Which year's property tax document should I check for land value and improvement value?

[jzhangken]

Some ppl say that for land value and improvement value, I should put the numbers from the property tax bill of the year that I purchased the house (2011). Turbo tax seems to indicate putting the numbers from the latest property tax bill. Which one should I use please?

[DianeW · Accepted solution]

You can determine the land value by using the latest tax bill for both buildings and land, then take the land value and divide it by total value.  This percentage should then be multiplied by the total cost of the property to give the land value result that should be used on your tax return. The difference will be the cost of the building.

Please add another comment if you have another question.

[jzhangken]

So in the page where it asks for land value, I can't just direct forward the land value number from the tax bill, but need to get the percentage and multiply the total cost of the property? Total cost of the property meaning the cost I paid when I purchased this property or the fair market value now?

[DianeW]

@jzhangken  The cost you paid for the property, not FMV.  For tax purposes FMV can be used to figure out your cost basis, but not actually used as the land "value" for your entry.  This figure does vary so I gave the easiest method that would also hold up.