streets, sidewalks, and sewer lines. You can't deduct these taxes. However, you can increase the cost basis of your property by the amount of the assessment. Refer to Publication 551 , Basis of Assets, for more information. Local benefits taxes are deductible only if they're for maintenance, repair, or interest charges related to those benefits. See Taxes for local benefits in Chapter 22 of Publication 17 .

If a portion of your monthly mortgage payment goes into an escrow account, and periodically the lender pays your real estate taxes out of the account to the local government, don't deduct the amount paid into the escrow account. Only deduct the amount actually paid out of the escrow account during the year to the taxing authority.

[dnpdillon]

I read that you said that they are deductible and are not part of the 10,000 max limit.  Where do I enter this on Turbo tax?  I have paid property taxes on vacant land and would like to write them off.  I have heard that they are to be entered on Schedule A line 6 as "other taxes."  I cannot find how to get to this.  Please help.

[DawnC]

You can enter your property taxes in Deductions and Credits.   But they are part of the $10K limit for State & Local Taxes (SALT) itemized deduction.  @dnpdillon   The response you are reading must have been from a thread posted prior to the limitations being applied.

SALT deduction limits

[dnpdillon]

Thank you, but it isn't old.  It is an article from a financial group about tax deductions for investments on raw land.  It specifically talks about the TCJA  that is in place from 2018-2025 and that this tax does not apply.  It is supposed to be entered on Schedule A line 6, and I cannot get access to my form to put it there or find the question to get me to that line.

[DavidD66]

TurboTax does not support deducting property tax on raw land as Other Taxes on Line 6 of Schedule A.  If you want to report a property tax deduction on line 6, you will have to use TurboTax Desktop Software and enter the deduction directly on Schedule A using the Forms view.   For information about TurboTax Desktop, see the following;  TurboTax® Desktop 

You also have the option of adding the property tax and interest expenses you paid to your cost basis.  It won't save you any money on your current year tax return, but it will reduce any taxable profit you have when you sell.  To do so, you must make an election each year you elect to capitalize some, or all of your interest and tax paid.  You must attach a statement to your tax return that says something to the effect of:

For tax year 20XX, the taxpayer is electing to capitalize, rather than deduct, the property tax and mortgage interest in on the property located [give address or description].  This election is made under Code Section 266 and IRS Regulations 1.266-1.