Property Tax deduction -- Can I apply property tax for 2 years in 1 tax year?

[david9821]

In my county we receive our property tax bill in June,  and it is due by 2/1 of the following year. (If you want to deduct it for that year you would probably need to pay by 12/31)
 
So I instead paid my 2019 tax, in 2020 (before 2/1), since I wasn't itemizing for 2019.

Since I paid my 2019 property tax in 2020 can I deduct it on Schedule A for my 2020 tax year even through it was property tax for 2019? If so, can I combine it with a property tax partial payment for 2020 so I can reach the 10,000 property tax cap?  For my that would mean pay about $2000 of the 2020 tax before 12/31/2020

I normally don't itemize but medical bills this year made itemizing a no brainer, so I am doing my best to maximize the situation.

[Opus 17]

You deduct property taxes when you actually pay them, not for the year they represent.  With the additional requirement that the taxes must be legally assessed.  

In your cases, if you paid the 2019 tax bill in January 2020, that's a 2020 deduction.  If the 2020 tax bill is legally assessed in June 2020, you can pay it any time after that and, if paid before 12/31/2020, would also count as a 2020 deduction.

(Where this becomes an issue is, for example, New York State, where county taxes are legally assessed on January 1 and due Feb 15.  Paying the February 2021 amount in December 2020 would not be a legal tax deduction since the tax had not been legally assessed at that point.)

[Critter-3]

Also be aware the tax law changes that limited the state income & RE taxes to a max of $10K per tax year ... so paying twice in one tax year may not work so review this carefully.